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Checking an Aadhaar the right way

A photocopy proves nothing. If you are a landlord, employer or hotel asked to check an Aadhaar, here is what the document can and cannot prove, and how to verify it without keeping the number.

Published 13 October 2026 · Aadhaar News desk

Printed Aadhaar letters are easy to fake: a photocopy or a PDF can be edited in minutes. What cannot be faked as easily is the digitally signed data inside the QR code, or a live check against UIDAI. UIDAI's guidance on offline verification is on uidai.gov.in.

What Aadhaar proves, and what it does not

• It proves identity. The holder enrolled with UIDAI under this name and photograph.
• It does not prove citizenship or domicile. Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act says so in terms. Residents who are not citizens can hold Aadhaar.
• It is weak proof of date of birth. Many dates were self-declared at enrolment. In January 2024 the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation removed Aadhaar from its list of accepted proofs of date of birth.

Ways to verify

1. Scan the secure QR code. Every e-Aadhaar, Aadhaar letter and PVC card carries a QR code signed by UIDAI. The mAadhaar app or UIDAI's QR scanner reads it and shows the photograph and details as UIDAI issued them. If the printed details differ, the document has been altered.
2. Ask for offline e-KYC. The holder can download a signed, password-protected file from myAadhaar and share it with you, with the code to open it.
3. Accept a masked Aadhaar. It shows only the last four digits. That is enough to match a person to a document without you storing a number you do not need.
4. Accept a Virtual ID. A 16-digit VID can be used in place of the Aadhaar number for authentication, and the holder can replace it at any time.

Do not keep what you do not need

Under the 2019 amendment, an entity doing offline verification must not collect, use or store the Aadhaar number or biometric information. Photocopying a full Aadhaar into a register is the opposite. Note that you checked it, and give the copy back.