How to apply for PAN card online 2026

If you are an adult with no PAN, a valid Aadhaar, and the same mobile on Aadhaar, Instant e-PAN on incometax.gov.in is free. Minors, people without DigiLocker date-of-birth proof, and anyone who already has a PAN cannot use that route. They file Form 49A on Protean or UTIITSL and pay the fee shown at checkout.

Permanent Account Number is allotted under Income-tax Act s.139A and Rule 114. Two citizen routes exist in 2026. Choose before you open a portal.

Foreign citizens and entities use Form 49AA, not 49A. That is a different form. This page covers Instant e-PAN and Form 49A.

If Instant e-PAN fits, stop here and follow the Income Tax Department steps. If it does not, skip to Form 49A.

These steps follow the Income Tax Department Instant e-PAN help, reviewed there on 19 August 2026.

You need all of this

• A valid Aadhaar number.
• The mobile number linked to that Aadhaar, for OTP.
• Access to DigiLocker. You can create the DigiLocker account during the flow with the same Aadhaar mobile.
• You must not already have a PAN.
• You must not be a minor on the date of the request.
• You must not be applying as a representative assessee.

Do this, in order

1. Open Instant e-PAN. Go to incometax.gov.in. Under Quick Links, choose Instant e-PAN.
2. Start a new request. Click Get New e-PAN.
3. Enter Aadhaar. Type the 12-digit number, confirm the checkbox, and continue.
4. Give Aadhaar OTP. The six-digit OTP goes to the Aadhaar-linked mobile. Read the consent text before you proceed.
5. Fetch date of birth from DigiLocker. The site redirects you to DigiLocker. That is how ITD takes date-of-birth details and supporting proof.
6. Share one accepted proof. ITD lists driving licence, birth certificate, Class X marksheet, Class X compartment marksheet, Class X or matriculation passing certificate, and health card or certificate. The document must already sit in DigiLocker, or you must pull it from the issuer there. Allow sharing.
7. Email is optional here. Linking or validating the Aadhaar email is optional during Instant e-PAN. It becomes compulsory later if you register on the e-filing portal without validating it.
8. Save the acknowledgement. A success page shows an acknowledgement number. Note it. A message also goes to the Aadhaar mobile.

If the site says the Aadhaar is already linked with a PAN, stop. You already have a number. If it says no active mobile is linked, update the mobile at a UIDAI centre first, then retry.

e-PAN download

1. Return to Instant e-PAN on the e-filing homepage.
2. Open Check Status / Download e-PAN.
3. Enter Aadhaar and the OTP.
4. If allotted, use View e-PAN or Download e-PAN.
5. After allotment you can register on the e-filing portal. Once logged in, Dashboard → Services → View / Download e-PAN also works.

e-PAN is a digitally signed electronic PAN. Offices and banks that demand only a laminated card should still accept it. If they refuse, ask for the refusal in writing.

Use Form 49A when Instant e-PAN is closed to you. Typical cases: minor, no DigiLocker date-of-birth document, representative assessee, or you want the agency's paper process.

Pick one official form site

• Protean: onlineservices.proteantech.in (this is the earlier NSDL e-Gov PAN service).
• UTIITSL: pan.utiitsl.com/PAN

Do not use lookalike domains. PAN card apply online happens only on these two agencies plus Instant e-PAN on incometax.gov.in.

Verb-led Form 49A path

1. Register a request on Protean or UTIITSL with a working email and mobile.
2. Fill Form 49A for a new PAN. Match the name and date of birth to your proofs.
3. Upload proof of identity, proof of address, proof of date of birth, photograph, and signature in the sizes the form shows on screen.
4. Pay the fee only on the official checkout. Keep the payment receipt.
5. Note the acknowledgement number. That is your tracking key.
6. Complete any remaining KYC the portal asks for, including e-sign or a physical follow-up if the form still requires it.
7. Download e-PAN from the same agency when status shows allotted.

For a minor, the parent or guardian applies as the representative. Instant e-PAN will reject a minor. Form 49A is the route.

Name on PAN should match Aadhaar if you will link them later. A mismatch blocks KYC. See PAN-Aadhaar name mismatch KYC fix.

Income Tax Department help states Instant e-PAN is free of cost.

For a regular PAN application through Protean or UTIITSL, ITD lists:

• Rs 91 excluding GST for an Indian address.
• Rs 862 excluding GST for a foreign address.

GST and the final rupee figure appear on the Protean or UTIITSL checkout. Quote the checkout, not a blog. Instant e-PAN must remain zero. If a cafe charges you for Instant e-PAN itself, you are paying for their typing, not for a government fee.

Instant e-PAN

Check Status / Download e-PAN on incometax.gov.in with Aadhaar and OTP. The page shows whether the e-PAN is allotted. Then download.

Form 49A

Use the acknowledgement number on the same Protean or UTIITSL site you used. Do not mix the two agencies. A longer walkthrough is PAN card status check 2026.

If status sits on uploaded or payment done with no allotment, read the exact remark. Photo and signature rejects are common. Re-upload to the specs on the form. Do not start a second PAN.

• Using Instant e-PAN for a child. Minors are not eligible on that service.
• Starting Instant e-PAN with a mobile that is not on Aadhaar.
• Arriving at DigiLocker with no date-of-birth document inside it.
• Paying an agent for a free Instant e-PAN.
• Filing Form 49A when you already have a PAN. Duplicate PAN creates a later surrender mess.
• Typing a name that does not match Aadhaar, then failing PAN-Aadhaar link.
• Using an unofficial “NSDL” clone. The live Form 49A hosts are Protean and UTIITSL.

PAN is an Income-tax Act number. File RTI under RTI Act 2005 s.6(1) to the Public Information Officer of the Income Tax Department unit that handles PAN, or the nodal PIO named on the Protean or UTIITSL help page for a Form 49A packet. The PIO must reply in 30 days under s.7(1). Silence or a vague reply goes to first appeal under s.19(1).

Draft with the AI RTI Drafter. Fee rules: RTI fees by state. Appeal builder: First Appeal Builder.

1. Status of PAN request / Instant e-PAN acknowledgement ________ dated ________, as on the date of this reply.
2. Name and designation of the official or process owner for this acknowledgement.
3. If Instant e-PAN: whether Aadhaar e-KYC, DigiLocker date-of-birth proof, or de-duplication is the hold.
4. If Form 49A: whether payment, document quality, or de-duplication is the hold, with the system remark.
5. Copy of notings or system logs for this acknowledgement, and the next pending step.

Instant e-PAN is a free pre-login service on the Income Tax Department e-filing portal. An adult with no PAN, a valid Aadhaar, an Aadhaar-linked mobile, and DigiLocker date-of-birth proof can use it. Minors and representative assessees cannot.

Open Protean or UTIITSL, complete Form 49A, upload the proofs the form lists, and pay the fee at that checkout. Keep the acknowledgement. That is the regular PAN card apply online path.

Instant e-PAN: incometax.gov.in Quick Links. Form 49A: Protean or UTIITSL. Ignore lookalike sites.

On Instant e-PAN, open Check Status / Download e-PAN, enter Aadhaar, take the OTP, then download. After you register on e-filing, use Dashboard → Services → View / Download e-PAN. Form 49A e-PAN comes from the agency portal with the acknowledgement.

ITD lists Rs 91 excluding GST for an Indian address and Rs 862 excluding GST for a foreign address. Instant e-PAN is free. Trust the official checkout, not a third-party quote.

No. Income Tax Department help says a minor as on the date of the request is not eligible. Use Form 49A with the parent as representative.

Instant e-PAN and DigiLocker both need that link. Update the mobile at an Aadhaar centre, then retry, or switch to Form 49A.

Use the acknowledgement on Protean or UTIITSL, whichever took your fee. See also PAN card status check 2026.

• Apply for PAN card online 2026
• PAN card status check 2026
• PAN-Aadhaar name mismatch KYC fix
• How to apply for Aadhaar
• AI RTI Drafter
• The RTI Playbook
• RTI Act, 2005

• ITR status check e-filing refund

• incometax.gov.in Instant e-PAN
• ITD Instant e-PAN help
• Protean Form 49A
• UTIITSL PAN
• Income-tax Act s.139A; Rule 114
• RTI Act 2005, s.6(1), s.7(1), s.19(1)

Reviewed for RTI Wiki by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak.