Aadhaar Not Downloading or Generated? How to File RTI to Get Status

Before you file the RTI, identify which of these six buckets your case falls under. Your RTI questions will be sharper when you know the likely failure point.

• Biometric mismatch. Your fingerprints or iris did not clear quality thresholds. Enrolment shows “Rejected — biometric quality low” or no status at all.
• Demographic clash. Name, father's name, or date of birth does not match the supporting document. File goes to “Hold” for supervisor review.
• Duplicate detection. UIDAI's de-duplication engine flagged a possible match with an existing Aadhaar. Case sent to manual adjudication — this is the single largest cause of 60-to-180-day delays.
• Document quality. Scanned POI/POA (Proof of Identity / Proof of Address) was unreadable. Rejection notice may not have reached you.
• Operator error. The enrolment operator entered wrong details. File is rejected silently.
• Backend queue backlog. Rare, but during quarter-ends UIDAI regional centres accumulate unresolved cases.

An RTI is the one mechanism that tells you exactly which of these six has hit your file.

• Day 1–15 after enrolment. Check status at myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in using your 14-digit Enrolment ID (EID) and timestamp. Normal turnaround is 7–10 days.
• Day 15–30. Call UIDAI on 1947. File a complaint at resident.uidai.gov.in/file-complaint. Keep complaint reference number.
• Day 30+, no Aadhaar and no rejection letter. File RTI. This is the trigger point.
• Aadhaar marked “Rejected” but no reason given. File RTI the same day — you do not need to wait.

1. Go to rtionline.gov.in and click Submit Request.
2. Accept the guidelines. The applicant must be an Indian citizen.
3. Under Select Ministry/Department/Apex Body, choose Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
4. Fill in your name, address, email, phone. (The Act does not require a phone — you may leave it blank.)
5. In the Text of Application box, paste the sample below. The limit is 3,000 characters, which is enough.
6. Attach supporting PDF if needed (max 1 MB, your enrolment slip works).
7. Pay Rs. 10 via debit card / UPI / netbanking. BPL card holders pay zero.
8. Submit. Save the Registration Number — looks like UIDAI/R/2026/00xxxx. This is your docket.

1. Write the application on plain paper in English, Hindi, or the official regional language.
2. Attach an Indian Postal Order (IPO) or Demand Draft for Rs. 10 in favour of “PAO, UIDAI, New Delhi”.
3. Post it by Speed Post with acknowledgement to:
   Central Public Information Officer, Unique Identification Authority of India, Bangla Sahib Road, Behind Kali Mandir, Gole Market, New Delhi – 110001.
4. Keep the speed-post tracking number. The 30-day clock starts on the date of delivery.

If your enrolment was done at a bank, post office, or CSC centre in your state, the relevant regional office (RO) often has faster access. UIDAI has nine RO headquarters: Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Ranchi, and Kolkata. You can also file RTI directly at the RO CPIO address listed at uidai.gov.in/en/contact-us/regional-offices.

To,
The Central Public Information Officer,
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI),
Bangla Sahib Road, Gole Market, New Delhi – 110001.

Subject: Request for information under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, regarding my pending Aadhaar enrolment.

Sir/Madam,

I, [Full Name], citizen of India, resident of [Full Postal Address], hereby request the following information under the Right to Information Act, 2005, in respect of my Aadhaar enrolment:

Enrolment ID (EID): [14-digit EID] / [YYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS]
Enrolment Date: [DD-MM-YYYY]
Enrolment Centre Code: [Centre code on slip]
Registered Mobile: [Mobile number, if any]

Please provide:

1. The current status of the above enrolment file — generated, rejected, on hold, or under de-duplication — as on the date of this application.

2. If rejected or on hold, the exact reason recorded in the file, along with the section / sub-clause of UIDAI's enrolment regulations under which rejection has been made.

3. The name, designation, and office location of the UIDAI officer or supervisor currently handling the file.

4. The date on which the file was last moved, and to which desk / officer it has been forwarded.

5. If de-duplication has been flagged, the number of days remaining in manual adjudication as per UIDAI's internal timeline.

6. A certified copy of any notice, email or SMS that was sent to me regarding the status of this enrolment.

7. The estimated date by which the Aadhaar will be generated, or the date by which a formal rejection letter with appeal rights will be dispatched.

I enclose Indian Postal Order No. __________ dated __________ for Rs. 10 in favour of "PAO, UIDAI, New Delhi", being the prescribed fee.

I declare that I am an Indian citizen.

Yours faithfully,

[Full Name]
[Signature]
[Date] [Place]

Enclosures:
1. Copy of Enrolment Slip.
2. Indian Postal Order for Rs. 10.

When you ask these ten specific questions, UIDAI cannot fob you off with a generic “in process” reply. The Central Information Commission has ruled in multiple orders that each of these is a matter of record and must be answered.

1. Current status of enrolment file and exact file-note of the last action taken.
2. Name, designation, and contact of the officer currently holding the file.
3. If held for biometric mismatch, quality score recorded (on a 0–100 scale) for each of ten fingers and both irises.
4. If held for de-duplication, the Aadhaar number with which duplication is suspected (UIDAI will redact the number but must confirm whether duplication is suspected with a resident of the same state or different state).
5. Date of each file movement from enrolment centre → regional office → manual adjudication → decision.
6. Copy of any rejection notice, SMS, or email dispatched to the resident, and mode of dispatch.
7. Whether a biometric update can be offered as a remedy, and under which UIDAI circular.
8. Appeal options available to the resident, with contact of the First Appellate Authority under UIDAI's regulations.
9. Average turnaround time for similar cases in the last six months at the same regional office.
10. Certified copy of the enrolment packet as stored in CIDR (Central Identities Data Repository).

• Day 0. You file. You get a Registration Number (online) or Speed Post tracking (offline).
• Day 1–5. UIDAI CPIO acknowledges and routes the RTI to the concerned regional office.
• Day 7–20. Regional office pulls your enrolment packet, attaches the current file status, and drafts the reply. In many cases, the file moves to generation during this window — officers prefer to dispatch the Aadhaar rather than record a delay in writing.
• Day 30. Formal reply must reach you. If it does not, you have a cause of action for deemed refusal under Section 7(2).
• Day 30–60. File First Appeal with UIDAI's First Appellate Authority. Free of cost. No format prescribed.
• Day 90+. Second Appeal lies to the Central Information Commission at cic.gov.in.

RTI is powerful, but it does not cover everything:

• Third-party biometrics. You cannot ask for the biometrics of the “suspected duplicate” resident — that is a Section 8(1)(j) personal-information exemption.
• Internal de-duplication algorithm. UIDAI can refuse under Section 8(1)(a) if disclosure would compromise security of CIDR. But it must still tell you the result — matched, not matched, under review.
• Pending court matters. If your case is in the Aadhaar Adjudication Authority or a High Court, the CPIO can withhold documents that are sub-judice.

None of these exemptions block the core seven questions in the sample application above.

• Filing the RTI without the EID.
• Paying more than Rs. 10 — CPIOs sometimes return over-paid RTIs, citing “wrong fee”.
• Writing in combative language. Officers ignore rhetoric; they answer specifics.
• Asking for the entire CIDR policy instead of your file.
• Not keeping a copy of the application with the date stamp.
• Missing the 30-day appeal window after deemed refusal.

Q1. My Aadhaar says “Under Process” after 90 days. Can I still file RTI?
Yes, and you should. There is no time-bar for filing RTI. The later you file, the stronger the case for CIC's intervention.

Q2. Can I file RTI on behalf of my mother who is illiterate?
Yes, if you are an Indian citizen. You may sign on her behalf with her thumb impression attested on the application.

Q3. UIDAI asked me to pay Rs. 100 instead of Rs. 10. Is this legal?
No. The prescribed fee under the RTI (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2012, is Rs. 10 for central government bodies. UIDAI is bound by this.

Q4. Can I ask for a refund of my enrolment fee?
RTI does not order refunds. But the UIDAI reply will reveal the reason — you can then approach the enrolment agency for a refund, or the consumer forum.

Q5. What if UIDAI replies but the Aadhaar is still not generated?
File First Appeal under Section 19(1). Cite the CIC order in Manoj Kumar v. UIDAI (CIC/UIDAI/A/2023/615182) — the Commission has ordered UIDAI to generate Aadhaar within a time-bound manner in similar cases.

Q6. Does UIDAI have a separate RTI portal?
UIDAI accepts RTIs only through rtionline.gov.in or by post. It does not run a separate RTI portal.

1. Copy the sample application above into a Word doc.
2. Fill in your EID and enrolment date.
3. Go to rtionline.gov.in and paste it under UIDAI.
4. Save the Registration Number.
5. Mark your calendar for Day 30.

If you want help drafting a version specific to your case, see our free AI RTI drafting guide.

• RTI for personal problems — five real-life templates
• Aadhaar update rejected? Use RTI to fix it fast
• File RTI online in India — 12-step guide
• Tracking your RTI appeal via AI
• Why RTI gets rejected — and how to prevent it

Last reviewed: 24 April 2026. Fees verified against RTI (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2012. CPIO contact verified against uidai.gov.in.