Aadhaar update stuck? RTI to your UIDAI regional office

Sunita, a schoolteacher in Lucknow, gave her fingerprints for a biometric update at an Aadhaar Seva Kendra on 1 March 2026. The operator handed her a slip with a 14-digit Service Request Number and said, “Update will reflect in about 30 days.” On 31 March 2026 the 30-day service standard expired. By mid-April, the myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in status page still showed “Under Processing.” Her bank, which had asked for an updated biometric to release an education loan for her son, refused to proceed. The 1947 helpline logged a complaint but offered no date.

Sunita's case is not unusual. Across India, residents wait weeks past the promised timeline for a name spelling correction, an address change after a move, a date-of-birth update after a court order, or a biometric refresh when fingers wear down with age or manual work. The update itself may take only a few minutes at the Seva Kendra, but the back-end processing, biometric exception handling, and manual review can stretch silently. The resident is left with a slip, a number, and no answer.

The cost of that silence is not just inconvenience. A stuck update blocks bank KYC, stops a passport application, holds up an LPG subsidy, freezes a Provident Fund withdrawal, and can derail an admission or a job joining date. For a daily-wage worker whose fingerprint has worn smooth, a stuck biometric update can mean weeks without ration. For a pensioner whose address has changed after a family partition, it can mean a stalled pension credit. The longer the queue, the larger the collateral damage.

That answer is your right. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005, and it must respond to a properly framed application within 30 days. This guide shows you, step by step, how to convert an unresponsive SRN into a written reply from the officer who is actually handling your file. Every fact here — the Act, the Regulations, the regional jurisdictions, the service standards, the fee, the helpline — is verified against a live government source, so you can file with confidence.

UIDAI is a statutory body corporate established under Section 11 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (Act 18 of 2016). It works under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, and is headquartered in New Delhi. The Act was later amended by the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 14 of 2019), effective from 25 July 2019, which, among other things, omitted Section 57 (private-party use of Aadhaar for identity) and gave UIDAI the power to issue directions to Aadhaar-ecosystem entities.

The day-to-day rules for enrolment and updates are in the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016, published vide notification No. 13012/64/2016/Legal/UIDAI dated 14 September 2016, made under Section 54 of the Act. The service-standard timelines that UIDAI promises to residents are set out in the UIDAI Citizen's Charter (January 2024):

1. Demographic update (name, gender, DoB, address, mobile, email): normally 30 days
2. Biometric update (photo, fingerprints, iris): normally 30 days
3. Document-only update (POI/POA): normally 30 days
4. Exception handling (updates beyond prescribed limits, e.g. name beyond twice or DoB beyond once): up to 90 days
5. Aadhaar generation (child 0-18): normally 30 days; (adult 18+): normally up to 180 days

These are not casual estimates. They are published commitments, and a delay beyond them is the precise moment an RTI becomes useful — you can point to the Citizen's Charter and ask why the standard was not met. Regulation 16A (inserted by amendment notified 29 September 2023) adds a forward-looking duty: an Aadhaar holder should update their documents and information at least once every 10 years from the date of Aadhaar generation.

UIDAI runs its field operations through eight Regional Offices, each headed by a Deputy Director General. This is the structure that matters for your RTI, because your update is processed in the regional pipeline, not in Delhi. The legal foundation for residents' rights over their Aadhaar data was also shaped by the Supreme Court. In *Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India*, a nine-judge Constitution Bench declared the right to privacy a fundamental right — reported as (2017) 10 SCC 1, decided 24 August 2017. The subsequent five-judge Bench judgment upheld the Aadhaar Act, 2016 with restrictions, and is reported as (2019) 1 SCC 1, delivered 26 September 2018. Together these judgments confirm that while Aadhaar is a valid identity instrument, the resident's control over their own data is constitutionally protected — which is why Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act bars third parties from querying your Aadhaar records, and why you, the holder, have a clear standing to ask.

To ask a sharp question, you need to know where your file can get stuck. When you submit an update at an Aadhaar Seva Kendra, the operator enters your data and biometrics into the enrolment client, which generates a 14-digit Service Request Number (SRN) for an update, or a 14-digit Enrolment ID (EID) for a fresh enrolment. The packet is encrypted and uploaded to the UIDAI CIDR (Central Identities Data Repository).

From there the packet goes through three possible gates:

1. Automated demographic or biometric check — most clean updates clear this stage and reflect within the service standard.
2. Manual review — triggered when supporting documents need a human eye, or when a name, date of birth, or address change is large or unusual.
3. Exception handling under Regulation 6 and the beyond-limits process — when biometrics do not match, or the resident has a biometric exception (for example, missing fingers or worn fingerprints, dealt with under Regulation 6), or when an update exceeds the prescribed limits (name beyond twice, date of birth beyond once), the case is flagged and routed to a regional exception-handling queue. This is where most unexplained delays live.

Your SRN or EID is the key that opens every one of these stages. Without it, UIDAI cannot trace your packet. With it, the PIO can pull the exact stage, the officer handling it, and the reason for the hold. That is why every RTI question in this guide is built around the SRN/EID.

Two things have changed recently that shape how you file.

First, the resident-facing services have migrated to the myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in portal. The older resident.uidai.gov.in status pages are legacy and may not load or may show stale data. Before filing an RTI, check your update status at https://myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/CheckAadhaarStatus/en (enter the 14-digit SRN) and your enrolment status at https://myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/check-aadhaar (enter the 14-digit EID). If you have lost the slip, you can retrieve your EID/UID at https://myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/retrieve-eid-uid/en. A screenshot of the stuck status page is useful evidence to attach to your RTI.

Second, Regulation 16A's 10-year document update cycle is now being actively publicised by UIDAI. Residents whose Aadhaar was generated 10 or more years ago and who have never updated their supporting documents are being asked to upload fresh proof of identity and address. This has increased the volume of update packets in the pipeline, which in turn has lengthened manual-review queues in some regional offices. If your update is one of these, the regional office, not the headquarters, holds the answer.

What does this mean for Sunita? The portal move means her old bookmark was useless; the active status page confirmed the hold. The 10-year-cycle surge means her biometric packet may be queued behind a wave of document updates. That is exactly the kind of reason an RTI can force into the open.

You will file one application, to the UIDAI Regional Office that covers your state. UIDAI is a Central public authority, so the Central RTI fee and rules apply.

Step 1 — Identify your Regional Office. UIDAI has eight Regional Offices, each with a defined jurisdiction:

1. RO Bengaluru — Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Lakshadweep (Sub-Office Thiruvananthapuram)
2. RO Chandigarh — Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh
3. RO Delhi — Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan (Sub-Office Bhopal)
4. RO Guwahati — Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim
5. RO Hyderabad — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Sub-Office Bhubaneswar)
6. RO Lucknow — Uttar Pradesh
7. RO Mumbai — Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu (Sub-Office Ahmedabad)
8. RO Ranchi — Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal (Sub-Offices Patna and Kolkata)

Address your application to the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), UIDAI Regional Office, [city]. Filing to headquarters in Delhi when your file is in the regional pipeline is the single most common mistake and adds weeks of transfer time under Section 6(3).

Step 2 — Prepare your questions. Five strong, specific questions:

1. SRN status: “Furnish the current processing stage of my Aadhaar biometric update bearing Service Request Number [SRN], submitted on [date] at [Seva Kendra location], as recorded in the CIDR or regional exception-handling system as on [today's date].”
2. Reason for delay: “Furnish the reason for the delay in processing the above update beyond the 30-day biometric-update service standard prescribed in the UIDAI Citizen's Charter (January 2024).”
3. Exception flag: “State whether the above SRN has been placed under exception handling (biometric exception under Regulation 6, or a beyond-limits update under the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016), and if so, furnish the date on which it was so flagged and the grounds for the same.”
4. Officer-in-charge: “Furnish the name, designation, and official contact details of the UIDAI officer currently handling the above SRN for grievance escalation.”
5. Projected completion: “Furnish the projected completion date by which the above update will reflect in the resident's Aadhaar record on myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in.”

Step 3 — Use the right form and fee. This is a Central application under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005. The fee is Rs.10, payable by cash against receipt, Indian Postal Order or banker's cheque or demand draft in favour of the Accounts Officer of the public authority, or through electronic payment on the Central RTI portal (rtionline.gov.in), where you can select “Unique Identification Authority of India” as the public authority. Below Poverty Line applicants are exempt from the fee on production of proof. See RTI for Beginners: Everything You Need to Know Before Filing Your for the step-by-step online filing process and RTI Fees by State and Online Portal Directory (2026) for how Central and State fee rules differ.

Step 4 — Submit and keep proof. If you file online, save the registration number and the PDF copy of the application. If you file by hand at the Regional Office, take a stamped receiving copy with the date, seal, and signature of the receiving officer. If you file by registered post, keep the postal acknowledgement. Proof of submission is your protection if the reply is delayed.

Step 5 — Wait 30 days. The CPIO must reply within 30 days of receiving your application under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act (48 hours where the information concerns the life or liberty of a person, which update-status queries normally do not). Mark the due date on your calendar.

1. A clear copy of your Aadhaar card (front, or front and back) for the update that is stuck.
2. The SRN or EID slip given to you at the Aadhaar Seva Kendra, or a screenshot of the same.
3. A screenshot of the stuck status on myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/CheckAadhaarStatus, with the date visible.
4. The 1947 helpline complaint reference number, if you have raised one.
5. Proof of BPL status, if you are claiming the fee exemption.
6. A self-attested copy of an identity proof (PAN, voter ID, passport) so the PIO can confirm you are the Aadhaar holder and not a third party.

1. Filing to UIDAI headquarters in Delhi. Your update packet is processed in the regional pipeline. File to the Regional Office for your state. A Delhi filing gets transferred under Section 6(3) and costs you extra weeks.
2. Not quoting the SRN or EID. Without the 14-digit number, UIDAI cannot trace your packet. Every question must carry it.
3. Asking for someone else's Aadhaar data. Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act exempts third-party personal information. Only the Aadhaar holder can seek their own update status; a relative, employer, or agent cannot, without written consent and proof of authorisation.
4. Citing the wrong service standard. Do not confuse the timelines. Under the UIDAI Citizen's Charter, demographic, biometric and document updates are normally 30 days each; exception handling (updates beyond prescribed limits) can take up to 90 days; Aadhaar generation is normally 30 days for a child and up to 180 days for an adult. Citing the wrong standard weakens your application.
5. Using the stale resident.uidai.gov.in status URL. The active portal is myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in. Check there first so your RTI reflects the current system.
6. Filing without first raising a 1947 helpline complaint. A helpline reference number shows the PIO you have already tried the grievance channel and are not jumping the queue frivolously.

To: The Central Public Information Officer
    UIDAI Regional Office, [Bengaluru/Chandigarh/Delhi/Guwahati/Hyderabad/Lucknow/Mumbai/Ranchi]

Subject: Application under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005 — Status of Aadhaar update SRN [full 14-digit SRN]

Sir/Madam,

I, [your full name], holder of Aadhaar No. [xxxx-xxxx-xxxx], submit that my Aadhaar [biometric/demographic/document] update bearing Service Request Number [full 14-digit SRN] was submitted on [date] at [Seva Kendra address]. Under the UIDAI Citizen's Charter (January 2024), the service standard for a [biometric/demographic/document] update is normally 30 days. The said period expired on [date], and the update remains "Under Processing" on myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in as on [today's date].

Under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, I seek the following information:

1. The current processing stage of SRN [number] as recorded in the CIDR or regional exception-handling system as on [date].
2. The reason for the delay beyond the 30-day service standard set out in the UIDAI Citizen's Charter (January 2024) for [biometric/demographic/document] updates.
3. Whether the said SRN has been placed under exception handling (biometric exception under Regulation 6, or a beyond-limits update) under the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016, the date so flagged, and the grounds therefor.
4. The name, designation, and official contact details of the UIDAI officer currently handling the said SRN.
5. The projected date by which the update will reflect on myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in.

I state that the information sought is personal to me and I am the Aadhaar holder. I refer to my helpline complaint reference [number, if any] dated [date].

The application fee of Rs.10 is paid [online through rtionline.gov.in / by Indian Postal Order No. ___ in favour of the Accounts Officer, UIDAI / by cash against receipt].

Under Section 7(1), the information is solicited within 30 days. Under Section 10 of the RTI Act, I request that the information be furnished in the form of a written reply.

Place: [city]
Date: [date]
Signature: ______
Name: [your full name]
Address: [your postal address]
Email: [your email]
Mobile: [your mobile]

If the CPIO does not reply within 30 days, or sends a vague reply, you do not stop there.

1. First Appeal under Section 19(1): File with the First Appellate Authority (FAA) designated for that UIDAI Regional Office, within 30 days of the expiry of the reply period. The FAA must decide within 30 days, extendable to 45.
2. Second Appeal under Section 19(3): If the FAA also fails, file a Second Appeal with the Central Information Commission. There is no fee for a second appeal to the Central Information Commission.
3. Complaint under Section 18: If the CPIO never replied or refused to accept the application, you can file a direct complaint with the Central Information Commission.

For Aadhaar-update cases, the most common outcome is that the Regional Office replies with the current stage and a fresh projected date, and the update is processed soon after — the act of a written, dated query often unblocks the queue. Use the First Appeal tool at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/first-appeal-app.html to draft the appeal in minutes, and the timeline calculator at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/timeline-calculator-app.html to compute your exact due dates for reply, first appeal, and second appeal. You can also check whether the reply you received is adequate using the https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/pio-reply-checker-app.html tool.

Yes. UIDAI is a statutory body corporate established under Section 11 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, and is a public authority under the RTI Act, 2005. It maintains mandatory disclosures under Section 4(1)(b) and designates CPIOs and First Appellate Authorities. Its RTI page lists the designated officers and the online filing route.

Not without written consent. Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act exempts third-party personal information unless the PIO is satisfied there is an overriding public interest. Aadhaar update data is personal to the holder. If you are filing for an elderly parent, attach a signed authorisation and a copy of their Aadhaar; the PIO may still insist the holder file directly.

It means your update packet has been routed to a human verifier, usually because the supporting documents need cross-checking or the change is substantial. Manual review sits inside the regional pipeline, which is why the Regional Office, not headquarters, holds your answer. Use the 30-day or 15-day service standard as your trigger to file.

Ask whether your SRN has been placed under exception handling under Regulation 6 of the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016 (biometric exception), and request the date it was flagged and the grounds. UIDAI has a biometric exception process for residents whose fingerprints cannot be captured; the RTI can surface whether your case is in that queue and who is handling it.

Yes. On the Central RTI portal (rtionline.gov.in), select “Unique Identification Authority of India” as the public authority, pay the Rs.10 fee by card or net banking, and upload your documents. UIDAI's own RTI page confirms this route.

The CPIO must reply within 30 days under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act. If the matter concerns the life or liberty of a person, the reply must come within 48 hours, though update-status queries do not normally meet that threshold. Mark the due date and use the timeline calculator to track it.

That is a partial and often improper reply. The Seva Kendra operator is a vendor-side entity; the CPIO of the UIDAI Regional Office is the proper authority for processing-stage information. File a First Appeal under Section 19(1) arguing that the information sought is held by UIDAI's own systems (CIDR and regional exception-handling queue), not by the operator.

Before filing an RTI, use the retrieve service at https://myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/retrieve-eid-uid/en with your name, mobile number, and captcha. If that fails because your mobile is not linked, an RTI to the Regional Office asking for your EID/UID on the basis of your name, date of birth, and registered address is permissible, since you are seeking your own data.

Regulation 16A of the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016 (inserted by amendment) asks Aadhaar holders to update their supporting documents and information at least once every 10 years from the date of Aadhaar generation. It is not a penalty-linked requirement, but UIDAI is actively publicising it, and a timely update avoids authentication failures later.

An Enrolment ID (EID) is the 14-digit number generated when you enrol for Aadhaar for the first time. A Service Request Number (SRN) is the 14-digit number generated when you submit an update (biometric, demographic, or mobile) to an existing Aadhaar. Both are traceable through the myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in portal, but on different pages — check-aadhaar for EID, CheckAadhaarStatus for SRN. Quote the correct one in your RTI.

Yes. Section 6(1) of the RTI Act allows an application in English, Hindi, or the official language of the area in which the application is made. UIDAI Regional Offices accept applications in Hindi and English. Filing in the language of your state is perfectly valid and sometimes faster for a regional office to process.

An RTI does not command an authority to complete a service; it commands disclosure of information. However, in practice a dated, regulation-cited RTI that asks for the officer-in-charge and the projected completion date frequently unblocks stuck updates, because it creates a written record of accountability. If the update is genuinely stuck in exception handling, the RTI reply will tell you why, and you can then escalate with evidence.

1. UIDAI — About UIDAI and legal framework: [uidai.gov.in](https://uidai.gov.in/en/about-uidai/unique-identification-authority-of-india.html)
2. Aadhaar Act, 2016 (Act 18 of 2016) on India Code: [indiacode.nic.in](https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/19046)
3. Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019: [uidai.gov.in](https://uidai.gov.in/en/about-uidai/legal-framework/12066-amendment-act-2019.html)
4. Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016 (Regulation 6 biometric exceptions, Regulation 16A 10-year update): [uidai.gov.in](https://uidai.gov.in/en/about-uidai/legal-framework/updated-regulation/16314-aadhaar-enrolment-and-update-regulations-2016.html)
5. UIDAI Citizen's Charter (January 2024) — service standards for demographic, biometric, document updates and Aadhaar generation: [uidai.gov.in](https://www.uidai.gov.in/images/Citizen_Charter_Jan_24.pdf)
6. UIDAI Regional Offices and jurisdictions: [uidai.gov.in](https://uidai.gov.in/en/regional-offices.html)
7. UIDAI — Right to Information (CPIO and FAA designations, online filing): [uidai.gov.in](https://uidai.gov.in/en/about-uidai/right-to-information.html)
8. UIDAI — Grievance redressal and 1947 helpline: [uidai.gov.in](https://www.uidai.gov.in/en/contact-support/grievance-redressal.html)
9. myAadhaar status and update portal: [myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in](https://myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/CheckAadhaarStatus/en)
10. Central RTI online portal: [rtionline.gov.in](https://rtionline.gov.in)
11. RTI (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005 and RTI Rules, 2012: [nationalarchives.nic.in](https://nationalarchives.nic.in/sites/default/files/2023-08/RTIRules2012.pdf)
12. *Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India*, privacy reference judgment — (2017) 10 SCC 1: [digiscr.sci.gov.in](https://digiscr.sci.gov.in/view_judgment?id=NjEwMg==)
13. Aadhaar Act 2016 upheld (with restrictions), 26 September 2018 — (2019) 1 SCC 1: [main.sci.gov.in](https://main.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2012/35071/35071_2012_Judgement_26-Sep-2018.pdf)

1. Aadhaar update stuck for weeks? File an RTI to UIDAI and get a
2. RTI for Aadhaar Update or Correction Delay (UIDAI Format)
3. Aadhaar update rejected? Use RTI to get the real reason
4. Aadhaar Not Downloading or Generated? How to File RTI to Get Status
5. aadhaar-update-history-needed-bank-court-proof
6. aadhaar-mobile-number-update-delayed-enrolment-centre
7. PAN Card Stuck or Wrong? Force Action With RTI in 2026
8. RTI for Beginners: Everything You Need to Know Before Filing Your

Last reviewed: 4 July 2026.