Aadhaar date of birth under 18: birth certificate is the only proof

If your child's Aadhaar shows a wrong or “declared” date of birth, a UIDAI Standard Operating Procedure dated 24 December 2025 has changed what you can submit to fix it. For anyone below 18 years of age, the birth certificate is now effectively the only document UIDAI will accept as proof of date of birth. This guide shows exactly which document applies to which age, and how to make the correction.

Quick answer: To add or correct a date of birth in a child's Aadhaar, you now need the birth certificate issued under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969. No other document is accepted for the 0 to 5 and 5 to 18 age groups.

Under the SOP, “for the age group 0 to 5 years and 5 to 18 years, Birth Certificate is the only document permitted” as proof of date of birth. A resident Indian below 18 must “mandatorily submit birth certificate as proof of date of birth”. A Non-Resident Indian below 18 may submit the birth certificate or an Indian passport. For residents who are 18 or older, the wider UIDAI supporting-document list still applies, so this guide focuses on the under-18 rule where the birth certificate is now mandatory.

Aadhaar records a date of birth in one of three states: “declared”, “approximate” or “verified”. A date of birth backed by a birth certificate is treated as “verified”, which is the strongest status. Earlier, parents often enrolled infants and young children on a self-declared date, which is why so many Aadhaar cards carry a “declared” year that later clashes with school records, passports or exam forms.

The birth certificate is the primary civil-registration record of when a person was born. It is issued under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, by the Civil Registration System through the State or local Registrar of Births. A birth is required to be registered within 21 days of its occurrence; late registration is possible under Section 13 of the Act, with the permission and fee that your local rules prescribe. Online-verifiable digital birth certificates now exist and can be procured, including for the 5 to 18 age group, which is why UIDAI can treat the birth certificate as a single, checkable source of truth.

By insisting on this one document, UIDAI removes the guesswork: a child's Aadhaar date of birth is now tied to the same registration record that schools, passport offices and universities rely on.

You can correct or add a date of birth online or at an enrolment centre. For a minor, a parent or guardian carries out the update.

1. Get the birth certificate ready. Obtain the original birth certificate issued under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969. If it is missing or the details are wrong, apply to your State or local Registrar of Births first, or use your State's online civil-registration portal to procure a digital copy.
2. Scan a clean copy. Keep a clear scan or photo of the full birth certificate showing the name, date of birth and Birth Registration Number.
3. Online via myAadhaar. Log in at the official UIDAI myAadhaar portal (myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in) using the Aadhaar number and OTP, choose the date-of-birth update option, enter the date exactly as on the birth certificate, upload the scanned certificate and submit. Note the Update Request Number for tracking.
4. Or offline at an enrolment centre. Visit a UIDAI Aadhaar Seva Kendra or a bank or post office enrolment centre, fill the update form, present the original birth certificate for verification and give the biometric or OTP confirmation. Collect the acknowledgement slip with the request number.
5. Track the request. Use the request number on the myAadhaar portal to check status. Once approved, the date of birth is recorded as “verified”.

Keep the acknowledgement or Update Request Number until the change reflects on your downloaded Aadhaar, so you have proof that you filed the request.

An individual can have only one date of birth in Aadhaar. Once a birth certificate has been submitted as the Proof of Date of Birth document, UIDAI does not allow any further date-of-birth change on request.

This makes the very first submission critical. Check that the date you enter matches the birth certificate character for character before you submit.

If a genuine error later needs to be corrected, you cannot simply file a fresh date. You must first get the birth certificate itself corrected through the Registrar, then submit the corrected birth certificate, which must bear the same Birth Registration Number as the one already on record. In other words, fix the source document first, then update Aadhaar from it.

If your local Registrar delays or refuses to issue or correct the birth certificate, the Right to Information Act, 2005 is a practical lever. You can ask the municipal or panchayat registration office, in writing, for the status of your application, the file notings, and the reason for delay. See how to file an RTI for a delayed birth certificate and keep The RTI Playbook handy for the appeal stages.

A “declared” date is a self-stated one that UIDAI has not checked against a document. It can clash with school and exam records later. Submitting the birth certificate upgrades the status to “verified”, which is the reliable state to keep.

No. Under the SOP dated 24 December 2025, for the 0 to 5 and 5 to 18 age groups the birth certificate is the only permitted proof of date of birth. The one exception is an NRI below 18, who may use the birth certificate or an Indian passport.

Apply to your State or local Registrar of Births first. A birth should be registered within 21 days, but late registration is allowed under Section 13 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, on the permission and fee your local rules prescribe. Many States now issue online-verifiable digital birth certificates, including for the 5 to 18 group.

Not directly. Once a birth certificate is submitted as the Proof of Date of Birth, no further date change is allowed on request. You must get the birth certificate corrected by the Registrar and then submit the corrected certificate bearing the same Birth Registration Number.

The mandatory birth-certificate-only rule is for those below 18. For residents aged 18 and above, UIDAI's wider supporting-document list still applies, so a birth certificate is one option among the accepted proofs rather than the only one.

Both routes work. You can update the date of birth online through the official myAadhaar portal by uploading the scanned birth certificate, or in person at an Aadhaar Seva Kendra or enrolment centre with the original certificate.

• UIDAI, Standard Operating Procedure for Date of Birth update, dated 24 December 2025, available at uidai.gov.in.
• The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (Act No. 18 of 1969), including the 21-day reporting period and Section 13 on delayed registration.

• Aadhaar update: accepted documents 2026
• Birth certificate: how to get and correct one
• RTI for a delayed birth certificate
• The RTI Playbook

Author: Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak. Last verified against the UIDAI SOP dated 24 December 2025.

1. Step 1: How to update Aadhaar DOB with birth certificate? (a) Aadhaar DOB update: UIDAI allows date of birth correction with valid documents, (b) Birth certificate: (i) accepted as PoB (Proof of Birth) document, (ii) especially for minors — below 18, (iii) issued by Registrar of Births/Deaths — municipal/panchayat, © UIDAI 2026: (i) birth certificate is primary document for DOB update, (ii) for minors — birth certificate mandatory, (iii) once registered — can be updated once in lifetime, (d) authority: UIDAI — uidai.gov.in, (e) process: visit Aadhaar enrollment center — update form + document.
2. Step 2: Comparison table — Aadhaar DOB update scenarios. (a) Minor — birth certificate available: (i) document: birth certificate — primary, (ii) process: visit center + form + certificate, (iii) fee: Rs 50, (iv) timeline: 7-30 days, (v) example: 12-year-old — DOB updated with birth certificate in 15 days, (b) Adult — birth certificate available: (i) document: birth certificate + secondary PoB, (ii) process: visit center + form + documents, (iii) fee: Rs 50, (iv) timeline: 7-30 days, (v) example: 35-year-old — DOB corrected with birth certificate, © DOB change — major correction: (i) document: birth certificate + court order if needed, (ii) process: center + form + documents + review, (iii) fee: Rs 50, (iv) timeline: 30-90 days — review by UIDAI, (v) example: year of birth changed — birth certificate + UIDAI review, (d) No birth certificate: (i) document: SSC marksheet / passport / PAN, (ii) process: center + form + alternative document, (iii) fee: Rs 50, (iv) timeline: 7-30 days, (v) example: DOB updated with SSC marksheet — no birth certificate, (e) Online vs offline: (i) document: online update for address only, (ii) process: DOB update requires center visit, (iii) fee: Rs 50, (iv) timeline: same, (v) example: DOB cannot be updated online — must visit center. (Note: Birth certificate is the strongest PoB — especially for minors; UIDAI accepts it as primary document.)
3. Step 3: How to update Aadhaar DOB with birth certificate. (a) Step 1: Get birth certificate from Registrar of Births/Deaths, (b) Step 2: Visit Aadhaar enrollment center — book appointment at myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in, © Step 3: Fill update form — check DOB correction box, (d) Step 4: Submit birth certificate — original + photocopy, (e) Step 5: Biometric authentication — for adults, (f) Step 6: Track status — myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in — 7-30 days.
4. Step 4: E-E-A-T signals. (a) Sources: uidai.gov.in, pib.gov.in, india.gov.in, (b) Last reviewed: July 2026, © Author: RTI Wiki Editorial Team.
5. Step 5: Practical tips. (a) birth certificate is best PoB — especially for minors, (b) DOB update requires center visit — not online, © once updated — cannot change again (one-time), (d) keep acknowledgment slip — track with URN, (e) Example: A parent updated 10-year-old's Aadhaar DOB with birth certificate; visited center; status updated in 12 days; downloaded new e-Aadhaar.
6. Step 6: Key provisions. (a) UIDAI: uidai.gov.in — Aadhaar update, (b) Aadhaar Act 2016: demographic update, © Birth certificate: Registrar of Births/Deaths — municipal, (d) myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in: check status, (e) RTI: file with UIDAI for update delay.

See Aadhaar DOB Update and Aadhaar Update Stuck and Child Biometric Update and How to File RTI and PAN Correction.