Aadhaar PVC card not delivered or sent to the wrong address

Reviewed on: 2026-07-05.

Meena D. ordered an Aadhaar PVC card on the myAadhaar portal on 12 March 2026, paying Rs 75 by UPI. She had moved from Vadodara, Gujarat (pincode 390020) to Surat (395007) six weeks earlier but never updated her Aadhaar address. The 14-digit SRN arrived by SMS within seconds. UIDAI handed the printed card to the Department of Posts on 17 March - exactly within the five-working-day window - and an SMS with the Speed Post consignment number followed the same evening.

On 21 March, India Post tracking showed “item delivered” at Vadodara, her old address, signed for by someone she did not know. Meena never received it. She complained on the India Post portal quoting the consignment number, but the delivery post office replied only that the article had been “delivered as addressed”. She called UIDAI's toll-free 1947 helpline, which told her the card had been printed for the address on record and could not be redirected. The remedy was clear but costly: update the address first, then reorder for another Rs 75.

This is the most common PVC card problem in India today - not fraud, not a system failure, but a stale address that the citizen forgot to fix before ordering. The card is addressed at the moment you click “Place Order”, not at the moment it is printed. Meena's experience, and the Rs 150 and three weeks it cost her, is the pattern this guide will help you avoid or recover from using the Right to Information Act.

The Aadhaar PVC card is a pocket-sized plastic card, printed with your photograph, QR code, demographic details and a hologram, that UIDAI mails to your registered address by India Post Speed Post. It carries the same legal validity as the Aadhaar Letter and the e-Aadhaar PDF - no office, bank or government department can lawfully reject a PVC card while accepting an e-Aadhaar, or vice versa. The PVC card is a convenience, not a superior proof of identity.

You order it on the myAadhaar portal (myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in) under the service “Order Aadhaar PVC Card”. The single inclusive charge, since 1 January 2026, is Rs 75, covering printing on PVC with security features, GST, and Speed Post delivery anywhere in India. This fee was revised from Rs 50 to Rs 75 by a UIDAI Office Memorandum published on 1 January 2026 - the first revision since the service launched in late 2020. Payment can be made by Credit Card, Debit Card, Net Banking, UPI or Paytm.

UIDAI is the Unique Identification Authority of India, a statutory body established under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, functioning under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Because it is a statutory body created by a Central Act, UIDAI is a public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005 - which means every record it holds about your PVC card order, including the dispatch date and the consignment number it handed to India Post, is obtainable by an RTI application.

The Department of Posts (India Post), which runs Speed Post, is likewise a Central government department and a public authority under the RTI Act. So the delivery record of your consignment - who signed, at which post office, on what date and time - is also obtainable by RTI from the Department of Posts. Between these two authorities, no PVC card order ever truly dead-ends; the paper trail always exists somewhere, and the RTI Act is the tool that pulls it out.

Understanding the flow tells you exactly which authority to ask, and for what, at each stage.

1. Stage 1 - You place the order. On myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in, you enter your Aadhaar number and the security code, authenticate with the OTP sent to your mobile (a non-registered mobile is accepted for the OTP, though the card preview is then hidden), and pay Rs 75. A 14-digit Service Request Number (SRN) is generated immediately and sent by SMS to the mobile number you used. Save this SRN - it is your order's identity for every future query.
2. Stage 2 - UIDAI prints the card. UIDAI prints your card with the security features and the address that Aadhaar held on the day you placed the order. If you update your address after ordering, the change does not flow into that card. The card and the Speed Post envelope are both addressed to the order-day address and cannot be redirected once printed.
3. Stage 3 - UIDAI hands the card to the Department of Posts. UIDAI hands over the printed card to the Department of Posts within 5 working days, excluding the date of the request. From this point, UIDAI's responsibility for the physical card ends and India Post's begins.
4. Stage 4 - Dispatch and the AWB number. On dispatch, UIDAI sends you an SMS with the AWB (Airway Bill) number, which is the India Post Speed Post consignment number. Track it on the India Post website (indiapost.gov.in) under “Track Consignment”. Speed Post consignment numbers typically begin with two letters and end in “IN”.
5. Stage 5 - Transit and delivery. The consignment moves through India Post hubs to the delivery post office for your pincode. India Post records every scan - booking, dispatch from origin, arrival at each hub, out for delivery, and the final delivery scan with the receiver's name or relation.
6. Stage 6 - Delivery. The card is delivered to the addressee or, in practice, to someone at the address - a family member, a guard, a neighbour. The delivery record names the receiver. If the address on the card is your old address, the card is “correctly” delivered to that old address even though you no longer live there.

The decisive moment is Stage 1. Whatever address Aadhaar holds when you click “Place Order” is the address printed on the card and the envelope. Everything that follows - the Rs 75, the SRN, the Speed Post tracking, the delivery - is downstream of that one fact.

Two things changed that you must factor in before you order, complain, or file an RTI in 2026.

1. The fee is now Rs 75, not Rs 50. By a UIDAI Office Memorandum published on 1 January 2026, the Aadhaar PVC Card service charge was revised from Rs 50 to Rs 75 (inclusive of GST and Speed Post charges), notified on 1 January 2026. This is the first revision since the service launched in 2020. Every complaint, RTI application, and calculation of “total cost of the mistake” in 2026 must use Rs 75 - quoting the old Rs 50 will mark your paperwork as out of date and can let the authority reply that your figures are wrong. The Rs 75 is a single inclusive charge: there is no separate GST line, no separate Speed Post charge, and no faster paid lane. Anyone offering “express Aadhaar card delivery” for Rs 200 or more is selling you nothing.

2. The SRN is 14 digits, not 28. UIDAI's own FAQ defines the Service Request Number as “14 digits”. Older guides and forum posts that mention a “28-digit SRN” are simply wrong. When you file an RTI or a grievance, quote the full 14-digit SRN exactly as it appeared in the SMS - it is the only key UIDAI uses to locate your order.

Before you reach for the RTI, run through the cheaper, faster steps. Use the RTI only when the trail goes silent or the authority stonewalls. The Department of Posts and UIDAI are both Central public authorities, so you file with the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the relevant authority, and the Central RTI fee of Rs 10 applies (offline); through the Central RTI portal (rtionline.gov.in) the fee is Rs 10 with no fee for BPL applicants.

1. Step 1 - Gather your keys. Collect three things before anything else: the 14-digit SRN, the Speed Post consignment (AWB) number from the dispatch SMS, and the date of order. Without the SRN, UIDAI cannot locate the order; without the AWB, the Department of Posts cannot locate the consignment. Search your SMS and email for “SRN” and for the AWB number.
2. Step 2 - Track on both portals. Check the SRN on myAadhaar under “Check Aadhaar PVC Card Status” to confirm the stage (under process, printed, dispatched). If dispatched, track the AWB on indiapost.gov.in. Note the last scan location and date. This tells you which authority now holds the problem.
3. Step 3 - File the non-RTI grievance first. Register a complaint on the India Post portal (indiapost.gov.in/VAS/Pages/complaintregistration.aspx) quoting the consignment number, booking date, and complaint type “non-delivery” or “misdelivery”. In parallel, raise a UIDAI grievance through 1947, the Udai chatbot, or the grievance section on myAadhaar. Keep the complaint reference numbers. RTI is a record-extraction tool, not a complaint channel - the law expects you to try the complaint route first.
4. Step 4 - Identify the CPIO and the Central vs State question. Both UIDAI and the Department of Posts are Central, so there is no State PIO question here - you deal with the Central CPIO of each. For UIDAI, the CPIO is at the UIDAI Headquarters, Bengaluru, or the relevant Regional Office; for the Department of Posts, the CPIO is the Senior Superintendent/Superintendent of Post Offices of the division where the delivery post office sits (or the Chief Postmaster General of the Circle for escalation). The Central RTI fee of Rs 10 applies to both.
5. Step 5 - File the two RTI applications. File one RTI with UIDAI asking for the dispatch record against the SRN, and one RTI with the Department of Posts asking for the delivery record against the AWB. The two applications are separate, with separate Rs 10 fees, because the two authorities hold different records. Use the Central RTI portal (rtionline.gov.in) for both - it is faster, leaves a digital trail, and auto-generates the registration number. For the broader mechanics, see RTI for beginners.
6. Step 6 - Wait 30 days, then appeal. Under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, the CPIO must reply within 30 days. If the reply is silent, partial, or wrong, file a First Appeal under Section 19(1) with the designated First Appellate Authority of the same department within 30 days of the CPIO's reply deadline. Only after the First Appeal fails do you approach the Central Information Commission.

Sample questions for the UIDAI RTI (quote your SRN and order date):

1. “Provide the date on which my Aadhaar PVC Card order with SRN [number] was handed over to the Department of Posts, and the Airway Bill / consignment number under which it was dispatched.”
2. “Provide the address printed on the PVC card and the Speed Post envelope for order SRN [number], as held in the Aadhaar database on the date of order.”
3. “Provide the status of my grievance reference [number] regarding non-delivery of PVC card order SRN [number].”

Sample questions for the Department of Posts RTI (quote your AWB):

1. “Provide the complete delivery record for Speed Post consignment number [AWB], including the date, time and post office of delivery, and the name and signature of the person who received the article.”
2. “Provide the name and designation of the postman / delivery staff who delivered consignment number [AWB].”
3. “State whether the article was delivered to the addressee personally or to a representative, and on what basis the representative's identity was accepted.”

1. A printout of the myAadhaar “Check Aadhaar PVC Card Status” screen showing the SRN and current stage.
2. The SMS containing the SRN, and the SMS containing the AWB / consignment number (screenshots are fine).
3. The India Post tracking page showing every scan and the final delivery status.
4. The India Post online complaint reference number and any reply received.
5. The UIDAI grievance reference number and any reply received.
6. Proof of payment of Rs 75 (the UPI / card / net banking confirmation).
7. For BPL applicants seeking the fee waiver: a copy of the BPL certificate.
8. For the Department of Posts RTI, the pincode and address of the delivery post office as shown in tracking.

1. Ordering before updating a stale address. The card prints the Aadhaar-held address on order day. If you have moved, update the address first, wait for it to reflect, then order. Reordering to the same old address is the single most common - and most expensive - mistake. Remedy: an online address update with an acceptable Proof of Address.
2. Quoting the old Rs 50 fee in 2026 paperwork. The fee is Rs 75 since 1 January 2026. A complaint or RTI that says “I paid Rs 50” when you paid Rs 75 (or vice versa) makes your paperwork internally inconsistent. Always use Rs 75 for 2026 orders.
3. Treating the SRN as 28 digits. It is 14 digits. Quoting a wrong-length SRN guarantees UIDAI cannot locate your order.
4. Filing only one RTI. UIDAI does not hold the delivery record; the Department of Posts does not hold the print/dispatch record. Filing one RTI and expecting it to cover both authorities wastes 30 days.
5. Asking the RTI for a reprint. The RTI Act gives you records and information, not a service. An RTI will not get you a fresh PVC card. Pair the RTI with a fresh Rs 75 order if the card is genuinely lost.
6. Paying an “agent” for express delivery. There is no express lane. Anyone charging Rs 200-plus for “fast Aadhaar card delivery” is running a scam. The Rs 75 paid on myAadhaar is the only legitimate charge.
7. Skipping the grievance and jumping straight to RTI. The 1947 helpline, the Udai chatbot, the UIDAI grievance portal, and the India Post complaint portal often resolve the matter in days. Skipping them means your First Appeal is weaker, because the appellate authority will ask why you did not use the available channels first.
8. Letting the 30-day appeal clock slip. If the CPIO does not reply within 30 days, or replies unsatisfactorily, you have 30 days from that point to file the First Appeal under Section 19(1). Miss it and the Central Information Commission route narrows.
9. Forgetting that the e-Aadhaar remains valid. While you chase the PVC card, the e-Aadhaar PDF and the mAadhaar app remain fully valid. No bank, LPG agency, or office can force you to wait for the plastic card. See Aadhaar as an identity anchor when a mismatch is the real problem.

Below is a template for the Department of Posts RTI (the delivery record). Adapt the same structure for UIDAI, replacing the AWB with the SRN and asking for the dispatch record instead.

To the Central Public Information Officer,
Office of the Senior Superintendent of Post Offices,
[Division], [Circle] - [PINCODE]

Sub: Application under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005
for the delivery record of Speed Post consignment number [AWB number].

Sir/Madam,

I, [full name], resident of [full address with pincode], hereby request the
following information under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005,
pertaining to Speed Post consignment number [AWB number], booked by UIDAI and
addressed to [address on the article]:

1. The date, time and post office at which the article was delivered.
2. The name and signature of the person who received the article, and the
   relationship (if any) to the addressee.
3. The name and designation of the delivery staff who handed over the article.
4. Whether the article was delivered to the addressee personally or to a
   representative, and the basis on which the representative's identity was
   accepted.
5. A certified copy of the delivery record / proof of delivery for the article.

I state that the information sought is of larger public interest and that I am
an Indian citizen. I am filing this application in my personal capacity. The
information sought cannot be denied under any of the exemptions in Section 8
or Section 9 of the Act.

As the information pertains to the life and liberty of a person (potential
misuse of a delivered identity document), I request that it be provided within
48 hours as provided under the proviso to Section 7(1); failing that, within
30 days as provided under Section 7(1).

I have deposited the application fee of Rs 10 by [mode - Indian Postal Order
bearing number / online payment receipt number / court-fee stamp]. I am / am
not a BPL applicant [strike out as applicable; if BPL, attach BPL certificate].

If the information is denied, I propose to file a First Appeal under Section
19(1) of the Act.

Date: [date]
Place: [place]

[Signature]
[Name]
[Address]
[Mobile / Email]

For the UIDAI RTI, use the same skeleton but address it to the CPIO, UIDAI Headquarters (or the relevant Regional Office), change the subject to “dispatch record of Aadhaar PVC Card order SRN [number]”, and ask for: the date of handover to the Department of Posts, the AWB / consignment number, the address printed on the card and envelope, and the status of any grievance reference. The fee and the statutory timelines are identical.

If you would rather have the letter drafted and checked before you send it, the AI RTI draft tool at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/ai-rti-draft-app.html builds the application from your facts, and the PIO reply checker at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/pio-reply-checker-app.html reviews the reply you get back for defects worth appealing. To compute the exact deadlines for the 30-day reply and the 30-day First Appeal, use the timeline calculator at https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/timeline-calculator-app.html .

UIDAI hands the printed card to the Department of Posts within 5 working days of the order (excluding the date of request). Speed Post thereafter delivers it as per normal Speed Post norms, which vary by pincode - typically a few days to metro and Tier-1 areas, longer to remote pincodes. If nothing moves for three weeks total, escalate.

Yes. The order form on myAadhaar accepts a non-registered mobile number for the OTP. You will not see the card preview, but the order, the SRN, and the SMS tracking all work normally. This is useful when your mobile number update is still pending at an enrolment centre.

No. The address is printed on the card and on the Speed Post envelope at the time of order, and India Post delivers to the addressed location. Update your Aadhaar address on myAadhaar, wait for it to reflect, then reorder for Rs 75. Reordering to the same stale address is the most common repeat mistake.

Get the exact delivery date, time and delivery post office from the India Post tracking page, then register a complaint on indiapost.gov.in quoting the consignment number and complaint type “misdelivery” or “non-delivery”. Ask specifically for the delivery record, which names the receiver. Cards are often left with guards, neighbours or family members. If the post office does not share the record, file an RTI with the Department of Posts CPIO as described above.

UIDAI does not publish an explicit refund route for lost or misdelivered PVC cards. In practice the remedy is a documented complaint trail (1947, Udai chatbot, UIDAI grievance portal, India Post complaint, and CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in) plus a fresh Rs 75 order if the card is genuinely lost. Keep every reference number - if a refund or redress option is offered later, the trail is your evidence.

No. The e-Aadhaar PDF, the mAadhaar app, and the PVC card carry equal legal validity. If an office rejects your e-Aadhaar printout while accepting a PVC card, that is the office's error, not a document problem. No service should be blocked while you wait for the plastic card.

Yes. Each card is a separate Rs 75 order against each Aadhaar number, and one mobile number can receive the OTPs for multiple orders. Save each SRN separately, because tracking is per card - one SRN per order, one AWB per dispatch.

Get the India Post delivery record first - it names the receiver. If you suspect misuse, lock your biometrics on myAadhaar immediately, and watch your bank accounts for any AePS or Aadhaar-authenticated debit. Our guide on AePS unauthorised withdrawals covers the response if money moves. The delivery record from the Department of Posts RTI is your evidence that you did not receive the card yourself.

Online, through the Central RTI portal at rtionline.gov.in, is faster and leaves a digital trail. Both UIDAI and the Department of Posts are Central authorities, so the portal covers both. The fee is Rs 10, paid online; BPL applicants pay nothing. The statutory 30-day clock under Section 7(1) runs from the date the CPIO receives the application. For the broader how-to, see RTI for a stuck Aadhaar service and RTI for Aadhaar update delay.

File the First Appeal under Section 19(1) with the designated First Appellate Authority of each department. If that too fails, approach the Central Information Commission. In parallel, file a grievance on CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in, which covers both UIDAI and the Department of Posts and is monitored at the Directorate level. For postal escalation, the ladder runs: Postmaster of the booking office, then Senior Superintendent/Superintendent of Post Offices (division), then Postmaster General (region), then Chief Postmaster General of the Circle, then the Postal Directorate (DDG-PG, Dak Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi-110001). See rti-fees-by-state for the fee position if you ever need a State postal authority instead.

1. UIDAI - Order Aadhaar PVC Card Online FAQ (fee, 14-digit SRN, 5-working-day handover, AWB/SMS tracking, non-registered mobile, address fixed at order): https://uidai.gov.in/en/1024-english-uk/faqs/aadhaar-online-services/order-aadhaar-pvc-card-online.html
2. UIDAI - Office Memorandum revising PVC card charge from Rs 50 to Rs 75 inclusive of taxes, notified 1 January 2026: https://uidai.gov.in/en/circulars-memorandums-notification/19574-office-memorandum-regarding-revision-of-rate-of-aadhaar-pvc-card-service-from-50-to-75-including-taxes.html
3. UIDAI - Contact and grievance redressal (toll-free 1947, 24×7 IVRS, 12-language live agent hours, Udai chatbot, 8 grievance channels): https://uidai.gov.in/en/contact-support/grievance-redressal.html
4. UIDAI - About UIDAI (statutory authority under the Aadhaar Act 2016, under MeitY): https://uidai.gov.in/en/about-uidai/unique-identification-authority-of-india
5. MeitY - UIDAI page: https://www.meity.gov.in/uidai
6. Aadhaar Act 2016 - India Code repository: https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/2160
7. Department of Posts / India Post - online complaint registration: https://indiapost.gov.in/VAS/Pages/complaintregistration.aspx
8. India Post - Speed Post complaints and escalation ladder: https://indiapost.gov.in/VAS/Pages/CustomerSupport/SpeedPostComplaints.aspx
9. CPGRAMS - pgportal.gov.in (covers UIDAI and Department of Posts): https://www.pgportal.gov.in/
10. Right to Information Act, 2005 - India Code repository (Sections 6(1), 7(1), 10, 19(1)): https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/2531
11. Central RTI Online portal (rtionline.gov.in, Rs 10 fee, BPL waiver): https://www.rtionline.gov.in

1. Aadhaar address update rejected for lack of rental proof - the remedy to fix a stale address before reordering the PVC card.
2. Aadhaar mobile number update delayed at the enrolment centre - relevant when you must order the PVC card with a non-registered mobile.
3. AePS unauthorised withdrawal from your account - what to do if a misdelivered card is misused.
4. Aadhaar update history for bank or court proof - the proof-of-address and update trail you may need alongside the PVC card.
5. Aadhaar date of birth correction limit exhausted - the Aadhaar data-correction limits that can block an address fix.
6. Name mismatch across Aadhaar, PAN, passport and bank - correction sequence - Aadhaar as the identity anchor when documents disagree.
7. RTI for a stuck Aadhaar service - the RTI-for lane for any stalled Aadhaar service, including PVC card orders.
8. RTI for Aadhaar update delay in 2026 - current-year framing for Aadhaar service delays.

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*This guide explains the PVC card order and delivery flow, the grievance channels, and the RTI route to extract records from UIDAI and the Department of Posts. It is not legal advice. If your card is genuinely lost, pair the RTI with a fresh Rs 75 order; the e-Aadhaar and mAadhaar remain valid throughout, so no service is blocked while you act.*

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