In a major administrative update, the governments of Uttar Pradesh Government and Maharashtra Government have issued directives that invalidate the use of Aadhaar card as standalone proof of date of birth or as a valid birth certificate. The move comes after renewed clarification from Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) that Aadhaar does not constitute a verified document for birth date verification.
Why the change was made
According to the directive from Uttar Pradesh’s Planning Department, signed by Special Secretary Amit Singh Bansal, Aadhaar lacks any attached birth certificate and thus cannot be treated as proof of date of birth for official procedures.
Officials also noted that for a large number of Aadhaar cards, especially older ones, the date of birth was self-declared or approximated during enrolment. Because the authorities never verified these dates against official birth records, accepting Aadhaar as a birth certificate risks misuse and identity fraud.
What the new rule means
From now on, all departments in Uttar Pradesh must reject Aadhaar as valid proof of birth date in contexts such as jobs, pensions, scholarships, admissions, and other services that require age verification. Only certified documents such as municipal birth certificates, hospital-issued birth records, or school mark sheets will be accepted.
Meanwhile in Maharashtra, the state’s revenue department has gone further: birth certificates that were issued solely on the basis of Aadhaar (after an amendment to the registration law in August 2023) are to be cancelled, and a strict 16-point verification guideline has been issued. Certificates found to be generated only on Aadhaar-based data will be struck off and removed from the civil registration system.
What triggered the crackdown
This decision comes in the wake of a clarification from UIDAI on October 31, 2025, affirming that an Aadhaar card does not meet standards required for establishing proof of birth. The Uttar Pradesh Planning Department circulated the new order on November 24, 2025.
Authorities say the change is aimed at curbing misuse of Aadhaar data including cases where mismatched or fraudulent birth dates have been used to obtain government jobs, benefits, or even to manipulate electoral rolls
What citizens and institutions need to do now
Residents who previously relied on Aadhaar for date-of-birth proof must obtain an officially issued birth certificate or another approved document before applying for any state services.
Government departments, educational institutions, and other official agencies should update their guidelines and stop accepting Aadhaar as valid DOB proof.
Birth certificates issued purely on Aadhaar data (in Maharashtra) may now be void individuals may need to re-apply using valid supporting documents.
