Aadhaar No Longer Valid As Birth Proof for EPFO

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has officially excluded Aadhaar from the list of acceptable documents for proof of date of birth (DoB). This decision comes in response to a directive from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which oversees Aadhaar.

UIDAI pointed out that various entities, including EPFO, had been considering Aadhaar as proof of DoB. However, UIDAI clarified that while Aadhaar serves as a unique identifier, it does not qualify as proof of date of birth under the Aadhaar Act, 2016. The authority highlighted that Aadhaar records the claimed date of birth based on the documents submitted during enrolment or update, as specified on the UIDAI website.

UIDAI referred to an office memorandum dated December 20, 2018, issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), stating that "An Aadhaar number can be used for establishing identity of an individual subject to authentication and thereby, per se its not a proof of date of birth."

In alignment with UIDAI's stance, EPFO emphasized that Aadhaar should not be considered proof of date of birth. The decision received approval from the Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC).

EPFO outlined the documents now considered valid for establishing date of birth, including a Birth Certificate issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, Marksheet from a recognized Government Board or University, School Leaving Certificate (SLC)/ School Transfer Certificate (TC)/ SSC certificate containing Name and Date of Birth, Certificate based on service records, PAN, Central/State Pension Payment Order, and Domicile Certificate issued by the Government.

In cases where the above proofs are unavailable, EPFO will accept a medical certificate issued by a Civil Surgeon after a medical examination, supported by an affidavit on oath by the member duly authenticated by a Competent Court.