On January 16, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) declared that the Aadhaar card will no longer be accepted as proof of date of birth. Following a decision from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the EPFO, which is part of the Ministry of Labour and Employment in the Government of India, advised the public that the Aadhaar Card is no longer an acceptable document for the date of birth.
As per the Directive from UIDAI (Circular No. 08 of 2023), the agency noted that some beneficiaries were using Aadhaar as evidence for their date of birth. However, despite being a unique identifier, Aadhaar is not officially acknowledged as valid proof of date of birth as per the Aadhaar Act of 2016.
The UIDAI underscored that Aadhaar serves as a means of identity verification rather than a document proving one’s date of birth.
In compliance with the UIDAI directive, the EPFO has excluded Aadhaar from the list of acceptable documents for rectifying the date of birth. This exclusion specifically applies to Table-B of Annexure-1 in the Joint Declaration SOP issued previously. The decision received approval from the Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC).
The Internal System Division (ISD) received instructions to implement necessary modifications in the application software to align with the updated guidelines.
The EPFO’s decision to no longer consider Aadhaar as proof of date of birth aligns with the UIDAI’s directive and conforms to the legal standpoint regarding Aadhaar’s limitations.
It was recommended that EPFO members and organizations that work with date of birth adjustments be informed of this modification.
Legal support for the UIDAI’s focus on Aadhaar’s function in identity verification rather than birth certificate verification strengthened the requirement for proper paperwork.
Aadhaar is not a reliable source of verification of date of birth, as stated in UIDAI’s circular, which cited the Aadhaar Act of 2016 and the laws that govern the enrollment and update processes.
Details
Valid proofs for the date of birth for EPFO include:
- Birth Certificate issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths
- Marksheet issued by any recognized Government Board or University
- School Leaving Certificate (SLC)/ School Transfer Certificate (TC)/ SSC certificate containing Name and Date of Birth
- Certificate based on the service records
- PAN card
- Central/ State Pension Payment Order
- Domicile Certificate issued by the Government
- Medical certificate issued by Civil Surgeon after examining the member medically and supported with an affidavit on oath by the member duly authenticated by a Competent Court.