What Aadhaar (Aadhar) Work Can a Cyber Café or CSC Do, and What Not?

What does the customer need, and who can do it?

Start with what the customer actually wants. The answer decides whether you can help at your counter or must send them to an Aadhaar centre.

What can each kind of outlet do?

In our experience, what you may do depends on the authorisation you hold, not on the name over the shop:

Source: our counter team's experience (15 Oct 2026). UIDAI has no simple list like this that we could find, so check with 1947 or your UIDAI Regional Office if you are unsure.

A bit of history. News reports say UIDAI ended its tie-up with CSC e-Governance in 2018. In 2020 about 20,000 CSCs that work as bank correspondents were allowed to do demographic updates only. We could not confirm the position in 2026 from UIDAI's own pages.

New Aadhaar for adults: since 1 December 2022, adult enrolments are taken only at designated centres: Aadhaar Seva Kendras, CSC state and district centres, and designated Post Office, Railway, Ministry and State Registrar centres. Adult packets from other centres are rejected. Child enrolment has no such limit.

How do you download and print e-Aadhaar the right way at the counter?

Downloading e-Aadhaar is free on UIDAI's site. Every download needs the Aadhaar number, EID or VID plus an OTP sent to the customer's registered mobile. Follow these steps.

1. Check the customer is present with the registered mobile

   The OTP goes only to the mobile linked to that Aadhaar. Not sure which number it is? Use Verify Email/Mobile Number on myAadhaar to check.

   No registered mobile? You can't download it. Send the customer to an Aadhaar centre (options here).

2. Open only the official site

   Type myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in yourself and open the e-Aadhaar download service. Never use look-alike sites or links from WhatsApp.

3. Let the customer type the OTP

   Let the customer read the OTP on their own phone and type it, or read it out across the counter. Never ask for an OTP on a phone call, and never write it down.

4. Download a masked copy when you can

   A masked Aadhaar shows only the last 4 digits. It is available only as e-Aadhaar (e-Aadhaar vs PVC vs masked). In our experience it is accepted almost everywhere, but not at the passport office (this can vary).

5. Open the PDF with the password

   The password is the first 4 letters of the English name in CAPITALS plus the year of birth, for example SURE1990. Use our PDF password helper for names with dots or spaces.

6. Validate the signature, then print

   Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader and validate UIDAI's digital signature until it shows a green tick.

   You'll know it worked when you see a green tick. Step-by-step signature guide.

7. Delete the file before the next customer

   Follow the checklist below: PDF deleted, Downloads folder and Recycle Bin emptied.

For comparison: a biometric-verified print at an Aadhaar centre costs ₹30–₹40 (UIDAI's own Seva Kendras list ₹40). In our experience ₹30–50 is a fair shop charge for a printout (this can vary).

Can you keep copies of customers' Aadhaar?

No, not as a habit. Keep nothing you don't need. Here is what is known:

• 2022: a UIDAI advisory asked for all Aadhaar copies at cafés and kiosks to be deleted. It was withdrawn within days, as news reports noted.
• December 2025: while pushing businesses to register as offline verification entities (OVSE), UIDAI reportedly said that storing photocopies breaks the Aadhaar Act. Hotels and similar businesses are expected to register as OVSE and verify through the Aadhaar App instead.
• In practice it's mixed. At our counter we see some places, such as hotels, scan the QR code while others still take a photocopy.
• Copies get misused. In AePS fraud, the Aadhaar number often comes from a photocopy and the fingerprint is lifted from property documents or cloned. Cash is then withdrawn at a micro-ATM without any OTP. Tell customers they can lock their biometrics when they don't need them.
• VIDs: UIDAI says agencies must not store a customer's Virtual ID.

The Aadhaar Act has penalties for misuse. Two of them:

This is a summary, not legal advice.

Do and don't at the counter

What should you delete after every customer?

This is a suggested habit, not a UIDAI rule. Run through it before the next customer sits down:

• The e-Aadhaar PDF is deleted from Downloads, the desktop and any folder you saved it in.
• The Recycle Bin is emptied.
• No OTP is written on paper, saved in a file or kept in a chat.
• The browser has not saved the Aadhaar number in form history.
• Spoiled or extra prints are torn up, not thrown in the bin whole.
• No copy is left in the printer tray, scanner folder or on a pen drive.
• If the customer sent the PDF on WhatsApp or email, it is deleted from that chat and from the phone's downloads.
• No full Aadhaar number is kept in any register or extension unless you really need it.

Have cafés and shops been caught misusing Aadhaar?

Yes. Two cases from news reports:

• Bareilly, August 2025: a cyber café owner was arrested for forging Aadhaar and Ayushman cards.
• Bengaluru, November 2024: a DTP centre was caught creating Aadhaar using fake rent agreements.

Making or changing an Aadhaar card on a computer is never a "service". If a customer's details are wrong, the only fix is an official update: at an Aadhaar centre, or online or in the Aadhaar App for the details allowed there. To check a card someone hands you, scan its QR code with the Aadhaar App (how to verify an Aadhaar).

Is there a tool that saves retyping when the UIDAI site keeps failing?

At our counter, the UIDAI website is often slow or down. When it fails halfway, you type the Aadhaar number and the captcha again, and again. With a queue of customers, that wastes a lot of time. Anika Digital Seva publishes a Chrome extension for exactly this.

What are the official fees, and what if a customer is overcharged?

UIDAI says Aadhaar charges are the same at every centre. Fees for the cycle 1 Oct 2025 to 30 Sep 2028:

Full details: Aadhaar fees and charges. A café or CSC that only downloads and prints charges for its own printing and time. Tell the customer the amount before you start, and never present it as a UIDAI fee.

Overcharging is a real problem. People report being asked ₹200 for a ₹75 update. News reports say that if overcharging is proven, the operator is suspended and the registrar fined ₹50,000.

Customers can also file a complaint on myAadhaar. UIDAI's Citizen's Charter sets 30 days for resolving grievances. The full escalation steps are in our Aadhaar complaint guide.

What goes wrong at the counter, and how do you fix it?

Bottom line

A normal café or CSC can do downloads, prints and PVC orders well: the customer present, their own OTP, a validated signature, and every file deleted afterwards. Leave updates and enrolments to authorised centres, and charge fairly. For official help, UIDAI's free helpline is 1947.