How to Download Aadhaar (Aadhar) Without a Registered Mobile Number?

Which route is right for you?

At our counter we suggest these routes in this order. Start by checking which mobile is really linked. Sometimes the "lost" number is not the linked one at all.

Why can't you download e-Aadhaar without the registered mobile?

Every online download is confirmed with an OTP sent to the mobile registered with your Aadhaar. You can enter your Aadhaar number, Enrolment ID (EID) or Virtual ID (VID), but the OTP still goes to that one number. Without it, the download can't finish.

• myAadhaar and the Aadhaar App: the OTP goes to the registered mobile.
• DigiLocker and UMANG: they also confirm with an Aadhaar OTP on the registered mobile. So they don't help either.
• Email: a linked email can help you find a lost Aadhaar number or EID. It doesn't replace the mobile OTP for the download.

How do you check which mobile is linked to your Aadhaar?

At our counter we use the Verify Email/Mobile Number service on myAadhaar. You enter your Aadhaar number and a mobile number, and it tells you whether that number is the linked one.

• Found the number, and it still works? Download e-Aadhaar online. It's free.
• Don't know your Aadhaar number either? See find a lost Aadhaar number or EID. That needs a registered mobile or email; with neither, go to a centre.

Route 1: How do you update your mobile at a centre and then download?

This is the route we suggest first. It fixes the problem for good: every future Aadhaar OTP comes to your new number. It also works when your old SIM is lost or closed, because your fingerprint or iris replaces the old OTP.

1. Go to an Aadhaar centre

   Take your Aadhaar (or its number) and the phone with the new SIM. In our experience no document is needed for a mobile update.

2. Give your biometrics and pay ₹75

   The operator enters your new number and confirms it's you with your fingerprint or iris. Pay ₹75 and keep the slip: the number on it is what you use to track the update.

   If the centre asks for more than ₹75: that's not the official fee. Complain on 1947.

3. Wait for OTPs on the new number

   In our experience OTPs start coming on the new number within 1–2 days. UIDAI allows up to 30 days.

4. Download e-Aadhaar at home

   Open the official download page, enter your Aadhaar number, and type the OTP from your new number. The PDF password is the first 4 letters of your name in CAPITALS plus your year of birth (our PDF password helper works it out).

   You'll know it worked when the OTP arrives on your new number and the PDF opens with your password.

Full details: how to update your mobile number in Aadhaar and how to download e-Aadhaar.

The Aadhaar App can also update a mobile (₹75), but it sends an OTP to the old number too, if the app has one. With the old number lost or never linked, UIDAI says it's centre only.

Route 2: How do you get a biometric-verified e-Aadhaar print at a centre?

An Aadhaar centre can confirm your identity with your fingerprint or iris instead of an OTP, and print your e-Aadhaar. It's the quickest route when you need a copy the same day.

1. Ask for the print and the fee

   Say you need a biometric-verified e-Aadhaar print. The fee is ₹30–₹40: UIDAI's own Seva Kendras list ₹40, while older UIDAI pages and our counter say ₹30. Ask before you pay.

2. Give your fingerprint or iris

   This replaces the OTP. If your fingerprints don't match, try another finger or the iris.

3. Check and collect the print

   Check your name, photo, date of birth and address on the printout before you leave.

   You'll know it worked when you get a printed e-Aadhaar with your details on the same visit.

This gives you a paper copy only. Your mobile is still not linked, so next time you'll be stuck again. Add your mobile on the same visit if you can.

Route 3: Can you order a PVC card with a mobile that isn't registered?

Yes. UIDAI lets you take the OTP for a PVC card order on another mobile, such as a family member's. But no preview is shown, so you pay ₹75 without seeing what will be printed. We list it last for a reason.

• Wrong details: our team sometimes sees cards with wrong details ordered this way, because nobody saw a preview.
• No refund: in our experience the ₹75 isn't refunded if the card isn't delivered or comes back (this can vary).
• Time: UIDAI's PVC page says up to 30 days (an older UIDAI page says 10 working days); at our counter cards usually take 15–30 days.
• Acceptance: cards since Oct 2025 have no hologram. In our experience they are sometimes doubted, and the passport office may refuse them (this can vary).

Full steps and tracking: how to order an Aadhaar PVC card.

How do the routes compare on cost, time and acceptance?

Our customers care most about where each form is accepted, and about the price and how quickly they get it.

• Masked e-Aadhaar (only the last 4 digits shown) is accepted almost everywhere except for a passport, in our experience. You can download it only after your mobile works.
• Once you can download, a shop print of your e-Aadhaar costs about ₹30–50 in our experience (it can vary).

Full comparison: e-Aadhaar vs PVC vs masked.

Can you link a family member's mobile number instead?

Yes. In our experience a father's, mother's, son's or other family member's SIM can be linked to your Aadhaar without any problem. It's a good choice if you don't have your own phone.

• All your Aadhaar OTPs will then go to their phone. Choose someone you see often.
• In our experience one mobile can be linked to up to 9 Aadhaar numbers.
• No smartphone? Our customers use a family member's phone, a cyber café, or an Aadhaar centre.

What problems come up, and how do you fix them?

Which Aadhaar centre should you visit?

• For a mobile update: an Aadhaar Seva Kendra, a bank or post office Aadhaar centre, or a CSC running an authorised Aadhaar centre. A normal CSC or cyber café can download and print e-Aadhaar with your OTP, but can't update your mobile.
• Booking: free at bookappointment.uidai.gov.in for listed centres; others are walk-in only.
• Timings: Aadhaar Seva Kendras usually open on Sundays too. They close on only about 10 holidays a year, such as 26 January, 15 August and 2 October. The centre we visit works 9:30 am–1 pm and 2–5:30 pm, so avoid arriving at 1 pm.
• Doorstep option: India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) postmen can also update a mobile; IPPB lists this (₹75) at selected post offices. In our experience doorstep booking is unreliable; the postman often comes late or not at all. IPPB's general contact line is 155299. See Aadhaar services at home.

What to expect inside: Aadhaar centres: what to expect.

Find a centre bhuvan-app3.nrsc.gov.in

Bottom line

Without the registered mobile there is no online download. The lasting fix is a ₹75 mobile update at an Aadhaar centre, then a free download a day or two later. Need it today? Ask for a biometric-verified print (₹30–₹40). For help, call UIDAI's free helpline 1947.