What is the password for the e-Aadhaar PDF?
By the PdfDady team · Updated · 7 min read
The password for an e-Aadhaar PDF is eight characters: the first four letters of your name in CAPITAL letters, followed by your year of birth (YYYY). For Suresh Kumar, born in 1990, it is SURE1990. That is UIDAI's own rule and its own example.
If that opens your file, you are done. If it does not, the problem is almost always in how the name is counted, and the examples below should sort it out. Later in this guide we also cover how to save a copy that opens without a password, using our Unlock PDF tool, for when you are tired of typing it at every print shop.
UIDAI's rule, with its four examples
UIDAI's FAQ states that the password is "a combination of the first 4 letters of name in CAPITAL and the year of birth (YYYY)", and gives four examples. They are worth reading closely, because each one answers a different doubt.
| Name on Aadhaar | Year of birth | Password | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| SURESH KUMAR | 1990 | SURE1990 | The normal case |
| SAI KUMAR | 1990 | SAIK1990 | A space is skipped, so the fourth letter comes from the next word |
| P. KUMAR | 1990 | P.KU1990 | A full stop counts as a character |
| RIA | 1990 | RIA1990 | A name shorter than four letters is used in full |
So the rule is really "the first four characters of the name as printed, ignoring spaces". Spaces do not count. Dots do. And if the whole name has only three letters, the password is seven characters long, not eight.
The mistakes that cause "incorrect password"
Typing lowercase letters. PDF passwords are case-sensitive. sure1990 will not open a file that expects SURE1990. On a phone, check that autocapitalisation has not left you with Sure1990.
Using your full date of birth. Only the year is used. Not SURE15081990, not SURE150890.
Using the name you go by instead of the name on the Aadhaar. The password is built from the name exactly as UIDAI has it. If your Aadhaar says "MOHAMMED IRFAN" and you type IRFA, it fails. If it carries an initial first, such as "K. LAKSHMI", the password starts with K.LA.
Dropping the dot after an initial. In UIDAI's example, "P. KUMAR" becomes P.KU, with the dot kept and the space removed.
Adding a space or a symbol between the letters and the year. There is nothing between them.
Using the wrong year. The year comes from the Aadhaar record. If your Aadhaar shows a different year of birth from your other documents, the Aadhaar one is what the file uses.
Opening a file that belongs to someone else. If you are helping a parent, the password is their name and their year of birth, not yours.
If you have checked all of these and the file still will not open, download a fresh copy from the myAadhaar portal and look at the name printed on it. The freshly downloaded file follows the same rule, and it shows you the name exactly as UIDAI holds it.
Where the file comes from
You download e-Aadhaar from UIDAI's myAadhaar portal or the Aadhaar mobile app, using your Aadhaar number, enrolment number or Virtual ID, and an OTP sent to the mobile number registered with your Aadhaar. UIDAI describes the file as "a password protected electronic copy of Aadhaar, digitally signed by UIDAI", and says it is equally valid as the physical copy.
You cannot choose or change this password. It is set by the rule above each time the file is generated.
UIDAI recommends Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing the file and for checking its digital signature. Most phone PDF viewers and browsers will also open it once you enter the password, though they may not show the signature status.
Saving a copy that opens without the password
The password is a nuisance in a few everyday situations: a print shop's computer, a portal that rejects protected PDFs, or a family member who cannot remember the format. If you know the password, you can save an unprotected copy.
- Open the Unlock PDF tool and add your e-Aadhaar file.
- Type the password. It is checked in your browser, and neither the file nor the password is uploaded or stored.
- Download
unlocked.pdf. It opens without asking for anything. Your original file is not changed.
Three things to know before you do this.
The digital signature will show as invalid on the unlocked copy. The tool rewrites the file without encryption, and any rewrite breaks a signature check. The pages, text and photo are unchanged, but a verifier who checks the signature will not see UIDAI's green tick on this copy. Keep the original download for anyone who needs the signed file, and use the unlocked one for printing.
You must know the password. The tool does not guess or recover passwords, and we would not trust one that claims to. If you have truly lost track of it, the fix is the rule above or a fresh download.
An unprotected Aadhaar is easier to misuse. Anyone who gets the file can open it. Do not leave it in a shared Downloads folder or on a cyber cafe computer, and delete it from any machine that is not yours once the printing is done.
Printing after you have opened it
For a plain copy, print the PDF on A4 as it is.
If you want the card-sized front and back on one sheet, like a photocopy of a card, convert the page to an image with PDF to JPG at 300 DPI (it accepts the password directly, so you do not even need to unlock first), then arrange the two sides with our Aadhaar front and back on A4 tool. The full walkthrough is in how to print Aadhaar front and back on A4.
If the copy is going to a hotel desk, a landlord or a WhatsApp chat, think about whether they need the full number at all. See how to mask your Aadhaar number before sharing.
Questions people ask
Is the e-Aadhaar password the same for masked Aadhaar?
UIDAI's FAQ gives one password rule for e-Aadhaar, and masked Aadhaar is an option within e-Aadhaar (the same download with the first eight digits of the number hidden). So use the same format: first four letters of the name in capitals, then the year of birth.
My name has only two or three letters. What do I type?
Going by UIDAI's "RIA" example, the name is used in full and the year follows, so the password is shorter than eight characters. If your Aadhaar name has more than one word, the spaces are skipped and letters from the next word are used, as in "SAI KUMAR" becoming SAIK1990.
Can I change the password to something of my own?
Not on the file UIDAI gives you. If you want your own password on a copy, remove the original password first and then add a new one with a PDF protection tool. Remember that this copy will no longer carry a valid UIDAI signature.
I forgot the mobile number linked to my Aadhaar. Can I still download the file?
The download needs an OTP on the registered mobile number. If that number is no longer with you, you will need to update it through UIDAI's own process. No third-party tool can get around that step, and you should be wary of any that claims to.
Does PdfDady see my password or my Aadhaar?
No. Unlocking runs in your browser. The file is not uploaded, and the password is not stored or sent anywhere. PdfDady is independent and not affiliated with UIDAI.