Aadhaar no longer valid as birth certificate in two major Indian states

The governments of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have announced that the Aadhaar card will no longer be accepted as a legal birth certificate or valid proof of date of birth.

In Uttar Pradesh, the state’s Planning Department instructed all government departments to stop treating Aadhaar as a birth-document, pointing out that Aadhaar does not contain an official birth certificate; thus it cannot serve as one.

In Maharashtra, the Revenue Department similarly declared that Aadhaar will no longer be accepted for issuing delayed birth certificates. It said that all birth certificates issued solely on the basis of Aadhaar especially after the enactment of the Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Act, 2023 will be cancelled.

The stated rationale behind the decision is that Aadhaar carries only basic identity information and biometric data, not verified birth-registration or hospital records. Accepting it as proof of birth made the system vulnerable to misuse or forging of certificates.

Moving forward, official processes that require verification of date of birth such as school admissions, job eligibility, government benefits, licences, or legal documentation must rely instead on valid birth certificates issued by hospitals or civic authorities, school certificates or marksheets containing DoB, or other formally recognised documents.

This change affects anyone who previously depended solely on Aadhaar for proof of birth date; they may now need to obtain proper birth documentation from municipal authorities, hospitals or educational institutions especially if their Aadhaar-based birth certificate was issued after mid-2023 and may now be subject to cancellation.