How-to Aadhaar KYC UIDAI

How to download a masked Aadhaar for KYC

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated 19 June 2026. Reading time ~8 min.

Procedure

Open the Download Aadhaar serviceVisit myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in and open the Download Aadhaar service, or go directly to the Download Aadhaar page. You can also use the mAadhaar mobile app.
Enter your Aadhaar number and captchaChoose to download by Aadhaar number, enter the 12-digit number, and complete the captcha. You can also download using an Enrolment ID or a Virtual ID.
Tick the masked Aadhaar optionSelect the option for a masked Aadhaar, presented as Do you want a masked Aadhaar, before requesting the OTP. This is what replaces the first 8 digits with xxxx-xxxx in the downloaded file.
Request and enter the OTPClick to send an OTP. UIDAI delivers a 6-digit OTP to your Aadhaar-registered mobile number. Enter it and submit.
Download the PDFThe masked e-Aadhaar downloads as a password-protected PDF. Save it to the device from which you will upload to the KYC form.
Open the PDF with the share-code passwordThe password is the first 4 letters of your name in capitals followed by your year of birth in YYYY. For RIA born 1990 the password is RIA1990; for SURESH born 1985 it is SURE1985.

A masked Aadhaar is the version of your e-Aadhaar that hides the first eight digits of the 12-digit Aadhaar number, showing only the last four, while keeping your name, photograph, address, and the QR code intact. UIDAI offers it as a privacy feature for exactly the situation an investor meets during onboarding: a broker or AMC needs to confirm your identity, but it does not need your full Aadhaar number sitting in plain text in its records. This guide walks the current myAadhaar download flow, explains why masking is the safer choice for KYC, and gives the PDF password format that trips up first-time downloaders.

The document is accepted wherever a self-attested Aadhaar copy is asked for in Indian KYC , including the documents required to open a Zerodha account and mutual fund onboarding. Because the first eight digits are blanked, a masked copy limits the exposure if the file is mishandled downstream, while still proving the same identity, name, photo, and address, that the full e-Aadhaar proves.

Conflict-of-interest disclosure. This guide is published by WebNotes Editorial Team for informational purposes. WebNotes has no commercial relationship with UIDAI or any KYC service provider. No affiliate commission is earned from successful completion of the procedure.

Step-by-step procedure

The numbered procedure in the infobox above is the canonical flow. The sections below expand each step with the exact myAadhaar labels and the password mechanics. The whole download takes under five minutes once the OTP arrives.

1. Open the Download Aadhaar service

Go to the myAadhaar portal at myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in and open the Download Aadhaar service. UIDAI also exposes a direct Download Aadhaar page, and the mAadhaar app on Android and iOS offers the same download. Use whichever you have; the masking option and the OTP step are the same across all three.

2. Enter your Aadhaar number and captcha

UIDAI lets you download in three ways: by Aadhaar number, by Enrolment ID, or by Virtual ID. Choose by Aadhaar number for the usual case, enter your 12-digit number, and complete the captcha that confirms you are not a bot. The Virtual ID route is worth knowing if you would rather not enter the full Aadhaar number at all, since the VID is a temporary 16-digit token mapped to your Aadhaar.

3. Tick the masked Aadhaar option

This is the step that produces a masked file rather than a full one. Before you request the OTP, select the masked Aadhaar option, which UIDAI presents as a question along the lines of Do you want a masked Aadhaar. Tick it. If you skip this, the download returns a full e-Aadhaar with all 12 digits visible, which is exactly what you are trying to avoid for KYC. Masking replaces the first eight digits with xxxx-xxxx and leaves only the last four readable.

4. Request and enter the OTP

Click to send an OTP. UIDAI delivers a 6-digit one-time password to the mobile number registered against your Aadhaar. Enter it and submit. If no OTP arrives, the linked mobile is the likely problem; UIDAI does not deliver the download OTP to any number other than the registered one.

5. Download the PDF

On successful OTP validation, the masked e-Aadhaar downloads as a PDF. Save it to the same device from which you will upload it to the broker or AMC KYC form, so you do not have to transfer the file around. The masked PDF carries the same QR code and demographic data as the full version, so it verifies identically when scanned.

The downloaded e-Aadhaar PDF is password-protected, and the password is not your Aadhaar number. It is an 8-character share code: the first four letters of your name in capital letters, followed by your year of birth in YYYY format. UIDAI’s own example is the name RIA born in 1990, giving the password RIA1990. For a longer name such as SURESH born in 1985, take the first four letters, giving SURE1985. For a name shorter than four letters, use the whole name plus the year. Type this when the PDF prompts for a password.

Why a masked Aadhaar is preferred for KYC

The case for masking is data minimisation. An Aadhaar number is a lifelong identifier, and once it sits in full in a third party’s file, it cannot be recalled. A masked copy gives the verifier everything KYC actually requires, your name, photograph, address, and a scannable QR code, while withholding the eight digits that would let the number be reused or correlated across databases. UIDAI built the masked download for precisely this trade-off: prove identity, expose less.

For securities onboarding the masked copy is sufficient because the broker authenticates Aadhaar through the QR or through a separate Aadhaar OTP eKYC pull, not by transcribing the visible digits. The full number is not needed in the uploaded image. Using the masked version is a small habit that reduces how many copies of your full Aadhaar number circulate, which matters because UIDAI itself advises against sharing the full number where the last four digits suffice.

Masked Aadhaar versus full e-Aadhaar and the QR

A full e-Aadhaar shows all 12 digits; a masked e-Aadhaar shows xxxx-xxxx-1234, where 1234 stands for your real last four. Everything else is identical: same name, same date of birth, same address, same photograph, same secure QR code, and the same offline XML verifiability. The difference is only the visible digit string. Some KYC forms still ask for the full number to be typed separately while accepting the masked image as the document, which is fine, the typed field and the uploaded image serve different checks. Where the form accepts a masked upload, prefer it. The masked file is the same legal proof of identity as the full one under the Aadhaar framework.

What can go wrong

OTP never arrives. UIDAI sends the download OTP only to the Aadhaar-registered mobile. If yours is outdated, update it at an Aadhaar enrolment centre before retrying; there is no way to redirect the OTP to a different number online.
You forgot to tick the masking option. The masking choice sits before the OTP step. If you downloaded a full e-Aadhaar by mistake, repeat the flow and tick the masked option this time.
The PDF password is rejected. The password is the first four letters of your name in capitals plus the birth year, not the Aadhaar number and not a date. For a three-letter name, use the whole name plus the year. Check that your name on Aadhaar matches what you are typing; a middle name can change which four letters apply.
The broker rejects the masked copy. A few forms still require the full e-Aadhaar. If a masked upload is refused, download the full version through the same flow without ticking the masking option, and confirm the requirement against the documents required to open a Zerodha account .
Name on the masked copy does not match PAN. A KYC name-match runs across PAN, Aadhaar, and bank records; align them before upload. See how to find your name and date of birth as per PAN .

External references

References

UIDAI, What is Masked Aadhaar, uidai.gov.in (as of 19 June 2026); masking replaces the first 8 digits with xxxx-xxxx, leaving the last 4 visible.
UIDAI, What is the password of e-Aadhaar, uidai.gov.in (as of 19 June 2026); password is the first 4 letters of the name in capitals plus year of birth (YYYY).
The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, on Aadhaar as proof of identity.

Reviewed and published by

WebNotes Editorial Team

The WebNotes Editorial Team covers Indian capital markets, payments infrastructure and retail investor procedures. Every article is fact-checked against primary sources, principally SEBI circulars and master directions, NPCI specifications and the official support documentation published by the intermediary in question. Drafts go through a second-pair-of-eyes review and a separate compliance read before publication, and revisions are tracked against the SEBI and NPCI rule changes referenced in the methodology section.

Last reviewed: 19 June 2026
Conflicts of interest: WebNotes is independent. No relationship with any broker, registrar or bank named in this article.

Time required	Under 5 minutes
Cost	Free
Portal	myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in (Download Aadhaar service)
Documents needed	Aadhaar number and the Aadhaar-registered mobile for OTP