The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), under the Ministry of Labour and Employment of the Government of India, has announced that it will no longer accept the Aadhaar card as valid proof of date of birth. The decision, approved by the Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC), was communicated through a circular (No: WSU/2024/1/UIDAI Matter/4090) issued on Tuesday.
This move follows a directive from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). According to UIDAI’s directive (Circular No. 08 of 2023), the Aadhaar card, while a unique identifier, is not recognized as proof of date of birth as per the Aadhaar Act, 2016. UIDAI clarified that Aadhaar serves as a proof of identity, not proof of birth.
In response to UIDAI’s directive, EPFO has removed Aadhaar from the list of acceptable documents for correcting date of birth. The circular highlighted that this change pertains to Table-B of Annexure-1 of the Joint Declaration SOP issued earlier.
To align with the updated guidelines, necessary modifications will be made in EPFO’s application software by the Internal System Division (ISD). EPFO has instructed all its zonal and regional offices to ensure widespread implementation of the latest guidelines.
Recent court judgments, including one by the Bombay High Court, have reinforced that Aadhaar cannot be considered as proof of date of birth.
The following documents are now valid as proof of Date of Birth for EPFO:
- Birth Certificate issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths
- Marksheet issued by any recognised Government Board or University
- School Leaving Certificate (SLC)/ School Transfer Certificate (TC)/ SSC certificate containing Name and Date of Birth
- Certificate based on the service records
- PAN card
- Central/State Pension Payment Order
- Domicile Certificate issued by the Government
- Medical certificate issued by Civil Surgeon after examining the member medically and supported with an affidavit on oath by the member duly authenticated by a competent court.
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