Over 20 million Aadhaar IDs deactivated in nationwide cleanup drive

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has deactivated over 20 million Aadhaar numbers belonging to deceased individuals as part of a nationwide initiative to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the Aadhaar database. The clean-up effort is aimed at preventing identity misuse and ensuring that government benefits reach the rightful beneficiaries, the government said on Wednesday (26 Nov).

The authority carried out the drive sourcing deceased person data from government bodies like Registrar General of India (RGI), data from state and union territories governments, several central ministries and departments. UIDAI said it is also looking to collaborate with financial institutions and other such entities to get deceased persons' data.

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It clarified that no Aadhaar number can be reassigned to another individual. The clean-up process is carried out to ensure the identity of deceased persons is not misused in committing fraud and availing welfare schemes.

How to report death of a family member

The authority in the press release said that it had launched a facility earlier this year to report the death of a family member on the myAadhar portal. It is currently available across 25 states and Union territories using the Civil Registration System for reporting deaths; the process of integrating the remaining states with the portal is in progress.

The family member, after authenticating themselves, is required to provide their Aadhaar number and Death Registration Number along with other demographic details of the deceased person on the portal. After the due process of validation of the information submitted by the family member, the authority will take action on deactivate.

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UIDAI’s effort to remove Aadhaar numbers of deceased individuals began in 2024 and was scaled up through 2025. By mid-July this year, over 11.7 million had been deactivated, rising to about 14 million by September as the authority moved toward its year-end target of 20 million.