All India (central)✓ Source-checked 20 July 2026

Aadhaar enrolment for a child under 5 (Baal Aadhaar)

Also known as: Baal Aadhaar, blue Aadhaar, newborn Aadhaar, child Aadhaar card, Aadhaar for baby

Aadhaar enrolment for a child below five years. No fingerprints or iris are captured at this age — only a photograph — and the enrolment is linked to a parent's Aadhaar. It is free. The catch nobody tells you about is what comes later: the child's biometrics must be updated at 5 and again at 15, and skipping that can make the Aadhaar unusable.

Issued by: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
Official portal: UIDAI
You get: Aadhaar (child, under 5) — Valid for life
Offline options: Aadhaar Seva Kendra, Authorised Aadhaar enrolment centre (bank / post office / government premises)

Who can apply

Child is below 5 years of age — enrolment in this category captures demographics and a photograph only, with no fingerprints or iris
At least one parent or legal guardian must have an Aadhaar, be present, authenticate, and give written consent for the child's enrolment
Enrolment must be done physically at an authorised enrolment centre. There is no online-only route to enrol a child.

What it costs

New enrolmentUIDAI states plainly: 'New Enrolment is Free of charge.' An operator asking for money for a new child enrolment is overcharging you.

Free

Mandatory Biometric Update at 5 and at 15later — when the child turns 5 and 15Per UIDAI's published Aadhaar Update Charges: biometric update is FREE if done the first time between 5 and 7, and free if done the first or second time between 15 and 17. Done otherwise it is ₹125 — except that UIDAI has made it free between the ages of 7 and 15 until 30 September 2026. Note that UIDAI requires the MBU to be a stand-alone transaction: it may not be clubbed with any other update.

₹0–₹125

How long it takes

Typically 7–30 days.

The centre visit itself is short; the Aadhaar is generated afterwards and can be tracked with the enrolment ID.

The full step-by-step guide

What's inside for this procedure:

5 steps in exact order, with the official link at each one
5 documents — accepted alternatives
5 common reasons applications get rejected, and how to avoid each
A 1-question intake that prunes the checklist to your situation
The nearest office and authorised centre to file it, for your PIN code
Progress tracking with your deadlines, notes, and application numbers

Free while KaamKar is in early access — sign in and we'll open the full guide and track it as your own case.

Common questions

Is a birth certificate compulsory for a newborn's Aadhaar?

For a child born after 1 October 2023, yes — UIDAI's enrolment FAQ for children below 5 lists the birth certificate as mandatory. The RBD Act (as amended in 2023) also makes the birth certificate the document to prove date and place of birth for issuance of an Aadhaar number.

What does it cost?

Nothing. UIDAI states that new enrolment is free of charge, for children as for adults.

Are the baby's fingerprints taken?

No. For a child below 5, UIDAI captures demographics and a photograph only. Fingerprints and iris are captured later, at the Mandatory Biometric Update when the child turns 5.

Can I enrol my child online?

No. A resident Indian or NRI child seeking enrolment must visit an enrolment centre with the mother and/or father or legal guardian, who submits the request in the requisite form with valid supporting documents.

When must the biometrics be updated, and is that free?

At 5 and again at 15. UIDAI's published charges make the update free if done the first time between 5 and 7, and free if done the first or second time between 15 and 17. Outside those windows it costs ₹125 — though UIDAI has made it free between 7 and 15 until 30 September 2026. It must be done as a stand-alone transaction, not clubbed with another update.

Part of a bigger goal

Newborn paperwork kit — Maharashtra— Maharashtra

Would you rather have someone do this for you?

The guide above covers the full procedure. If you would prefer professional help, let us know — assisted filing is on the way, and this helps us decide which services and cities come first.

We record the service, the state and the first 3 digits of your pincode — enough to see which areas need help, not enough to identify you. No name, no phone number.

Where this comes from

This guide is put together from the official government sources listed below. We last reviewed it on 20 July 2026. Government rules and fees change often, and official websites are sometimes incomplete or unclear, so we cannot promise every detail is current. We make every effort to keep this updated, but there is no guarantee. Always check the official source linked below before you act or pay.

Recent changes

20 July 2026 — Re-voiced steps to the action-first step-writing standard (docs/STEP-WRITING-STANDARD.md): second-person imperative, action first, who-you-need surfaced; all facts, citations, fees and references preserved.
15 July 2026 — Replaced the flagged MBU charge with UIDAI's own published figure: ₹125 outside the free windows, free the first time between 5 and 7 and the first or second time between 15 and 17, and free between 7 and 15 until 30 September 2026. Also recorded UIDAI's rule that the MBU must be a stand-alone transaction. Closes verification row 93 and answers the window/waiver interaction queried in row 94.
15 July 2026 — Initial authoring against the UIDAI enrolling-children FAQ (photo-only capture, birth certificate mandatory for births after 01-10-2023, parental authentication and consent, in-person only, free of charge) and the UIDAI MBU FAQ plus the 7–15 charge-waiver OM. The out-of-window MBU charge is left verifyBeforeLaunch — the figure is not stated on the pages read.

Official sources for this guide

KaamKar is an independent guide, not a government website. Apply only on the official portal linked above. Content prepared to published requirements — no outcomes are guaranteed.