UIDAI calls for mandatory biometric update for children turning seven

New Delhi: The central government on Tuesday urged parents and guardians to update the Aadhaar biometrics of children who have turned seven.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has reiterated the importance of completing the Mandatory Biometric Update (MBU) for children who have attained the age of seven but have not yet updated their biometrics in Aadhaar.

This is an existing requirement under Aadhaar, and parents or guardians can update the details of their child at any Aadhaar Seva Kendra or designated Aadhaar centre, a statement said.

To facilitate this process, UIDAI has begun sending SMS alerts to registered mobile numbers linked with such Aadhaar records, reminding parents to complete the update.

Updated Aadhaar records with biometric data are essential for school admissions, scholarships, entrance exams, and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes. The Ministry of Electronics and IT urged all parents to treat this as a priority task to avoid future inconvenience, the statement said.

"Timely completion of MBU is essential for the accuracy and reliability of a child's Aadhaar data," the ministry said, noting that failure to update biometrics after age seven may lead to deactivation of the Aadhaar number under existing guidelines.

For children under five, Aadhaar enrolment only captures photograph, name, date of birth, gender, and address, along with supporting documents, since fingerprints and iris scans are not mature at that age. These biometrics become mandatory at age five as part of the first MBU.

If the update is done between the ages of 5 and 7, it is free of cost. After seven years, a nominal fee of Rs 100 is applicable for the update, the statement said.