DigiLocker — Store and Verify Government Documents Online

DigiLocker is the Government of India's flagship digital document wallet under the Digital India initiative. It is a cloud-based platform that allows citizens to store, share and verify their important documents — Aadhaar, PAN, driving licence, RC book, school certificates, university degrees and dozens more — with legal equivalence to physical originals.

Legal validity

Documents stored or fetched on DigiLocker are legally valid under Section 9A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Aadhaar (Authentication) Regulations. They are accepted by central and state government departments, banks, insurance companies, schools, colleges and most private establishments.

How to sign up

Visit digilocker.gov.in or download the DigiLocker app. Sign up using your Aadhaar number and verify with OTP sent to your registered mobile number. Set a 6-digit PIN. Your DigiLocker is created and linked to your Aadhaar.

Documents you can fetch automatically

• Aadhaar (UIDAI)
• PAN (Income Tax Department)
• Driving licence (state transport departments)
• Vehicle RC (Parivahan)
• CBSE Class 10 and 12 certificates
• University degrees (many UGC-recognised universities)
• Voter ID (Election Commission)
• Caste, income, domicile certificates (select state portals)
• EPFO passbook
• Insurance policies (LIC, GIC)

Uploaded documents

You can also upload your own scanned documents (e.g., bank statements, employment letters, marriage certificate) and store them securely. Uploaded documents are signed with your DigiLocker eSign for limited verification purposes but do not carry the same legal weight as issuer-fetched documents.

Sharing documents

You can share documents with anyone by generating a temporary URI link with an expiry. The recipient can verify the document through the DigiLocker portal without needing to login. This is widely used for college admissions, job applications, and rental verifications.

eSign feature

DigiLocker integrates with eSign — Aadhaar-based digital signature — which lets you sign PDF documents online. eSign-signed documents are legally equivalent to handwritten signatures under the IT Act and are widely accepted by government departments.

Using DigiLocker for KYC

Banks, mutual funds and insurance companies accept DigiLocker documents for digital KYC under the Aadhaar Authentication and DigiLocker Authentication frameworks. This eliminates the need to upload scanned copies during account opening.

Security and privacy

DigiLocker uses bank-grade encryption, Aadhaar OTP authentication, and access logs for every document fetch and share. Users can also enable an additional security PIN. Documents are stored on government-controlled cloud infrastructure within India.

When DigiLocker is not accepted

A few legacy government processes (older courts, smaller municipal offices, manual recruitment desks) may still insist on physical originals. Always check with the specific institution before relying solely on DigiLocker.