Checking in at a hotel, registering at a hospital or signing up for gig work in India is set to need fewer paper photocopies of Aadhaar. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said on Thursday, November 5, that it has onboarded 300 Offline Verification Seeking Entities (OVSEs) since the offline verification facility was rolled out in January, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) reported.

Source: Press Information Bureau (PIB), Ministry of Electronics & IT, Nov 5 2026

OVSEs are organisations that verify a resident's identity through Aadhaar's offline mechanism — a secure, consent-based and paperless check that does not hand the verifier a photocopy to store. The 300 entities span hotels and hospitality, healthcare, education, events, the gig economy and other consumer-facing businesses, according to the Ministry of Electronics and IT statement carried by IANS.

Source: IANS, Nov 5 2026

300Entities onboarded for Aadhaar offline verification since January
7.5 croreAadhaar App downloads so far
4.6 croreBiometric lock/unlock transactions via the App
86 lakh+Mobile number updates made through the Aadhaar App

UIDAI said the onboarding reflects growing confidence in privacy-first verification frameworks that put user control first and keep data collection to a minimum, in line with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act. The authority described the milestone as a major step in expanding Aadhaar-based offline verification across sectors.

The announcement came alongside fresh adoption figures for the Aadhaar App. Along with nearly 7.5 crore downloads, the App has facilitated over 86 lakh mobile number updates, 22.16 lakh address updates and 40.25 lakh email updates, letting residents update their details from their phones instead of visiting a centre, PIB said.

The App has also recorded 4.6 crore biometric lock and unlock transactions and 3.61 lakh Aadhaar lock and unlock transactions — features that let Aadhaar holders add an extra layer of privacy by controlling when their biometrics or Aadhaar number can be used, according to UIDAI.

What changes for residents is practical: at a participating hotel, hospital, event venue or employer, identity can be confirmed digitally with consent rather than by surrendering a paper copy of the Aadhaar card that then sits in a file. UIDAI said the push is part of the Government's Digital India vision and its ease-of-living objective.