Jeevan Pramaan is the Aadhaar-based digital life certificate for pensioners, run by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) with NIC at jeevanpramaan.gov.in. Instead of appearing in person at the bank or treasury once a year, a pensioner proves they are alive by authenticating with Aadhaar, through a face scan on a smartphone, a fingerprint or an iris scan. The certificate goes straight to the pension-disbursing agency. Pensioners use it to submit the yearly life certificate, mostly in November, and later to download or check that certificate.
Two things confuse almost everyone. The website can’t create a life certificate: you generate it in the Jeevan Pramaan app, at a centre or through a doorstep service, and the website only lets you download it afterwards. And a Jeevan Pramaan isn’t valid for life. Each certificate carries a fresh Pramaan ID, and you need a new one every time your pension rules ask for a life certificate.
Jeevan Pramaan at a glance
Jeevan Pramaan has been accepted by central pension authorities since November 2014; the Central Pension Accounting Office’s acceptance circular is dated 10 November 2014. The portal’s counter shows more than 12 crore digital life certificates generated since then.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Owner | MeitY; built and run by NIC (Jeevan Pramaan Project, CGO Complex, New Delhi) |
| Portal | jeevanpramaan.gov.in |
| Who can use it | Pensioners whose Pension Sanctioning Authority is onboarded; not remarried or re-employed pensioners |
| How it works | Aadhaar authentication by face, fingerprint or iris |
| Where to generate | Jeevan Pramaan face app, PC or Android app with a biometric device, CSC, bank or post office, IPPB doorstep service |
| When | Every November for central pensioners; from 1 October for those aged 80 and above |
| Fees | No portal fee published; IPPB doorstep service Rs 70 |
| Helpline | 1800 111 555; jeevanpramaan[at]gov[dot]in |
Who can use Jeevan Pramaan and when to submit it
Jeevan Pramaan is open to pensioners of the Central Government, State Governments and other government bodies, provided their Pension Sanctioning Authority (PSA) has joined the system. The list of onboarded sanctioning and disbursing agencies is under the Circular tab of the portal. It runs from the Central Pension Accounting Office and the Ministry of Railways in 2014 to state governments, port trusts, public sector banks and universities.
The FAQ is clear about one exclusion. A pensioner who has remarried or been re-employed can’t use the digital certificate and has to submit the life certificate the conventional way to the disbursing agency. The digital route is also optional: the FAQ calls it an add-on to the existing ways of submitting a life certificate, not a replacement.
The timing rule matters more than the technology. Central government pensioners must submit a life certificate every November for their pension to continue. Since a DoPPW office memorandum of 18 July 2019, pensioners aged 80 and above can submit from 1 October, a month earlier, so they avoid the November rush. Defence pensioners on SPARSH do the same exercise as annual identification; the SPARSH guide covers that portal’s own steps.
Four ways to generate Jeevan Pramaan
You can generate the certificate yourself, at a centre or at home with help. Choose by what you own and how mobile you are:
| Route | What you need | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Jeevan Pramaan face app | Android 10 or above, or iOS 14 or above, with the AadhaarFaceRd app | Pensioners with a smartphone, including those with faded fingerprints |
| Windows PC or Android app with a device | An STQC-certified fingerprint or iris scanner with its RD service | Families who already own a biometric device |
| Common Service Centre, bank or post office | Aadhaar and pension details; the operator does the rest | Pensioners without a smartphone |
| IPPB doorstep service | A postman or Gramin Dak Sevak visit | Super-senior, sick or disabled pensioners |
The face app has become the default. In the April 2025 to March 2026 cycle, 1.16 crore of the 1.91 crore digital life certificates were generated by face authentication, about 60 percent. DoPPW credits the face check with helping elderly pensioners whose fingerprints have faded.
How to submit Jeevan Pramaan through the face app
The steps below follow the official user manual and the portal’s download page. You can do it alone; the manual says the pensioner can act as the operator.
- On the portal’s DLC FaceAuth page, confirm your phone meets the requirement: Android 10 or above, or iOS 14 or above, and not rooted.
- Install AadhaarFaceRd from the Play Store or App Store. It shows no icon after installation; you can see it under your phone’s app settings.
- Install the Jeevan Pramaan face app and allow the permissions it asks for.
- Complete Device Registration & Operator Identification, a one-time step: enter the operator’s Aadhaar number, mobile number and email, verify the OTP, give consent and scan the operator’s face.
- On the Pensioner Identification screen, enter the pensioner’s Aadhaar number and mobile number and verify the OTP.
- Fill in the pension details exactly as in your records: PPO number, pension account, disbursing agency and sanctioning authority.
- Scan the pensioner’s face, keeping it within the circle and blinking when told.
- Wait for the SMS with your Pramaan ID. That ID is your proof of submission.
Step 6 decides whether the certificate is accepted. The manual warns that incorrect information leads to rejection by the disbursing agency, even when the face scan succeeds. Keep your Pension Payment Order beside you and copy the numbers, don’t type from memory.
Documents and details you need
Jeevan Pramaan asks for information, not uploads. According to the FAQ, keep these ready:
- Aadhaar number or Virtual ID, which is mandatory.
- Mobile number for the OTP and the confirmation SMS.
- PPO number, the Pension Payment Order number.
- Pension account number and the bank or post office name.
- Names of the Pension Sanctioning Authority and Pension Disbursing Agency.
If your Aadhaar photograph or details are badly out of date, a face match can fail repeatedly. Update them first through the Aadhaar update guide, then try again.
Fees and timelines
The portal lists no fee for generating a Jeevan Pramaan on your own phone or computer. It doesn’t publish a charge for CSC or bank counters either, so ask before the operator starts.
The doorstep route through India Post Payments Bank has a published fee. A November 2025 PIB release from the Department of Posts puts it at a nominal transaction fee of Rs 70 for generation by a postman or Gramin Dak Sevak, available to central and state government pensioners whatever their bank. The IPPB note explains the bank’s other doorstep services.
On timing, the same release says the certificate can be viewed online after T+1 day, that is, a day after generation. How long the certificate stays valid isn’t fixed by the portal; the FAQ says it follows the rules of your Pension Sanctioning Authority, which for central pensioners means the yearly November cycle.
How to download your Jeevan Pramaan certificate and check its status
Downloading is the only thing the website itself does for a pensioner, and it needs the Pramaan ID from your SMS.
- Open jeevanpramaan.gov.in and click Pensioner Login.
- On the Pensioner Sign in page, enter your Pramaan ID and the captcha.
- Click Generate OTP and enter the OTP.
- Download the PDF of your Digital Life Certificate.
There is no separate status page. The FAQ says you learn whether the certificate was accepted or rejected by downloading it from the portal. If an SMS says your Jeevan Pramaan was rejected, contact your Pension Disbursing Agency; rejection usually means wrong particulars, and the fix is a new Pramaan ID with correct details. You don’t have to send the certificate to your bank, because the disbursing agency receives it electronically.
Common errors and their fixes
These are the problems the FAQ and manual address, with the fix for each:
- “I can’t make the certificate on the website.” That’s by design. Use the app, a centre or the doorstep service, then come back to download.
- Face app won’t install or open. Check the Android 10 or iOS 14 minimum; a rooted phone won’t work. Confirm AadhaarFaceRd is installed, since it has no icon.
- Fingerprint authentication keeps failing. Switch to face authentication, or use an iris scanner at a centre.
- Certificate rejected after a successful scan. The PPO, account or authority details didn’t match. Generate a new one with the details copied from the PPO.
- No centre nearby. Use Locate a Centre on the portal, or send an SMS with JPL followed by your pin code, for example JPL 110003, to 7738299899.
- Remarried or re-employed. The digital route isn’t available; submit a conventional life certificate to the disbursing agency.
Where to complain and get help
The Jeevan Pramaan project lists one helpline and one email for every problem with the app or portal:
- Phone: 1800 111 555.
- Email: jeevanpramaan[at]gov[dot]in, or the query form on the Contact us page.
- Postal address: Jeevan Pramaan Project, 3rd Floor, National Informatics Centre, A Block, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110003.
A pension that has stopped or a certificate that the bank won’t accept is a matter for the Pension Disbursing Agency (your bank branch, post office or treasury), since it applies the certificate. The helpline can fix technical faults but can’t restore a pension.
What is changing for Jeevan Pramaan in 2026
The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) now runs a nationwide Digital Life Certificate campaign from 1 to 30 November every year. Campaign 4.0, launched on 5 November 2025, held about 75,000 camps in 2,000 cities and districts and generated 1.54 crore certificates by 30 November, over 91 lakh of them by face authentication. Banks, IPPB, the Controller General of Defence Accounts, Railways, EPFO and pensioners’ associations ran the camps; DoPPW’s April 2026 review counted more than 14 lakh certificates from pensioners aged 80 and above in that cycle.
The technology underneath is also widening. UIDAI released an Aadhaar Face Authentication SDK and testing sandbox in September 2026, covered in the note on Aadhaar face authentication, which lets more apps run the same face check that Jeevan Pramaan uses. For a pensioner, the practical judgment is simple: generate the certificate early in the window, from 1 October if you’re 80 or older, keep the Pramaan ID SMS, and download the PDF a day later to confirm it went through. How life certificates fit into India’s wider pension system, from the old pension scheme to the newer UPS and NPS, is covered in separate notes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Jeevan Pramaan?
Jeevan Pramaan is an Aadhaar-based digital life certificate for pensioners, run by MeitY and NIC. The pensioner authenticates with face, fingerprint or iris, and the certificate reaches the pension-disbursing agency electronically.
How can I download my Jeevan Pramaan life certificate?
Open jeevanpramaan.gov.in, click Pensioner Login, enter your Pramaan ID and the captcha, generate the OTP and download the PDF. The Pramaan ID comes by SMS when the certificate is generated.
Can I generate Jeevan Pramaan on my mobile phone?
Yes. Install AadhaarFaceRd and the Jeevan Pramaan face app on an Android 10 or iOS 14 phone, register once as operator and then authenticate the pensioner by face. No fingerprint device is needed.
How do I check my Jeevan Pramaan status?
Download the certificate from the portal using your Pramaan ID; the portal’s FAQ says that is how you learn whether it was accepted or rejected. A rejection also comes by SMS, and the fix is a new certificate with correct details.
When should pensioners submit the life certificate?
Central government pensioners submit it every November. Pensioners aged 80 and above can submit from 1 October under a DoPPW order of July 2019.
Is Jeevan Pramaan valid for one year?
It isn’t valid for life. Its validity follows the rules of the Pension Sanctioning Authority, and for central pensioners that means a fresh certificate every year in the November cycle.
Who cannot use Jeevan Pramaan?
Pensioners who have remarried or been re-employed can’t use the digital certificate and must submit a conventional life certificate. Pensioners whose sanctioning authority hasn’t joined the system also can’t use it.
Is there a charge for doorstep Jeevan Pramaan?
India Post Payments Bank charges a nominal transaction fee of Rs 70 when a postman or Gramin Dak Sevak generates the certificate at home. The portal lists no fee for generating it yourself on the face app.
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