Aadhaar Paperless Offline e-KYC is one of two ways to verify Aadhaar offline (the other is the secure QR code). It's a UIDAI-signed file the resident downloads themselves and shares with you — letting you verify identity at source without a live UIDAI call and without an OTP at your end. Here's exactly how it works.
What it is
Paperless Offline e-KYC is a digitally signed XML (delivered as a password-protected ZIP) that a resident generates from the UIDAI portal. Because UIDAI signs it, any verifier can confirm the data is genuine and untampered — entirely offline. It is built on UIDAI's OVSE (Offline Verification Seeking Entity) framework; see what is OVSE? for the bigger picture.
Step by step
- Download — the resident signs in to the UIDAI resident portal, enters their Aadhaar or VID and approves an OTP, and downloads the Paperless Offline e-KYC ZIP.
- Set a share code — during download the resident sets a short share code (a passphrase) that protects the file.
- Share with consent — the resident gives your organisation the ZIP and the share code.
- Verify the signature — you open the ZIP with the share code and validate UIDAI's digital signature on the XML to confirm it is authentic and unaltered.
- Read the attributes — name, date/year of birth, gender, address and photo are read from the signed record.
- Match — run name-match scoring against your expected record, and match a live selfie (Live Face) to the photo.
What's inside — and what isn't
- Inside: a reference ID, name, date/year of birth, gender, address and photo. Mobile and email are stored hashed, not in plaintext.
- Not inside: the full 12-digit Aadhaar number. It is never present in the file — so you can't store what you never receive.
Why it's privacy-preserving
- Consent-led — the resident downloads and chooses to share the file and its share code.
- Offline — no live UIDAI call and no OTP at your end.
- Share-code protected — only someone the resident shares the code with can open it.
- Tamper-evident — an edited file fails the signature check.
- No Aadhaar number stored — verification is purpose-limited, in line with the DPDP Act.
Paperless e-KYC vs secure QR vs online OTP
All three verify Aadhaar. Online OTP (AUA/KUA) is a real-time check against UIDAI. Offline has two artefacts: the secure QR on the Aadhaar card/letter, and this Paperless Offline e-KYC XML. Use the XML when the resident can download and share it ahead of time — remote onboarding, field verification — and the QR when they have the card in hand at a kiosk. For the full comparison, see Aadhaar verification: online vs offline.
Paperless Offline e-KYC in Certopact Entry
Certopact Entry verifies Paperless Offline e-KYC and the secure QR under OVSE — checking UIDAI's signature, running name-match and Live Face, and never storing the Aadhaar number — alongside online AUA/KUA. Learn more about Aadhaar visitor verification. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm current UIDAI requirements before deploying.