New Delhi, August 18: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has completed more than 2 crore Mandatory Biometric Updates (MBU) for school children as part of its nationwide mission-mode drive, covering around 1.56 lakh schools across the country.
The special drive, launched in September 2025, has been undertaken in coordination with State and Union Territory education departments to make Aadhaar biometric updates more accessible to children. Dedicated camps and school-level outreach programmes have enabled students to complete the mandatory process at their schools.
The initiative has been strengthened through UIDAI’s technological integration with the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), allowing schools to access information on the MBU status of children and facilitate timely updates.
Aadhaar enrolment for children below five years captures demographic details and a photograph, while fingerprints and iris biometrics are not recorded because these biometric features are still developing. Mandatory biometric updates ensure that the Aadhaar record is updated with the child’s latest biometric information as they grow.
MBU is required when a child reaches the age of five and again at 15. Timely completion of these updates helps ensure a smoother Aadhaar authentication experience as children move through school, higher education and other services where Aadhaar authentication may be required.
To encourage parents and guardians to complete the updates on time, UIDAI has waived MBU charges for children aged 7 to 15 years from October 1, 2025, for one year. MBU for children in the 5–7 and 15–17 age groups is already free. As a result, Mandatory Biometric Updates are currently free for children aged 5 to 17 years until September 30, 2026.
UIDAI has cautioned that failure to complete mandatory biometric updates could create difficulties in Aadhaar authentication while accessing benefits under various government schemes. It may also affect processes involving Aadhaar authentication, including registration for competitive and university examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET.
UIDAI has urged parents and guardians to check the Aadhaar biometric update status of their children and complete the mandatory updates within the stipulated period.