> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://newsanek.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Your Aadhaar card can't prove your age for marriage in UP anymore. Here's what changes - URL: https://newsanek.com/aadhaar-marriage-age-proof/ - Published: 2026-10-28T04:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T09:13:44.000Z - Description: The Allahabad High Court has told officials to stop registering marriages on Aadhaar alone. What the court said, the nine new rules, and the documents couples should carry. - Author: Kumar Ujjwal - Tags: India If you live in Uttar Pradesh and are planning a wedding, there is one document you can no longer lean on when you go to register it: your Aadhaar card. On 9 October 2026, the Allahabad High Court told officials across the state that the date of birth printed on an Aadhaar card is not enough, by itself, to prove that a bride or groom is old enough to marry. An unverified school transfer certificate is not enough either. The court went further and issued nine directions to the state government, all aimed at one problem: child marriages slipping through the registration system on thin paperwork. Here is what happened, what the court actually said, and what it means if you are getting married in UP. ## The case that started it The order came from Justice Tej Pratap Tiwari in *Deepak Pal v. State of U.P. & 3 Others*, a criminal appeal filed in 2025\. While hearing the matter, the court looked at how a marriage connected to the case had been registered. The answer was uncomfortable. The registration had gone through on the strength of an Aadhaar card and a school transfer certificate, and nobody had checked whether the age on those papers was true. That raised a bigger question. If one marriage could be registered this way, how many others had been? The judge decided the problem was not about one couple. It was about the system. ## What the court said about Aadhaar The court's reasoning is simple once you know how Aadhaar works. When you enrol for Aadhaar, the date of birth on the card is usually the one you declare, sometimes backed by a document and sometimes not. Aadhaar is very good at proving *who* you are. It was never designed to prove *when* you were born. This is not a new idea. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which runs Aadhaar, said the same thing in Circular No. 08 of 2023, dated 22 December 2023\. Soon after, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) removed Aadhaar from its list of accepted date-of-birth documents. The High Court has now applied that same logic to marriage registration. ### Why the transfer certificate failed too The court also looked at the school transfer certificate. Under Section 94(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the law sets out which documents can be used to work out a young person's age, and in what order. First comes a date-of-birth certificate from the school or a matriculation certificate from an examination board. Next is a birth certificate issued by a municipal body or panchayat. A transfer certificate that has not been checked does not sit comfortably in that list, the court said. ## The nine directions, in plain words The directions boil down to a few clear rules for the officials who register marriages in Uttar Pradesh. ### 1\. No registration if either person is underage No marriage can be registered if either party has not reached the legal age on the date of the application. Under Indian law, that is 18 for women and 21 for men. ### 2\. Check age with proper documents Registering officers must verify age using a birth certificate or high school board records, not just the Aadhaar card. ### 3\. Fix the online portal Uttar Pradesh's online marriage registration system must stop issuing certificates automatically on the basis of Aadhaar data alone. ### 4\. Send doubtful cases up the chain Where the age is in doubt, the case must go to the Child Marriage Prohibition Officer and the District Magistrate. ### 5\. Plug the gaps in the rules The court noticed that the Uttar Pradesh Marriage Registration Rules, 2017 do not say which age document should win when two documents disagree. They also do not rank the documents at all. Until the state amends the rules, the court's directions fill that gap. The matter will come up again on 27 November 2026, when the state's authorities must report what they have done to comply. ## Why this matters beyond one courtroom A marriage certificate is a powerful document. It is used to open joint bank accounts, apply for visas, claim insurance and settle property. When a child marriage gets a government certificate, it gains a stamp of legitimacy that makes it much harder to challenge later. Child marriage is still a real problem in India. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5, 2019-21), about 23 per cent of women aged 20 to 24 said they were married before they turned 18\. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 makes such marriages voidable and punishes those who arrange them, but enforcement depends on officials catching cases early. Registration is one of the few points where the state actually sees the couple's documents. The High Court has, in effect, told officials to use that moment properly. ## What you should do if you are getting married in UP If you plan to register a marriage in Uttar Pradesh, keep one of these ready for both the bride and the groom: - a Class 10 (high school) certificate or marksheet from a recognised board, or - a birth certificate issued by a municipal corporation, municipality or gram panchayat. Your Aadhaar card is still useful. It can prove your identity and address. It just cannot be the only thing that proves your age. If your documents show different dates of birth, sort that out before you apply. Getting a correction made in a school or birth record takes time, and it is far easier to do before the wedding than after an officer has flagged it. ## What happens next All eyes are now on the state government. It can amend the 2017 rules to build these checks into the law, or it can wait for the court's next hearing. Either way, the message from the High Court is clear. A marriage certificate is only as trustworthy as the documents behind it, and in Uttar Pradesh those documents now have to prove age, not just identity. --- ### Sources - [LiveLaw: Allahabad High Court issues statewide directions to prevent child marriages](https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/allahabad-high-court/allahabad-high-court-child-marriage-age-verification-556188?ref=newsanek.com) - [The Pioneer: Allahabad HC bars Aadhaar, transfer certificates as sole age proof](https://dailypioneer.com/law-justice/allahabad-hc-bars-aadhaar-transfer-certificates-as-sole-age-proof-for-marriage-registration?ref=newsanek.com) - [LawBeat: Allahabad HC orders strict DOB verification before marriage registration](https://lawbeat.in/news-updates/child-marriage-allahabad-hc-orders-strict-dob-verification-before-marriage-registration-issues-guidelines-1647023?ref=newsanek.com) - [Moneylife: UIDAI says Aadhaar can't be used as proof of date of birth](https://moneylife.in/article/uidai-says-aadhaar-cant-be-used-as-proof-of-date-of-birth-epfo-removes-aadhaar-as-dob-proof/73163.html?ref=newsanek.com) - [Deccan Herald: Aadhaar not an authoritative proof of date of birth, says Supreme Court](https://deccanherald.com/india/aadhaar-card-not-an-authoritative-proof-of-date-of-birth-supreme-court-3247711?ref=newsanek.com)