ABHA Health ID (Ayushman Bharat Health Account)

What is ABHA Health ID?

ABHA; Ayushman Bharat Health Account; is the digital health identity issued by the National Health Authority (NHA) under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), which sits with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. According to the official ABHA portal, an ABHA number is "a 14 digit number that will uniquely identify you as a participant in India's digital healthcare ecosystem".

ABHA is not health insurance and it is not a treatment entitlement. It is an identity layer. Its job is to make sure that a prescription written in one city, a lab report generated in another, and a discharge summary from a third can all be attached to one verified person, and shared only with that person's consent.

The National Health Authority lists four benefits of the ABHA number on the official portal:

• Unique and trustable identity: one identity accepted across different healthcare providers in the ecosystem.
• Unified benefits: linking healthcare benefits from public health programmes to insurance schemes to a single number.
• Hassle-free access: avoiding long registration queues at healthcare facilities across the country.
• Easy PHR sign-up: smoothly sign-up for Personal Health Record applications such as the ABDM ABHA application, for health data sharing.

ABHA number versus ABHA address, what is the difference?

These two are constantly confused, and the difference matters.

• The ABHA number is the 14-digit identifier the NHA issues to you. It is what identifies you as a person in the ecosystem.
• The ABHA address is a self-declared username, written in the form yourname@abdm. It is the handle through which health records are actually pushed to you and shared by you.

Creating an ABHA number through the official flow ends with an ABHA address creation step, so most people get both in the same sitting. It is also possible to link an existing ABHA address to an ABHA number afterwards.

Who is eligible for an ABHA number?

You can create an ABHA number if:

• You are an Indian resident who wants a digital health identity. ABHA is open to the general public: there is no income test, no occupation test and no BPL requirement.
• You have either an Aadhaar number with a linked mobile number, or a driving licence, as the identity document.

Children can have an ABHA number created for them by a parent or guardian, using the parent's mobile number for communication.

You cannot complete the online Aadhaar route if:

• Your mobile number is not linked to Aadhaar, the portal explicitly tells such applicants to visit the nearest ABDM-participating facility for assistance instead.
• You are not willing to give the Aadhaar consent, in which case use the driving licence route rather than the Aadhaar route.

Crucially, ABHA is voluntary. The Aadhaar consent text on the official portal describes the applicant as voluntarily sharing their Aadhaar number and demographic information with the NHA "for the sole purpose of creation of ABHA number", records that the applicant has "been duly informed about the option of using other IDs apart from Aadhaar", and reserves the applicant's "right to revoke the given consent at any point of time". The ABHA portal carries a dedicated voluntary opt-out section for the same reason.

What do I need to create an ABHA number?

You need one of Aadhaar or driving licence, not both. No income certificate, no address proof, no medical record and no photograph upload is required.

How to create an ABHA number online

1. Open the official portal at abha.abdm.gov.in and select Create ABHA Number.
2. Choose your identity route: Aadhaar or Driving Licence. The portal presents both on the same screen.
3. Step 1 to Consent Collection. Enter your Aadhaar number, read the terms and conditions authorising the NHA to perform Aadhaar-based authentication with UIDAI under the Aadhaar Act 2016, tick "I agree", select the authentication type (Aadhaar OTP), and complete the captcha.
4. Step 2 — Aadhaar Authentication. Enter the OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile number. On success, UIDAI shares your e-KYC details, name, address, age, date of birth, gender and photograph, with the NHA.
5. Step 3 to Communication Details. Enter the mobile number you want ABDM to use for communication and verify it. This can be different from the Aadhaar mobile number.
6. Step 4 to ABHA Address Creation. Choose your ABHA address (your health username). Pick something you will remember, it is the handle you will give to hospitals.
7. Your 14-digit ABHA number is generated. Download the ABHA card from the portal and note the number down.

If you already have an ABHA number, use Login on the same portal, or the "Find ABHA using mobile number" option, rather than creating a second one.

How to get an ABHA number offline

1. Visit any ABDM-participating hospital, clinic, health facility or Common Service Centre and ask the registration desk to create an ABHA for you.
2. Carry your Aadhaar card and the mobile number you want registered.
3. Give consent at the counter; the facility completes Aadhaar authentication, with biometric or face authentication where an OTP is not possible.
4. Collect your 14-digit ABHA number and note down the ABHA address created for you.

The National Health Authority points people whose mobile is not Aadhaar-linked to exactly this route. It is the practical option for elderly patients, for anyone without a smartphone, and for people creating an ABHA at the point of admission.

Is ABHA free? What should I be careful about?

Creating an ABHA number is completely free, both on the official portal and at an ABDM-participating facility. There is no government fee at any step, no application charge, no card charge, no renewal charge.

Because it is free and quick, paid "ABHA card agents" have no legitimate role. Some private health apps and insurance websites also offer to "create your ABHA", they may be genuine ABDM-integrated applications, but you never have to use one, and you should never pay for the number itself. Two safety rules:

• Never share your Aadhaar OTP with a caller, agent or website you did not yourself navigate to. The official flow puts the OTP box on your own screen at abha.abdm.gov.in.
• Check the domain. The official creation portal is abha.abdm.gov.in and the mission website is abdm.gov.in. Anything else asking for your Aadhaar to "make an ABHA card" deserves suspicion.

How is my health data protected under ABHA?

ABDM's design is consent-based: your health records are not stored in one central government database and pulled at will. They stay with the health facility that generated them and move only when you approve a specific request through your ABHA address.

The National Health Authority publishes the governing documents on abdm.gov.in, the Health Data Management Policy, the Data Privacy Policy and the website's Terms and Conditions. The Aadhaar consent text also spells out that your personally identifiable information may be made available to entities registered with or linked to ABDM, such as doctors, hospitals, laboratories and health programmes, and that you can revoke the consent at any time.

If you want out entirely, the ABHA portal carries a voluntary opt-out option.

What goes wrong during ABHA creation, and how do I fix it?

• No OTP received. Your mobile is almost certainly not linked to Aadhaar. Either link it with UIDAI first, or create the ABHA at an ABDM-participating facility using biometric authentication.
• The ABHA address you want is taken. ABHA addresses are unique. Add a numeral or a middle name and try again, the address does not have to match your legal name exactly.
• Wrong name, date of birth or gender on the ABHA card. These fields come from your Aadhaar e-KYC record and cannot be edited in ABHA. Correct the Aadhaar record with UIDAI first, then refresh your ABHA profile.
• You created two ABHA numbers by mistake. Use "Find ABHA using mobile number" to see what is already registered against your mobile before creating another. Report duplicates to the helpline.
• Records not showing in your ABHA app. A record appears only if the hospital that generated it is ABDM-linked and you have linked that facility. Ask the hospital's registration desk whether it is an ABDM-participating facility.

Where do I get help with ABHA?

• NHA / ABDM toll-free number: 1800-11-4477
• Email: abdm@nha.gov.in
• Grievance portal: linked from both abha.abdm.gov.in and abdm.gov.in
• Postal address: National Health Authority, 9th Floor, Tower-1, Jeevan Bharati Building, Connaught Place, New Delhi - 110 001

The same toll-free number covers ABHA number creation problems, ABHA address issues and general ABDM queries.

How to apply

The official portal (abha.abdm.gov.in) and the offline hospital route are the two main paths, but the ABHA mobile app is a third route that many first-time users prefer because it keeps the QR-based ABHA card and health-record links on the phone. Here is that flow step by step:

1. Download the ABHA app (published by NHA) from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Confirm the publisher is the National Health Authority before installing; do not install a look-alike app from an unofficial listing.
2. Open the app and tap Create ABHA number. Choose the same identity route as the website, Aadhaar or driving licence.
3. On the Aadhaar route, enter your Aadhaar number and consent to authentication, then enter the OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile.
4. Set a login PIN or biometric lock for the app itself. This is separate from the Aadhaar OTP and only protects the app on your phone.
5. Complete the same communication-details and ABHA-address steps used on the website. The app pulls your demographic details from the same UIDAI e-KYC response.
6. Once created, the app shows a scannable ABHA QR code. Hospitals with a QR scanner at the registration desk can pull up your ABHA address directly from this code instead of you typing it out.
7. Use the app afterwards to link facility visits, lab reports and prescriptions to your ABHA address, and to grant or revoke consent for each request a hospital or lab sends you.

Whichever route you start with (website, app, or in-person at a facility), your ABHA number is the same 14-digit identifier; you do not need to repeat the process on a second channel once it exists. If you already began on the website but did not finish, use the same identity document to resume rather than starting a fresh Aadhaar authentication.

How to check your application status

ABHA is not a multi-day application that sits in a review queue, so there is no separate "status" screen the way there is for a certificate or a subsidy. What you actually need to check is whether an ABHA number already exists against your details, or whether one you created has an ABHA address attached to it.

• On abha.abdm.gov.in, use Login with your ABHA number or ABHA address plus your registered mobile OTP. A successful login confirms the number is active and shows your linked ABHA address, profile completeness and any facilities you have connected.
• Use "Find ABHA using mobile number" on the portal or app if you are not sure whether a number was already generated against a mobile number, this avoids accidentally creating a duplicate.
• In the ABHA app, the home screen shows your ABHA number, ABHA address and a completeness indicator for your profile (photo, address, email) once you are logged in.
• If you created your ABHA at a hospital or CSC counter and were not given a printed card, ask the same facility's registration desk to look up your ABHA number and address against the mobile number you registered, or call the helpline below with that mobile number ready.
• To confirm a specific health record has actually been linked (not just that the ABHA number exists), open the "Linked facilities" or "Health records" section in the app; a record shows up only after the originating hospital's system has pushed it and you have approved the consent request for it.

For a lost ABHA card or forgotten ABHA address, "Login" with the registered mobile OTP retrieves both without needing to recreate anything.

Common reasons for rejection

ABHA creation itself is rarely "rejected" outright since eligibility is open to everyone, but the underlying e-KYC or authentication step can fail. These are the specific points where it breaks, and the fix for each:

• Aadhaar e-KYC authentication fails outright. This usually means the Aadhaar number itself is locked for authentication (a UIDAI security setting some people enable) or has been flagged for biometric-only verification. Unlock it through UIDAI's mAadhaar app or Aadhaar portal first, then retry ABHA creation.
• OTP never arrives. As covered above, this means the mobile number on record with UIDAI is not the one you are using, not that the ABHA system itself is at fault. Checking your Aadhaar-linked mobile with UIDAI is the fix, not retrying the same number repeatedly.
• Demographic mismatch after e-KYC. If your Aadhaar record has an old address, a misspelled name, or an outdated photo, the ABHA number is still created but the profile carries that same error, since ABHA pulls these fields directly from Aadhaar and cannot independently correct them. Fix the source record with UIDAI, then use the ABHA app or portal's profile refresh to pull the corrected data.
• Driving licence route fails to validate. The driving licence route checks your DL number and details against the issuing state's transport database; a DL that is expired, recently renewed but not yet updated in that database, or entered with a formatting mismatch (state code, DL number spacing) will fail this check. Retry with the exact format printed on the card, or switch to the Aadhaar route if the DL route keeps failing.
• ABHA address rejected as invalid or taken. The system enforces a minimum length and disallows certain special characters, and every address must be unique across all ABHA users, so a common first-name choice is frequently already taken. Add a number, initial or year to make it unique.
• Session times out mid-flow. The OTP and consent steps are time-bound; a slow mobile network causing you to enter the OTP after the window closes forces a restart from Step 1, it does not partially save progress. Keep the OTP SMS ready to enter within the countdown shown on screen.

If a specific attempt keeps failing for a reason not covered here, the ABDM helpline (1800-11-4477) or the facility registration desk can see the actual UIDAI or DL-database error code, which is more specific than what the portal displays to the applicant.