Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY Card Download (Ayushman Card)

What is the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY card?

The Ayushman card is the identity document that lets a PM-JAY beneficiary walk into an empanelled hospital and receive treatment without paying. Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana is run by the National Health Authority (NHA), which describes itself as the apex body responsible for implementing India's flagship public health insurance and assurance scheme.

The card carries the beneficiary's name, photograph and PM-JAY member ID. The NHA beneficiary portal states the entitlement plainly on its home screen: cashless treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh at empanelled hospitals. The cover is a family floater, the amount belongs to the family, not to each individual, and is available each policy year.

Two things the card is not. It is not a reimbursement scheme where you pay and claim later; treatment at an empanelled hospital is meant to be cashless from admission. And it is not something you apply for in the sense of a new enrolment: your family is either already on the state's PM-JAY beneficiary list, or it is not. Downloading the card is the act of claiming a benefit you have already been identified for.

Who is eligible for an Ayushman card?

You can get an Ayushman card if:

• Your family appears on the PM-JAY beneficiary list maintained for your state. Identification is done from the deprivation and occupational criteria of the Socio-Economic and Caste Census, plus any additional categories your state government has added under its own convergence scheme.
• You are a senior citizen aged 70 years or above, covered under Ayushman Vay Vandana. The NHA beneficiary portal carries separate card-creation guidance videos for the 70-and-above group.
• You are a new member of an already-identified family, a newborn, a spouse added after marriage; in which case use the portal's Add Member feature.

You cannot get a card if:

• Your family is not on the beneficiary list for your state. The portal search returning no result is the definitive answer to "am I eligible", and no amount of re-searching or paying an agent changes it.
• You have not completed Aadhaar e-KYC. Eligibility without e-KYC produces a name on the list but no downloadable card.

Because state governments run their own convergence schemes on top of PM-JAY, the practical rule is simple: check the portal first. It is free, takes two minutes, and is the only authoritative answer.

What do I need to download an Ayushman card?

How to download the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY card online

1. Open the official beneficiary portal at beneficiary.nha.gov.in.
2. Under Login as, select Beneficiary (choose Operator only if you are an authorised operator such as an Ayushman Mitra or CSC operator).
3. Enter your 10-digit mobile number and the captcha, then click Verify.
4. Enter the OTP sent to that mobile number and log in.
5. Select the scheme: PMJAY; along with your state, and choose a search method such as Aadhaar number, family ID, ration card number, name or PMJAY ID.
6. Your family's member list appears. Find your own name in it.
7. If your row shows e-KYC as pending, complete Aadhaar e-KYC first. Three authentication methods exist; Aadhaar OTP, fingerprint and iris scan, and OTP is the one you can do yourself from home.
8. Once the card status shows approved, click the download icon against your name and save the Ayushman card PDF. Print it or keep it on your phone.

The same flow works in the Ayushman mobile app, which the NHA promotes specifically so that beneficiaries can create their card themselves. The beneficiary portal links card-creation videos for both the regular Ayushman card and the Ayushman Vay Vandana card for those aged 70 and above.

How to get an Ayushman card offline

1. Visit an empanelled hospital and go to the Ayushman Mitra / PMJAY help desk, or go to a nearby Common Service Centre, or attend an Ayushman camp held by your district administration.
2. Carry your Aadhaar card and, if you have one, your ration card or state family ID.
3. The operator searches your family in the beneficiary database and runs biometric e-KYC with a fingerprint or iris scanner, this is the route to use when OTP is not possible because your mobile is not Aadhaar-linked.
4. Collect the printed card or note the member ID, and download the PDF yourself later from beneficiary.nha.gov.in.

What can I do on the NHA beneficiary portal?

The portal lists four self-service features, available to both beneficiaries and operators:

1. Link Aadhaar — link an Aadhaar number to a card that was generated earlier without an Aadhaar e-KYC process.
2. Add Member: add a new member to an existing family record.
3. Redo e-KYC; run e-KYC again to update your latest photograph and address.
4. Check Status; check the current status of your card.

"Redo e-KYC" is the one most people need and least expect: if your photograph on the card is old, unrecognisable or was captured badly at a camp, this is how you replace it without visiting anyone.

The portal also carries a Find Empanelled Hospital search, which is worth using before an admission, the Rs 5 lakh cover applies at empanelled hospitals, so knowing which hospital near you is empanelled is as important as holding the card.

Is the Ayushman card free? What should I watch out for?

Downloading or creating an Ayushman card is completely free. The beneficiary portal, the Ayushman app, Ayushman Mitra desks at empanelled hospitals, Common Service Centres running Ayushman camps: none of these may charge you for the card itself.

Card-making touts are a genuine and persistent problem around PM-JAY, so hold on to these three rules:

• Nobody can "add your name" to the PM-JAY list for a fee. Beneficiary identification is done from government databases by the state. An agent promising to get you on the list is selling something they cannot deliver.
• Never share your Aadhaar OTP. The OTP goes into the e-KYC box on your own screen or on the operator's device in front of you.
• Treatment itself is cashless. If an empanelled hospital asks a PM-JAY beneficiary to pay for a covered procedure, call 14555 rather than paying and hoping to claim later.

What goes wrong with Ayushman card download, and how to fix it?

• "No record found" on the portal search. Try a different search method; family ID, ration card, name plus location, before concluding anything. If nothing returns, your family is not on the state list; call 14555 or take your documents to an Ayushman Mitra desk.
• Name appears but no download icon. Aadhaar e-KYC is incomplete, or the card is still awaiting approval. Complete e-KYC, then check again after the approval step.
• Fingerprint e-KYC fails repeatedly. Worn or damaged fingerprints are common among manual workers and the elderly. Switch to Aadhaar OTP if your mobile is Aadhaar-linked, or use iris authentication at a centre that has a scanner.
• Wrong name, age or gender on the card. These come from Aadhaar. Correct the Aadhaar record with UIDAI first, then use Redo e-KYC on the portal.
• A family member is missing. Use Add Member, then complete that person's e-KYC separately, adding them does not generate their card automatically.
• Old or unusable photograph. Use Redo e-KYC to capture a fresh photo.

Where do I get help with PM-JAY?

• Toll-free call centre: 14555
• Email: webmaster-pmjay@nha.gov.in
• Chat support: the "Chat with us" instant support widget on beneficiary.nha.gov.in
• In person: the Ayushman Mitra desk at any empanelled hospital, or your district's PM-JAY / State Health Agency office
• Postal address: National Health Authority, 9th Floor, Tower-I, Jeevan Bharati Building, Connaught Place, New Delhi - 110001

Call 14555 for eligibility questions, card problems, a list of empanelled hospitals, and complaints about a hospital demanding payment from a PM-JAY beneficiary.

How to apply

There is no application form for PM-JAY itself: a household either sits in the beneficiary database compiled from the Socio-Economic and Caste Census and each state's own convergence list, or it does not, and no form changes that fact. What people usually mean by "applying" for an Ayushman card is one of three different actions, and it helps to know which one you actually need.

If your family is already on the beneficiary list, this is a card claim, not an application:

1. Go to beneficiary.nha.gov.in, log in with your mobile OTP, search your family by Aadhaar, ration card, family ID or name, and complete e-KYC to generate the downloadable card. This route is described step by step in the card-download section above.

If a new member needs to be added to an existing, already-approved family record:

1. Log in to the beneficiary portal (or have an operator do it at a CSC or empanelled hospital).
2. Open the Add Member feature and enter the new person's details (a newborn, a spouse after marriage, or anyone missing from the household).
3. Submit the request; an operator or the State Health Agency reviews it before the entry is added to the family list.
4. Once added, the new member still needs to complete their own Aadhaar e-KYC separately, since being added to the household list does not by itself generate a card.

If your family is not on the list at all, there is no NHA-level form to fill; you request inclusion through the state's own convergence or grievance channel:

1. Contact your State Health Agency (SHA), the state-level body that runs PM-JAY in your state, through the helpline 14555 or its own listed contact, and ask about your state's process for reviewing an SECC exclusion.
2. Where your state runs its own top-up or convergence scheme (many states extend PM-JAY-style cover to households the central SECC list misses), ask at your district's PM-JAY office or an Ayushman camp whether you qualify under the state list instead of the central one.
3. Carry proof of your household (ration card, income certificate, Aadhaar of all members) to this office, since a written record of your request is what lets the SHA follow up, unlike a portal search that simply returns "no record found" with nothing to act on.
4. This inclusion review is decided by the state, not instantly and not through the beneficiary portal, so treat 14555 and the district office as the two places to actually push a case, not the portal search bar.

Whichever path applies to you, none of them carries a fee. Anyone offering to "get your name added" or "file your Ayushman application" for payment is selling access to a process that is either free through the portal or handled only by a government office.

How to check your application status

"Status" on PM-JAY covers two different questions, whether your family record and e-KYC are in order, and whether a specific member-addition or inclusion request has been actioned. Each is checked differently.

To check your own card and e-KYC status:

1. Log in at beneficiary.nha.gov.in as a Beneficiary with your mobile number and OTP.
2. Open the Check Status feature from the beneficiary dashboard.
3. Search your family record the same way you would to download the card (Aadhaar, family ID, ration card number or name plus state).
4. The result shows one of a few states against your name: e-KYC pending, card approved and ready to download, or card generated. A "pending" status means the e-KYC step (OTP, fingerprint or iris) has not yet been completed and finished, not that anything has been rejected.

To check status through the Ayushman app: the same Check Status feature is available in the mobile app under the beneficiary login, useful if you started the process on a phone and do not want to switch to a browser.

To check status by phone: call the toll-free helpline 14555 and quote your Aadhaar number, family ID or PMJAY ID if you have one. The call centre can tell you whether your family appears on the beneficiary list and whether e-KYC is complete, which is the fastest route if the portal itself returns no result and you need to know why.

To check status offline: visit the Ayushman Mitra desk at an empanelled hospital or a Common Service Centre; the operator has access to the same beneficiary database and can look up your record and e-KYC status on your behalf, which is the practical option for someone without smooth internet access or without an Aadhaar-linked mobile number for OTP-based portal login.

For an Add Member or inclusion request specifically: there is no separate tracking number issued for these. Follow up the same way you filed the request, through the portal login where the new member's e-KYC status will show once added, or through the district PM-JAY office or SHA helpline where you originally raised an inclusion case.

Common reasons for rejection

PM-JAY does not "reject applications" in the sense of a benefit form being turned down; what actually happens is that a family fails to appear on the beneficiary list, or the card-generation step stalls. These are the concrete reasons behind both, and the fix for each.

• Family not identified in the SECC or state convergence data. This is the single largest reason a search returns no result. The fix is not to retry the portal search with different spellings; it is to raise the case with your State Health Agency or district PM-JAY office, since only a state-level review of the exclusion, not the portal, can change your listing status.
• Aadhaar details do not match the beneficiary record. If the name, date of birth or gender on Aadhaar differs from what is on the beneficiary database (a common outcome of a name change, a marriage, or an old, uncorrected record), e-KYC fails even though the family is genuinely on the list. Correct the Aadhaar record with UIDAI first, since the beneficiary portal pulls its e-KYC match directly from Aadhaar, and only then attempt e-KYC again.
• Biometric authentication fails. Fingerprint e-KYC commonly fails for manual labourers and elderly beneficiaries whose fingerprints have worn down, and iris scanning fails without access to an iris-capable device. The fix is to switch authentication method, using Aadhaar OTP where the mobile number is Aadhaar-linked, or iris scanning at a centre equipped for it, rather than repeating the same failing method.
• Mobile number not linked to Aadhaar. OTP-based e-KYC needs the Aadhaar-linked number specifically, a different mobile number can be used to log in to the portal, but not to complete e-KYC by OTP. Update the linked number with UIDAI, or use biometric e-KYC at an Ayushman Mitra desk instead of waiting on an OTP that will never arrive.
• New family member added but no card generated. Adding a member through the Add Member feature only creates a household entry; it does not generate that person's card. The fix is to complete that individual's own Aadhaar e-KYC afterward, since the two steps are separate and the second one is easy to overlook.
• Duplicate or conflicting record across states. Migrant families or households that moved after the original SECC survey sometimes find a record tied to a different state or an old address. This needs correction through the SHA of the state where the record actually sits, since the portal itself has no self-service option to move a record between states.
• Card exists but treatment is refused at a hospital. This is not a card-generation problem at all; it means either the hospital is not empanelled for that procedure or the hospital staff are wrongly demanding payment. Confirm empanelment through the portal's Find Empanelled Hospital search before admission, and call 14555 on the spot if an empanelled hospital asks a covered beneficiary to pay.