Central Government Pensioners' Grievance and Digital Life Certificate Services

What are the Central Government Pensioners' Grievance and Digital Life Certificate services?

Central Government Pensioners' Grievance and Digital Life Certificate services are two free facilities run by the Department of Pension & Pensioners' Welfare (DoPPW) under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, reached through the Pensioners' Portal at pensionersportal.gov.in.

They solve the two problems that dominate a retired central government employee's year:

1. A pension is wrong, delayed or stopped; resolved through CPENGRAMS, the Centralised Pension Grievances Redress And Monitoring System.
2. The annual life certificate is due: resolved through Jeevan Pramaan, the Aadhaar-based Digital Life Certificate.

Both are free. The toll-free helpline 1800-11-1960 covers both, with an integrated grievance cell and call centre set up specifically so that elderly pensioners can register a grievance and check its status by phone rather than online.

The Pensioners' Portal also hosts Bhavishya (online pension sanction and payment tracking for retiring employees), Anubhav (writing and awards for retiring officers), an online pension calculator, and detailed rules, FAQs and case studies on civil pension, defence pension and NPS.

Who is eligible for these services?

You can use CPENGRAMS if:

• You are a central government pensioner or family pensioner, or a serving employee about to retire from central government service.
• Your complaint concerns pension sanction, revision, arrears, commutation, medical allowance, family pension transfer or non-credit of pension.

You can use Jeevan Pramaan if you draw a pension from the Central Government, a State Government or any other government organisation, and hold an Aadhaar number registered with your pension disbursing agency.

You are not eligible / this is the wrong channel if:

• You are a state government pensioner with a state-level grievance; use your state's pension grievance portal. Note that Jeevan Pramaan itself still works for you; only CPENGRAMS is restricted.
• You are an EPFO pensioner under the Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995 — use the EPFiGMS grievance system instead. See Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995.
• You are a defence pensioner whose issue lies in the defence pension disbursement system, that is handled through SPARSH.
• You are seeking a new pension or a welfare payment. These services do not create pension entitlement; they only fix problems with an existing one and keep it running.

What documents are required?

How to apply for pension grievance redress on CPENGRAMS

1. Open pensionersportal.gov.in and go to the CPENGRAMS link, or go directly to the pension module on pgportal.gov.in.
2. Select Lodge Your Grievance and choose whether the complaint is pension-related or of another kind.
3. Enter your personal details, PPO number, pension disbursing authority and the department you retired from.
4. Describe the grievance in the text box, keeping it factual: what was due, what was paid, from which date, and what you have already been told.
5. Upload any supporting documents, such as earlier letters from the department or the bank.
6. Submit the grievance and save the registration number shown on screen.
7. Track progress using View Grievance/Appeal Status with that registration number. Use Send Reminder/Clarification if the case stalls, and the Appeal option if it is closed without a proper reply.

If you cannot use the portal, call 1800-11-1960 and the call centre will register the grievance for you and read back the registration number.

How to submit your Digital Life Certificate

1. Install the AadhaarFaceRD app and the Jeevan Pramaan face authentication app on an Android smartphone from the Google Play Store.
2. Open the Jeevan Pramaan app and enter your mobile number, email ID and Aadhaar number as the operator, then validate with the OTP received.
3. Scan your face when prompted to complete operator authentication.
4. Switch to the pensioner details screen and enter your PPO number, type of pension, sanctioning authority, disbursing agency and account number.
5. Complete the pensioner's face scan. The Digital Life Certificate is generated and stored in the Life Certificate Repository.
6. Note the Pramaan ID sent by SMS and download the certificate from jeevanpramaan.gov.in if you want a copy.

Alternatives if you cannot do it yourself: attend a DLC camp, ask India Post Payments Bank for doorstep service (offered to super-senior and differently-abled pensioners), or go to a bank branch, CSC or designated office for biometric authentication.

The annual DLC campaigns

DoPPW has run nationwide Digital Life Certificate campaigns for several years. DLC Campaign 4.0 ran from 1 to 30 November 2025 across about 2,000 cities and towns on a saturation approach, with a stated target of 2 crore digital life certificates. DoPPW made a special provision allowing pensioners aged 80 years and above to submit their life certificate during October 2025 as well, so that continuity of pension is not put at risk by a crowded November. Aadhaar-based face authentication, introduced in 2021, was the technology the campaign pushed hardest.

The practical takeaway for a pensioner is that November is the month to act, and that face authentication from home is now the default route rather than a fallback.

Where to get help

• Toll-free helpline: 1800-11-1960
• Email: care[dot]dppw[at]nic[dot]in
• Postal address: Department of Pension & Pensioners' Welfare, Loknayak Bhawan, A Wing, 3rd Floor, New Delhi 110003
• Portals: pensionersportal.gov.in, pgportal.gov.in/pension, jeevanpramaan.gov.in

Both services are free. No fee is charged for lodging a grievance, generating a Digital Life Certificate, or attending a DLC camp, and no official will ask a pensioner for an OTP over the phone.