Elderline - National Helpline for Senior Citizens (14567)

What is Elderline 14567?

Elderline is the national helpline for senior citizens of India, reachable on the toll-free four-digit number 14567. Elderline is run by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in collaboration with the National Institute of Social Defence and the participating State and Union Territory governments.

According to the department's senior citizens portal, Elderline was dedicated to the nation on 1 October 2021. The International Day of Older Persons, and now operates in all States and Union Territories. Elderline functions alongside the components of Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana (AVYAY), the ministry's umbrella scheme for senior citizen welfare, and is the single national entry point a senior citizen can use without any paperwork.

Timings: 8 AM to 8 PM, all seven days of the week.

Key features

• A single toll-free number, 14567, valid across India from mobile and landline connections.
• Calls are answered by trained counsellors in the state's own languages, because each State or UT runs its own call centre.
• No registration, no form, no fee and no document is needed to call.
• Elderline can escalate to field intervention. A team that physically reaches the senior citizen when there is abuse or abandonment.

What help does Elderline provide?

The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment lists four categories of service on the Elderline platform.

1. Information: health-related services, shelter and old age homes, day-care centres, caregivers and elder-friendly products available in the caller's district.

2. Guidance: legal assistance, property and family disputes, pension matters, life certificate submission, maintenance claims under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007, and information on government schemes for the elderly.

3. Field intervention — action in cases of abuse, harassment, cheating or atrocity against a senior citizen, and rescue and reunion of homeless or abandoned elderly people. This is the part that distinguishes Elderline from an ordinary information line.

4. Emotional support, counselling for loneliness, anxiety and family conflict, an area where older people living alone often have nowhere else to turn.

Who is eligible for Elderline?

You can call 14567 if:

• You are a senior citizen aged 60 or above anywhere in India, in any state or union territory.
• You are a family member, neighbour, caregiver or bystander calling about a senior citizen who needs help. Elderline accepts third-party calls.
• You need information about a government scheme, an old age home, a pension problem or a legal right connected with an elderly person.

Who cannot use Elderline:

• People with a complaint unrelated to a senior citizen are not eligible and will be redirected to the appropriate service.
• Elderline is not an emergency service. For a medical emergency call 108 or 102, and for a crime in progress call 112. Elderline cannot dispatch an ambulance or a police vehicle.
• Elderline cannot pay money. A caller looking for a cash grant, a pension transfer or a loan cannot apply for it through 14567.

There is no income limit, no BPL requirement and no state-of-residence condition. Elderline is universal for senior citizens.

What documents are required for Elderline?

How to apply for help through Elderline

Elderline has no application form. The process is a phone call.

1. Dial 14567 from any mobile or landline in India between 8 AM and 8 PM, any day of the week. The call is free.
2. Tell the counsellor whether you are the senior citizen or calling on someone else's behalf, and give the district and address.
3. Describe the problem, information, pension, legal help, abuse, abandonment or emotional distress. The counsellor classifies the call into one of the four service categories.
4. Note the reference or case number the counsellor gives you. Use it on every follow-up call.
5. For a field intervention case, stay reachable on the number you called from. The district field team or the local social welfare officer will contact you before visiting.
6. Call back on 14567 with the reference number if there is no response, and ask for the case to be escalated to the state nodal officer.

How much does Elderline cost?

Elderline is entirely free. The 14567 number is toll-free, counselling costs nothing, and field intervention carries no charge. Elderline is a service, not a cash-benefit scheme: there is no rupee entitlement, no bank transfer and no instalment.

Senior citizens looking for money rather than help should look at the old age pension under the National Social Assistance Programme or a contributory pension such as Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan. Those looking for free walking sticks, hearing aids or wheelchairs should read Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana.

Help and grievance redressal

• Elderline: 14567, 8 AM to 8 PM, all seven days.
• Senior Citizens Welfare Portal: scw.dosje.gov.in, for scheme information and state nodal officer contacts.
• District Social Welfare Officer, for escalation when a field intervention case is not acted on.

No one may charge a senior citizen a fee for calling Elderline or for being "registered" on it. Report any such demand on 14567 itself.