What is DigiLocker and how to use it to carry all documents on your mobile phone

Linked to both your Aadhaar card number and mobile phone number, DigiLocker eliminates the use of physical documents as part of a Digital India drive by the government as all data is stored in the cloud. Photo: iStock

Who wants to risk loss or damage of vital documents such as driving licence, voter ID card or education certificates? Now keep all such documents safely inside your house and carry the e-copies easily on your phone using the DigiLocker mobile app.

The road transport and highways ministry has written to state transport departments to treat e-copies of driving licence and vehicle registration certificates in the DigiLocker or mParivahan app as valid documents on par with the original ones. However, sometimes the traffic police or the motor vehicles department do not treat such documents as valid. This happens particularly in cases where someone has broken a traffic rule for which the documents need to be impounded by the traffic department.

The ministry has now clarified that even such impounding can be reflected through the VAHAN/SARATHI database electronically through the e-challan system. “There would be no requirement of physical seizure of such documents,” the ministry said in a circular.

What is DigiLocker

Available both on websites and mobile apps, DigiLocker is nothing but a digital locker to store all your documents. Linked to both Aadhaar card and cellphone numbers, DigiLocker eliminates the use of physical documents as part of the government’s Digital India drive, since all data is stored in the cloud.

You can upload scanned copies of your documents (PDF, JPEG or PNG format) and access it anywhere you want. You can also e-sign these uploaded documents, which works like self-attestation of physical documents.

Also read: Demystifying the potential of a Digilocker

On the other hand, organisations like the CBSE, the Registrar Office or the Income Tax Department can also push electronic copies of documents and certificates directly into your e-lockers.

Orginsations registered with DigiLocker include the UIDAI, the road transport and highways ministry, the Income Tax Department, various school boards, including the CBSE, and departments of various state and central government ministries.

According to latest statistics, DigiLocker has 1.35 crore users, with people using it for PAN cards, marksheets, caste certificates, birth certificates, ration cards, etc.

How to use DigiLocker

1. Go to DigiLocker website or downloand DigiLocker app on your smartphone. Using your Aadhaar number and mobile number you can create a user ID using an OTP.

2. If some organisation has uploaded any of your e-documents, you can see it in the account. You can also upload your own documents and e-sign them.

3. You also get the facility of sharing documents with others by sharing a link to the e-document.