An “Officially Valid Document”, defined in Rule 2(d) of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, means the Passport, the Driving Licence, proof of possession of Aadhaar number, the Voter’s Identity Card issued by the Election Commission of India, the job card issued by NREGA duly signed by an officer of the State Government, the letter issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India or the National Population Register containing details of name, address and Aadhaar number, or any other document as notified by the Central Government in consultation with the Regulator.
Where simplified measures are applied to verify identity, the following are also deemed docs:
- Identity card with applicant’s photograph issued by Central/State Government Departments, statutory/regulatory authorities, PSUs, scheduled commercial banks, and public financial institutions.
- A letter issued by a gazetted officer, with a duly attested photograph of the person.
Where simplified measures are applied for the limited purpose of proof of address and a prospective customer is unable to produce any evidence of address, the following are deemed docs:
- Utility bills (electricity, telephone, post-paid mobile, piped gas, water) are not over two months old.
- Property or municipal tax receipt.
- Bank account or Post Office savings bank account statement (or, if the reporting entity is in an IFSC, a foreign bank statement).
- Pension or family pension payment orders (PPOs) issued to retired employees by Government Departments or PSUs, if they contain the address.
- Letter of allotment of accommodation from employers in the public sector (and similar bodies) or leave-and-licence agreements with such employers.
These address relaxations are for a limited purpose and do not replace the obligation to maintain current KYC.
- If the document presented by a foreign national does not contain an address, documents issued by the Government departments of those foreign jurisdictions and letters from a Foreign Embassy or Mission in India are acceptable as proof of address.
- In an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), the national identity card and voter identification card issued by foreign jurisdictions (or their authorised agencies), capturing the photograph, name, date of birth and address of a foreign national, are also considered valid.
A client may submit proof of possession of an Aadhaar number as a valid doc using the form issued by UIDAI (physical or approved electronic forms).
The document remains valid even if the name has changed after issuance, provided the change is supported by a marriage certificate issued by the State Government or a Gazette notification indicating the change of name. Offline verification has the same meaning as in the Aadhaar Act; it enables identity verification without online authentication, consistent with the Act’s definition and modalities permitted thereunder. Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) are individuals entrusted with prominent public functions by a foreign country (e.g., heads of state/government, senior politicians, senior government/judicial/military officers, senior executives of state-owned corporations, and key political party officials). The PEP classification affects customer risk categorisation and is used alongside document-based identification during onboarding and ongoing due diligence.
It is important to note that these docs serve identity and address; separate documents are not required if the document address is current. For non-individual clients (companies, partnerships, trusts), entity documents are required in addition to documents of natural persons who are beneficial owners, authorised signatories or controllers.
