Pensioners aged 80 years and above can submit their annual Jeevan Pramaan Digital Life Certificate from October 1, 2026, according to the Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare's memorandum of 31 October 2025. This early window has been maintained from previous years, providing senior pensioners with additional time to complete their annual proof-of-life verification. Pensioners below 80 years generally submit their certificates from November 1, with the final deadline set for November 30, 2026. The memorandum, F.No.11/1/2025-P&PW(H)-V, is addressed to pension-disbursing banks, the Central Pension Accounting Office, the Railway Board, Defence and other departments, covering central pensioners only.
Jeevan Pramaan is an Aadhaar-based, biometric-enabled Digital Life Certificate that enables eligible pensioners to complete annual proof-of-life verification digitally instead of submitting physical certificates to their Pension Disbursing Agency. The facility is available to pensioners whose Pension Sanctioning Authority is onboarded on the Jeevan Pramaan platform. However, pensioners who are re-employed or remarried are not eligible to use the Digital Life Certificate facility and must follow conventional procedures. The memorandum lists six routes for central pensioners to submit their certificates, with the certificate being not valid for life and its validity determined by the rules of the relevant Pension Sanctioning Authority.
The Digital Life Certificate is generated after pensioner identity authentication using Aadhaar-based biometric authentication. Once generated, the certificate is stored in the Jeevan Pramaan repository and can be accessed electronically by Pension Disbursing Agencies. The certificate is not valid for life and its validity is determined by the rules of the relevant Pension Sanctioning Authority. When validity expires, pensioners must submit a fresh Life Certificate, with a new Pramaan ID generated upon successful creation. The memorandum notes that a digital certificate is subject to approval of the sanctioning or disbursing authority.
Pensioners should prepare their Aadhaar number, mobile number, and pension-related details before generating the Digital Life Certificate. These details include the Pension Payment Order (PPO) number, pension account number, and pension-disbursing bank details. The pensioner must complete the required authentication process, which may include fingerprint, iris, or face authentication depending on the authentication method used. The certificate can be generated through Jeevan Pramaan centres including Common Service Centres, banks, and government offices, or through the Jeevan Pramaan application at home. The memorandum emphasizes that incorrect information may lead to rejection, and that pensioners should verify with their bank or Pension Disbursing Agency for any additional requirements before submitting their Life Certificate.
The Digital Life Certificate Campaign 4.0 concluded in December 2025, generating 1.54 crore certificates according to the Department's release. Over 91 lakh certificates, or 60%, used face authentication, with more than 11 lakh coming from pensioners aged 80 and above. State Bank of India's pension FAQ confirms that pension for November and onwards is not paid without the certificate, and once the certificate is entered, pension is paid with arrears in the next processing cycle, which is normally weekly. The Department has run a digital life certificate campaign each year since 2022, expanding from 37, 100 and 845 cities to 2,000 cities and districts in 2025. A 2026 edition has not been announced in any official document found so far, so the exact campaign dates remain unconfirmed.
