A Senior Citizen ID Card is a document that verifies an individual is a senior citizen, that is over the age of 60. It is similar to a school, college, or professional ID card in the sense that it also contains information like a person’s age, blood group and emergency contact number.

How to apply for a Senior Citizen ID card?

Before applying for a Senior Citizen ID card, it is important to check whether or not you are eligible for it. The eligibility criteria for the Senior Citizen ID card is as follows:

  • You must have some documentation that verifies your age.
  • Produce proof of address, such as Ration Card, Election Card, and so on.

If you fulfil these criterion, follow the steps mentioned below to apply for a Senior Citizen ID card:

  • Visit the official website of the state or Union Territory (UT) you live in.
  • Register yourself on the website by providing a few basic details.
  • Download and fill the application form available on the website.
  • Submit the application form, along with two photographs and the required documents.
  • Once you’ve done that, your application will be scrutinised for any inconsistencies. If there are no gaps, you should receive them in a few weeks.

Benefits of Senior Citizen ID Card

Let us now see the various benefits associated with Senior Citizen ID cards.

  1. Discounts on rail and airplane tickets

Senior citizens who have a valid Senior Citizen ID card can get attractive discounts on rail and airplane tickets. Citizens over 63 years of age are currently eligible for a 50% discount on economy fare for domestic travel via Air India. Those over 65 years are, meanwhile, eligible for a 50% discount for domestic travel within India for Jet Airways. The same goes for travelling in various coaches of Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto trains.

  1. Access to personalised government and private schemes

Having a Senior Citizen ID card gives you access to some of the most rewarding government and private schemes. For example, the Varistha Mediclaim Policy offers a maximum insurance sum of ₹1 lakh for hospitalisation and ₹2 lakh for critical insurance. LIC also has multiple schemes specifically designed for senior citizens. Private investment players have equally impressive investment and healthcare schemes for senior citizens.

  1. Tax benefits

Paying tax is not ideal for senior citizens. The government understands that and offers multiple benefits to ensure senior citizens feel little or no tax burden. Senior citizens earning ₹3 lakh annually are exempt from tax, while those earning between ₹3-6 lakh, ₹5-10 lakh, and more than ₹10 lakh, must only pay 10%, 20%, and 30% tax, respectively. Senior citizens can also avail multiple kinds of tax deductions under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

  1. Banking benefits

Senior citizens having a Senior Citizen ID card get special treatment at various nationalised and private banks. Almost every bank also has a specialized senior citizens savings account, which comes with lots of benefits like higher interest rate, personalised and quick customer service, and discounts on various other kinds of banking services.

List of Documents Required:

To support your application for a senior citizen ID card, you need to provide documents for address, identity and age. Every state administration may have its own list of documents that you must submit. But, the following are the most frequently requested documents to get a Senior Citizen ID Card:

  1. Properly filled-in Application Form
  2. 3 Passport-size Photo
  3. Identity Proof
  4. Address Proof
  5. Age Proof

Documents Required for Identity Proof:

Documents Required for Address Proof:

Documents Required for Age Proof:

Here’s the list of online portals of various states and UTs where you can apply for a Senior Citizen ID Card:

Sr. No.StateOnline Portal
1Andhra PradeshMEESEVA App of Andhra Pradesh
2Arunachal Pradeshe-Services Portal of Arunachal Pradesh
2Assame-District Services Portal of Assam
3BiharRTPS Portal of Bihar
4Chhattisgarhe-district Portal of Chhattisgarh
5GoaOnline Portal of Goa
6GujaratDigital Gujarat Portal of Gujarat
7Haryanae-Disha Portal of Haryana
8Himachal Pradeshe-District Portal of Himachal Pradesh
9JharkhandJharSewa Portal of Jharkhand
10KarnatakaNadakacheri-AJSK Portal of Karnataka
11KeralaAkshaya Portal of Kerala
12Madhya Pradeshe-District Portal of Madhya Pradesh
13MaharashtraAaple Sarkar Portal of Maharashtra
14Manipure-District Portal of Manipur
15Meghalayae-District Portal of Meghalaya
16Mizorame-District Portal of Mizoram
17Nagalande-District Portal of Nagaland
18Odishae-District Portal of Odisha
19PunjabState Portal of Punjab
20Rajasthane-Mitra Portal of Rajasthan
21Sikkime-Services Portal of Sikkim
22Tamil Nadue-Sevai Center of Tamil Nadu
23TelanganaMeeSeva Portal of Telangana
24Tripurae-District Portal of Tripura
25Uttar Pradeshe-Saathi Web Portal or e-Saathi Mobile App
26Uttarakhande-District Portal of Uttarakhand.
27West Bengale-District Portal of West Bengal
28Andaman and Nicobar IslandsOfficial Portal of Andaman & Nicobar Administration.
29ChandigarhSampark Portal of Chandigarh
30Dadra and Nagar HaveliOfficial Portal of Dadra and Nagar Haveli Administration
31Daman and DiuOfficial Portal of Daman and Diu Administration.
32Delhie-District Portal of Delhi.
33Jammu and KashmirRevenue Department of Jammu and Kashmir.
34LadakhNot applicable
35LakshadweepNot applicable
36Puducherrye-District Portal of Puducherry.