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From 1 October 2025, Aadhaar Authority will be mandatory in the first 15 minutes of IRCTC online ticket booking.

Indian Railways has made a big change in online booking of general tickets on IRCTC since 1 October 2025. Now to book tickets, your IRCTC account must be linked to Aadhaar number. The aim of the railway is that only the real passengers should get the tickets and the booking process remains completely transparent.

According to this new rule, passengers who would not have linked their Aadhaar to IRCTC account will not be able to book tickets in the first 15 minutes of booking online general tickets. From 1 October Railway Will give special priority to those passengers whose base will be verified. That is, the Aadhaar link passengers will be able to book tickets 15 minutes before the start of ticket booking. This means that passengers associated with Aadhaar will be able to take advantage of the first booking.

How to do Aadhaar linking?

If you want to link IRCTC account to Aadhaar (How to Link Aadhaar with IRCTC Account), then follow these easy steps.

1. Login- First of all, go to the official website or mobile app of IRCTC. Put your username and password and login.
2. Go to My Account- After login, open the My Account section on the top right. Here you will see the option of Link Your Aadhaar or Aadhaar KYC, choose it.
3. Enter the Aadhaar Number- Now put your 12 -digit Aadhaar number in that box and click on Send OTP button.
4. Verify OTP- An OTP will come on the mobile number related to your Aadhaar. Put it on the website and click on Verify.
5. Confirm Linking-After the fruit verification, a message will come on your screen that your Aadhaar has been successfully linked to the IRCTC account.

Transparency will increase in ticket booking

Railways have taken this step to increase transparency in ticket booking. Its main objective is to reduce the problem of doubling tickets or selling in black market. Now only real passengers will get tickets. This will increase the chances of getting a confirmed ticket to the common passenger and will curb the black market.

Where will this rule not be implemented?

This rule will currently be applicable only to IRCTC's online general ticket booking. Aadhaar linking is already mandatory in TATKAL Ticket Booking. There has been no change in the system of ticket booking from railway counters. Passengers who book tickets from the counter will be able to do it as before.