No papers? You can still do KYC or produce car licence using DigiLocker

You can show digital license or RC to police officers or Aadhaar to enter an airport

The next time a policeman asks for your car-related papers, instead of pulling out different sets of documents, how about opening an app on your mobile that has everything in digital format -- license, vehicle registration, insurance, etc? These aren't just scanned copies but documents considered original by law. And DigiLocker app makes them such.

The government had issued a notification that digital copies of vehicle papers, which are stored in the Digilocker app, will be accepted legally as the original. DigiLocker is similar to a demat account that holds shares in electronic format. In DigiLocker, a user can get different government departments to issue documents in digital format. At present, there are 117 such issuers. You can get Permanent Account Number (PAN), Aadhaar Card, vehicle fitness certificate, vehicle tax receipt, class 10 and 12 mark sheets, driving license, caste certificate, ration card, domicile certificate, birth certificate, college degrees and diplomas, marriage certificate, and many more documents.

Apart from being a virtual briefcase to hold your documents, one of the most prevalent uses of DigiLocker is online KYC (Know Your Customer). Angel Broking, Edelweiss Broking, Kedia Commodity Comtrade and Zerodha, for example, are registered with DigiLocker as “Requestors”. When opening an account with these stockbrokers, their customers can do online KYC using DigiLocker. Similarly, BankBazaar and FundsTiger use it for KYC for providing loans. “We are working on expanding the use of DigiLocker. It can be used in the health sector, where the user will upload medical documents and hospital treating him can request the medical history,” says Debabarta Nayak, project director of DigiLocker.

Nayak explains other uses. Universities can request for marksheets if a student applies for admission. Many employers spend around Rs 5,000 on document verification after hiring an employee. They can instead request for original documents from DigiLocker, which can result in huge cost saving. If someone is setting up a new business, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs can pull request documents. The idea is to reduce the paperwork and make processes faster.

DigiLocker also allows users to scan and upload their documents. The service is free and allows up to one gigabyte (1 GB) space. Documents that a user uploads have to be below 10MB each. Earlier, DigiLocker also provided a facility where its user could upload documents and self-attest them using Aadhaar-based e-Signature. “A person’s identity needs to be attached to the document to make it legal, which is akin to signing on physical forms. Aadhaar allows to attach a person’s identity at a much lower cost than using digital signature certificates,” says Nayak. But since the Supreme Court judgment on the use of Aadhaar, the service is no longer provided on the platform. E-signing a document is still possible, but it isn't seamless like earlier and involves a lengthier procedure.

Some issuers are yet to come on the platform such as Minister of External Affairs, which issues passport, or Election Commission of India that issues voters’ identity card. That’s because each ministry has its regulations on data sharing.

Signing up is easy. While you can sign up using a mobile number, having an Aadhaar is mandatory to request documents from issuers. You can get documents issued from government departments and also upload your own like you can also upload your Will. “But do remember that an electronically signed Will is not considered an authentic document as it is not legally recognised,” says Prashant Mali, cyber security expert and Supreme Court lawyer. He also explains that if someone passes away, family members need to get a succession certificate to certify the legal heir and then can petition the DigiLocker for the procedure of account takeover.

How Digilocker works

1. Sign-up with mobile
2. Sync your Aadhaar
3. Get documents from issuers
4. Requesters ask for document
5. After consent, document is shared
6. Documents verified by requesters