From 1 October 2025, Aadhaar Authentication is mandatory for booking Reserved Tickets online on IRCTC Website or App during the first 15 minutes when general reservations open
Indian Railways has made Aadhaar Authentication mandatory for advance booking of general reserved tickets online on the IRCTC Website or App, during the first 15 minutes of the opening of general reservation, from 1 October 2025 onwards.
As per the latest announcement today on 15 September 2025, by the Ministry of Railways, Govt. of India, with effect from 01 October 2025, during the first 15 minutes of the opening of general reservation, reserved general tickets can be booked through the website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) or its App, only by Aadhaar-authenticated users.
With this new requirement, Indian Railways aims to ensure that the benefits of the Indian railway reservation system reaches the common end users and are not misused by unscrupulous elements.
However, for now, there will be no change in timings for booking general reserved tickets through computerised PRS counters of Indian Railways.
Also, there will be no change in timings of the restriction of 10 minutes of the opening of general reservation during which authorised ticketing agents of Indian Railways shall not be allowed to book opening day reserved tickets.
Aadhaar Authentication is a way to prove your identity through online authentication, where you get an OTP to your phone number that you've linked your Aadhaar i.d. with, and this is used to authenticate your identity online.
For Aadhaar Authentication on IRCTC, once you Log in to the official IRCTC Website https://www.irctc.co.in or alternatively on their offical IRCTC Apps for Android or iOS, Go to the "My Account" section and Click on the “Authenticate User” option and follow the on-screen instructions, your Aadhaar-linked mobile number will receive the OTP for verification on IRCTC. Once verified, your IRCTC account will be authenticated with Aadhaar.
Earlier this year, Indian Railways had made Aadhaar and OTP-based Authentication mandatory for booking Tatkal tickets online and offline from 1st July 2025. And from 15th July 2025, Aadhaar-based OTP authentication was made mandatory for all Tatkal bookings made online. .
In addition to that, it had also enforced booking time restrictions on authorised agents such that there will be no opening-day Tatkal Bookings by Agents in the first 30 minutes, for AC and Non-AC Classes.
These moves were implemented by the Indian Railways aiming to reduce the misuse of Tatkal booking scheme by enhancing user authentication.
And now, as per their latest announcement, Aadhaar Authentication will be mandatory from 1st October 2025 onwards, if you're booking reserved tickets online in advance, on IRCTC website or their App, during the first 15 minutes from the opening of general reservation for a train.
Also, right now, there is no necessity for authentication if you're booking reserved general tickets in advance, at their Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters by going there in person.
You'd already know or heard about railway ticket hoarding rackets which severely inconvenience genuine travellers, such as, where touts or travel agents who unscrupulously book advance reservation tickets in bulk to illegally resell them at a higher price later.
While ticket hoarding makes genuine travellers unable to book a ticket, it also causes losses to the railways too, when the touts cancel tickets after a long time whenever they do not find enough buyers for their hoarded tickets, which may result in empty reserved births in trains which would've otherwise been fully booked.
With Aadhaar Authentication being made mandatory for Tatkal booking earlier in July, and now with it being mandatory for booking general reserved tickets from 1 October onwards, Indian Railways is trying to provide more room for genuine authenticated travellers by trying to thwart mass booking by ticket hoarders as the booking window opens for general reservations.
The official website for booking e-tickets online for Indian Railways trains is the IRCTC website https://www.irctc.co.in. You may also book tickets through Indian Railways' newly released app RailOne - the all-in-one super app for passenger services, which is authorised by IRCTC.
- From October 1, Aadhaar Authentication Mandatory for Booking General Reserved Tickets Online via IRCTC Website/App During First 15 Minutes to Benefit Common End User and Prevent Misuse by Unscrupulous Elements - Ministry of Railways, Govt. of India, on PIB : Press Information Bureau. Posted On: 15 SEP 2025 6:57PM by PIB Delhi.