Families often worry about what to do with a deceased person’s identity documents, especially PAN and Aadhaar. A reader from Chennai asked whether these cards must be surrendered and to whom.
On PAN, the guidance is that there is no legal requirement to surrender it immediately after death. However, to avoid the risk of misuse, it is considered advisable to submit the PAN card to the Income Tax Department.
It is also suggested that the PAN be handed over after key formalities are completed—such as transferring bank accounts, mutual funds and assets in the deceased person’s name to the legal heirs, and filing the final income tax return on behalf of the deceased.
For Aadhaar, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has not laid down any official procedure to cancel, delete or surrender the Aadhaar card of a deceased person. Therefore, there is no need to surrender Aadhaar.
