Ayushman Bharat Card Apply 2026: Eligibility, Documents & Step-by-Step Process

आयुष्मान भारत कार्ड 2026: पात्रता, दस्तावेज़ और आवेदन प्रक्रिया

Quick facts: ₹5 lakh per family per year · free cashless treatment at 27,000+ hospitals · 70+ senior citizens now covered regardless of income · Apply free at beneficiary.nha.gov.in or any CSC · Helpline 14555.

Every year, millions of Indian families fall into debt because of one medical emergency. A hospital stay for a heart bypass, a cancer diagnosis, a serious road accident — any of these can wipe out a lifetime of savings. The Ayushman Bharat scheme (officially Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, or PMJAY) was designed to stop exactly that from happening. If your family qualifies, it covers up to ₹5 lakh of hospital expenses every year, at any empaneled hospital, with zero paperwork at the time of admission.

This guide walks through who qualifies in 2026, which documents you need, and the exact steps to get your Ayushman Card online or offline — with a focus on where applicants most often get stuck.

आयुष्मान भारत कार्ड क्या है — What the Card Actually Covers

The Ayushman Bharat Card (also called the PMJAY card or Golden Card) is your family’s ticket to free hospital treatment under the world’s largest government-funded health assurance scheme.

Coverage amount: ₹5 lakh per family per year — shared among all eligible members of the family, not per person
Packages: 1,929 medical and surgical procedures across 27 specialties, from dialysis to cancer chemotherapy to cardiac stents
Pre-existing conditions: covered from day one, no waiting period
Hospitalization: both public hospitals and empaneled private hospitals (27,000+ across India)
What’s cashless: room charges, ICU, doctor consultations, medicines, investigations, food during stay — everything, paid directly by the government to the hospital
Transport and post-discharge: follow-up medicines for up to 15 days after discharge are included

The card itself is valid across India. You can get treated anywhere, not just in your home state.

पात्रता — Who Qualifies in 2026

Eligibility is based on three separate paths. You only need to qualify under any one of them.

Path 1 — SECC 2011 database (original beneficiaries)

If your household was included in the Socio-Economic Caste Census of 2011 under the deprivation criteria (rural D1–D7) or the occupation criteria (urban 11 listed occupations), you qualify automatically. Most early Ayushman cards came from this list.

Path 2 — State-added families

Many states — Rajasthan (Chiranjeevi), Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal (Swasthya Sathi) and others — have added their own beneficiary lists on top of SECC 2011, often with higher income thresholds. If you applied for a state health scheme, check whether your family was auto-added to Ayushman.

Path 3 — 70+ senior citizens (from October 2024)

This is the big expansion. Every Indian citizen aged 70 years or above now qualifies — regardless of income, caste, or SECC 2011 status. The 2024 Ayushman Vaya Vandana expansion brought roughly 4.5 crore senior citizens under coverage, stacked on top of whatever family coverage already exists.

Not eligible: Central and state government employees with their own medical coverage, ESIC beneficiaries (for in-service members), and families already above the state’s defined exclusion criteria.

आवश्यक दस्तावेज़ — Documents You’ll Need

Before starting the application, keep these ready:

Aadhaar card — mandatory for e-KYC (Aadhaar-linked mobile number must be active)
Mobile number linked to Aadhaar — you’ll receive OTPs
Ration card — not mandatory but speeds up family verification
Recent passport-size photo (digital, under 200 KB) for the card
Bank passbook / cancelled cheque — occasionally asked for state-specific records
Income certificate — only if your state’s additional list requires it (most don’t for card issuance)

The Aadhaar and mobile combination does 90% of the work. If your Aadhaar mobile is no longer active, update it at the nearest Aadhaar Seva Kendra before starting your Ayushman application — it will save a trip.

ऑनलाइन आवेदन प्रक्रिया — Apply Online (Step-by-Step)

This is the fastest route if your Aadhaar mobile works.

Open https://beneficiary.nha.gov.in in any browser (mobile works fine)
Click “Beneficiary Login” and enter your Aadhaar-linked mobile number
Enter the OTP sent to your phone and the captcha
On the search page, select your state, scheme (PMJAY), district, and search by Aadhaar Number for the cleanest result
If your name appears in the beneficiary list, click the e-KYC button next to your name
Complete Aadhaar OTP verification — this is required for every family member separately
Upload your photo (live capture from mobile camera works, or upload an existing one under 200 KB)
Verify your mobile number, residential address, and relationship with the head of family
Submit. Your application goes to the state’s verification queue
Once approved (usually 15 minutes to 48 hours), your Ayushman Card is generated and can be downloaded from the same portal

The card status shows “Approved” when it’s active. Download as PDF and save both on your phone and printed.

If your name is not in the list: you may still qualify under a state-specific expansion or the 70+ category. Use the “Know your eligibility” option on the home page, or visit a CSC (next section).

CSC से आवेदन — Apply Offline at Common Service Centre

For applicants without a smartphone, or those stuck in the online flow, every Common Service Centre (CSC) in India can process Ayushman applications.

Locate your nearest CSC at https://locator.csccloud.in/ — search by pincode
Carry original Aadhaar cards of all family members, a ration card, and Aadhaar-linked mobile phone
The Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) will verify your eligibility through the internal PMJAY search
The VLE completes the e-KYC, takes your biometric (if required), captures a photo, and submits
The official CSC fee is ₹30 per card — anything higher is overcharging. Ask for a receipt.
Your card is printed on-site once approved

State Health Agencies also run camps in rural districts from time to time. Ask your Gram Panchayat if a camp is scheduled in your area.

स्थिति कैसे चेक करें — Check Status and Download the Card

After submission:

Go to beneficiary.nha.gov.in → Beneficiary Login
Enter Aadhaar OTP → click “Check Status”
You’ll see one of three states:
Approved — download your card immediately (PDF link)
Pending for SHA approval — wait 48 hours, no action needed
Rejected — a reason is shown; most common is Aadhaar photo mismatch. Re-submit with a fresh photo.

If the card was issued but you’ve misplaced it, simply log in again and re-download the PDF — there’s no separate “duplicate card” fee.

Hospital use: at admission, just show the card (physical or digital) plus your Aadhaar. The hospital’s Arogya Mitra will verify the beneficiary portal in real time. You never pay anything if your treatment falls within the 1,929 listed packages.

हेल्पलाइन — Official Helpline

Service	Number	Hours
PMJAY National Helpline	14555	24×7, toll-free
PMJAY alt number	1800-111-565	24×7
Hospital empanelment / grievance	1800-11-4477	Mon-Sat, 8 AM to 8 PM
State-specific helpline	varies	see your SHA website

The 14555 line handles Hindi, English, and most regional languages. Use it for eligibility disputes, card-not-generated issues, and hospital refusal complaints (yes — hospitals sometimes refuse cashless, which is a policy violation. Report it.).

FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions

Am I eligible if I’m not on the SECC 2011 list? You may still qualify under your state’s expanded list, or — if you are 70 years or older — under the Vaya Vandana expansion that covers every senior citizen regardless of income. Check directly on beneficiary.nha.gov.in.

Is there any income cap for the 70+ category? No. The October 2024 expansion explicitly removed income tests for Indian citizens aged 70 and above.

Can I use the Ayushman Card anywhere in India? Yes. The card is portable nationwide. If you live in Maharashtra and fall ill while visiting family in Bihar, you can be treated at any empaneled hospital in Bihar without additional formalities.

How much does the card cost? It’s free. The ₹30 CSC fee is for the operator’s service only — not for the card itself. Online application via beneficiary.nha.gov.in has zero fee.

What if a hospital refuses cashless treatment? Call 14555 immediately while still at the hospital. Refusing a valid Ayushman beneficiary is a policy violation, and the SHA can penalize the hospital and ensure your treatment proceeds.

Does the ₹5 lakh reset every year? Yes. The coverage is per family, per financial year, and resets on April 1. Unused amounts do not carry forward.

Are OPD visits and medicines covered? No. Ayushman Bharat covers hospitalization only (including day-care procedures). For OPD and medicines, look into state-specific schemes.

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Last verified: 20 April 2026. Official source: https://beneficiary.nha.gov.in · https://pmjay.gov.in Share this with someone who needs it — it’s one of the few government schemes that actually pays out when it matters.