How to Apply for a PAN Card Online in 2026 (New Forms 93–96 Explained)
If you last read about applying for a PAN card even a year ago, most of what you learned is now out of date.
The Income Tax Department replaced the old application forms entirely from 1 April 2026, and NSDL, the agency most guides still refer to, has been operating under a different name for a while now.
This guide covers the process exactly as it works today.
Quick Answer:
You can get a PAN in one of two ways: a free Instant e-PAN through the Income Tax e-filing portal (only for first-time individual applicants with a valid Aadhaar), or a paid application through Protean eGov Technologies (formerly NSDL) or UTIITSL, which gets you both a digital e-PAN and a physical card by post. Since 1 April 2026, every paid application must use one of four new forms ( 93, 94, 95, or 96 ) depending on who’s applying. The old Forms 49A and 49AA are no longer accepted.
Important: What Changed in 2026
Three things make this genuinely different from how PAN applications worked even twelve months ago, and skipping them is the fastest way to get your application rejected:
1. NSDL is now Protean eGov Technologies. If your existing PAN card or any older guide refers to “NSDL,” that’s the same organisation. It rebranded some time back. The portal, application process, and PAN cards themselves are unaffected; only the name changed.
2. Forms 49A and 49AA are dead. As of 1 April 2026, under the Income Tax Act, 2025 and the Income Tax Rules, 2026, all new PAN applications must use one of four new forms: 93, 94, 95, or 96. Applications submitted on the old forms after this date are rejected outright. If your PAN application was already pending before 1 April 2026, it remains valid. You don’t need to reapply.
3. Aadhaar alone no longer proves your date of birth. From April 2026, applicants must submit a separate birth certificate, passport, or matriculation certificate as proof of date of birth. Aadhaar by itself is no longer sufficient for this specific requirement, even though it’s still used for identity and address verification.
Related: How to Link Aadhaar with PAN Online in 2026
Which New PAN Form Do You Need?
The single biggest change is that there’s no longer one form for “Indian citizens” and one for “everyone else.” There are now four, split by both citizenship and applicant type:
| Form | Who Uses It | Replaces |
|---|---|---|
| Form 93 | Individual Indian citizens, including minors (via guardian) and NRIs with Indian citizenship | Form 49A (individual portion) |
| Form 94 | Indian companies, LLPs, partnership firms, trusts, HUFs, and other Indian entities | Form 49A (entity portion) |
| Form 95 | Individuals who are not Indian citizens, including foreign nationals and OCIs | Form 49AA (individual portion) |
| Form 96 | Foreign companies and entities incorporated outside India | Form 49AA (entity portion) |
Most individual applicants reading this guide will use Form 93. Note that Form 93 now also requires your mother’s name as a mandatory field during application, even though you can still choose which parent’s name is printed on the physical card, and your name must match your Aadhaar record exactly. Initials are generally not accepted unless your Aadhaar record uses them too.
Who Needs a PAN?
A wide range of individuals and entities require PAN, including salaried individuals, self-employed professionals, businesses, trusts, HUFs, minors (through a guardian), senior citizens, and foreign entities conducting financial transactions in India.
You’ll need one specifically for filing income tax returns, opening a bank account, most transactions above ₹50,000, mutual fund and stock market investments, and buying or selling property.
Three Ways to Get a PAN
1. Instant e-PAN (Free, Fastest)
If you’ve never been allotted a PAN before, are an adult individual taxpayer, and have a valid Aadhaar with an active linked mobile number, you can generate a PAN entirely free through the Income Tax e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in). This is genuinely the fastest route for most first-time individual applicants.
Limitations to know before you start: Instant e-PAN issues a digital PAN only. No physical card is mailed to you. It’s also not available if you’re covered under Section 160 as a “Representative Assessee,” or if you’ve held a PAN before under a different process.
Steps:
- Go to the Income Tax e-filing portal and select Instant e-PAN.
- Enter your Aadhaar number and confirm.
- Verify using the OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile number.
- Review your Aadhaar-sourced details for accuracy.
- Submit; your e-PAN typically generates within minutes to a few hours, and is emailed to your registered address.
If you later want a physical card too, you can request one separately through Protean or UTIITSL for a small dispatch fee, without redoing the full application.
2. New PAN via Protean (Formerly NSDL) or UTIITSL
This is the standard route for anyone who needs a physical card, doesn’t meet Instant e-PAN’s eligibility criteria, or is applying on behalf of an entity rather than as an individual.
Steps:
- Visit the Protean portal (onlineservices.proteantech.in) or the UTIITSL PAN portal (pan.utiitsl.com).
- Select New PAN and choose the correct form for your category – 93, 94, 95, or 96.
- Fill in your personal or entity details, including the newly mandatory mobile number and email ID (used for tracking and digital delivery).
- Choose your verification method: Aadhaar-based e-KYC (faster, largely paperless) or physical document submission by post.
- Upload your photograph and signature in the specified format if applying digitally.
- Pay the applicable fee online via net banking, debit/credit card, or demand draft.
- If using e-KYC, e-sign using Aadhaar OTP authentication to complete the process digitally. If not, courier your physical documents to the Protean or UTIITSL office within 15 days of submitting online.
- Save your acknowledgement number; you’ll need it to track your application.
- Once verified, your e-PAN is emailed, and a physical card is dispatched to your registered address, typically within 15 working days.
3. Offline Application Through a PAN Centre
For applicants without reliable internet access, or those who simply prefer an in-person process, PAN centres are available across most towns and cities.
Download and print the correct form (93, 94, 95, or 96) from the Protean or UTIITSL website, fill it out, attach the required documents and photographs, and submit it in person along with the fee. This route particularly suits rural and remote areas where digital access is inconsistent.
Related: How To Apply For an Aadhaar Card Online
Documents You’ll Need
Requirements vary slightly by form and applicant category, but generally include:
- Proof of identity: Aadhaar, passport, voter ID, or driving licence
- Proof of address: Aadhaar, utility bill, bank statement, or passport
- Proof of date of birth: birth certificate, passport, matriculation certificate, or a similar document (Aadhaar alone is no longer sufficient for this specific requirement as of April 2026)
- Two passport-sized photographs for physical applications
- Proof of existing PAN: required specifically for correction or reprint requests
- Proof of date of incorporation: for entities applying via Form 94 or 96
Correcting or Updating PAN Details
If your PAN card has incorrect information, a common example is a name change after marriage, you don’t use a separate “correction form.”
Instead, you file a correction request through the same Protean or UTIITSL channels, checking the specific boxes for the fields that need updating and submitting fresh identity and address proof for those fields.
The Income Tax Department verifies the correction and issues a new physical card reflecting the updated details.
One update worth knowing: address-only changes via Aadhaar e-KYC on the UTIITSL portal can often be done free of charge, distinct from other corrections which carry the standard correction fee.
Reprinting a Lost or Damaged PAN Card
If your PAN card is lost, stolen, or physically damaged but your details haven’t changed, you can request a reprint rather than a full correction.
This is available through the same Protean or UTIITSL reprint service. You’ll need your existing PAN number, and verification typically uses your Aadhaar and date of birth rather than a fresh set of ID documents.
A reprint gets you a fresh physical card with identical data, dispatched to your registered address.
PAN Card Fees in 2026
| Application Type | Fee (Indian Address) | Fee (Foreign Address) |
|---|---|---|
| New PAN (physical card) | ₹107 (₹91 + 18% GST) | ₹1,017 (₹862 + GST) |
| e-PAN only, no physical card | ₹66–72 | Not applicable |
| Instant e-PAN via Aadhaar | Free | Not applicable |
| Correction or update | ₹50 | ₹959 |
| Reprint (no data change) | ₹50 | ₹959 |
Card payments carry an additional 2% processing charge from the respective bank. Postal/dispatch costs for the physical card are already factored into the fees above.
How Long Does It Take?
Once your application and documents are verified, expect your physical PAN card within 15 working days of submission. This is a fruitful improvement over the older 15–30 day estimate many guides still quote.
Instant e-PAN, by contrast, is typically ready within minutes to a few hours, since there’s no physical card or postal document verification involved.
Tracking Your Application Status
Both Protean and UTIITSL let you track your application free of charge using your acknowledgement number (Protean applications) or coupon number (UTIITSL applications).
If you’ve misplaced your acknowledgement number, most portals also offer a name-based status lookup as a fallback. Status updates typically become meaningful only a few days after submission, once initial processing has begun.
PAN 2.0: What’s Coming Next
In November 2024, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved PAN 2.0, a ₹1,435 crore e-governance project designed to replace the current three-portal setup ( Protean, UTIITSL, and the separate e-filing portal) with a single, unified Income Tax Department platform. LTIMindtree is the confirmed managed service provider building it.
As of this writing, the unified portal has not yet gone live. Protean and UTIITSL continue processing new applications, corrections, and e-PAN requests through their existing, separate systems exactly as described above.
What has already rolled out is the enhanced dynamic QR code now appearing on most newly issued and reprinted cards, which reflects your latest database information in real time rather than the static, point-in-time QR code on older cards.
Once the unified portal launches, e-PAN generation is expected to become free across the board. But until then, the process in this guide is the one to follow.
PAN for NRIs and Foreign Nationals
NRIs holding Indian citizenship use Form 93, the same form as resident Indian individuals. The process and required documents are otherwise identical to a resident application. Foreign nationals and OCIs use Form 95, and foreign companies or entities use Form 96.
Any foreign national or entity conducting financial transactions or holding a business interest in India needs an Indian PAN, regardless of whether they’re physically present in the country.
Common Mistakes That Cause Rejection or Delay
- Using an outdated Form 49A or 49AA for any application submitted on or after 1 April 2026. These are rejected outright.
- Name mismatches with Aadhaar, particularly using initials on the application when your Aadhaar record spells the name in full, or vice versa.
- Submitting Aadhaar as your only proof of date of birth – you now need a separate document like a birth certificate or passport for this specific requirement.
- Missing mobile number or email ID – both are now mandatory fields for tracking and digital delivery, not optional extras.
- Sending physical documents after the 15-day window for e-KYC applications that require a courier follow-up.
- Applying for a correction using a fresh “New PAN” application instead of the correction request. This can result in being flagged for holding multiple PANs, which carries its own penalty.
Conclusion
The core idea behind applying for a PAN hasn’t changed. Verify your identity, submit the right documents, and pay a modest fee. But the specific forms, agency name, and a few document requirements genuinely have, and using outdated information here can mean a rejected application and a lost fee.
Use Form 93 if you’re an individual Indian citizen, check whether you qualify for the free Instant e-PAN route first, and keep a separate date-of-birth document ready alongside your Aadhaar before you start.
Once PAN 2.0’s unified portal eventually launches, this process will likely get even simpler. Until then, Protean and UTIITSL remain the two channels to know.
Frequently Asked Questions
NSDL eGov rebranded to Protean eGov Technologies. It’s the same organisation performing the same function. Only the name has changed, and older references to “NSDL” in other guides refer to this same agency.
No. From 1 April 2026, Form 49A and 49AA are no longer accepted for new applications. Use Form 93, 94, 95, or 96 depending on your applicant category.
Form 93, which covers individual Indian citizens, including minors applying through a guardian and NRIs holding Indian citizenship.
Yes, for eligible first-time individual applicants with a valid Aadhaar and linked active mobile number. It issues a digital PAN only, not a physical card.
Yes. You can request a physical card separately through Protean or UTIITSL for a small dispatch fee without redoing your full application.
₹107 for a physical card with an Indian communication address, ₹66–72 for an e-PAN-only application, and free for eligible Instant e-PAN applicants.
Around 15 working days for a physical card after successful verification. Instant e-PAN is typically ready within minutes to a few hours.
No, not since April 2026. You now need a separate document such as a birth certificate, passport, or matriculation certificate specifically for date-of-birth proof.
It remains valid. Only applications submitted on or after 1 April 2026 must use the new Forms 93–96.
File a correction request through Protean or UTIITSL using the same online process, selecting only the specific fields that need updating and submitting fresh proof for those fields.
No single dedicated “correction form”. You use the same online correction request process, checking the boxes for the fields needing an update.
Request a reprint through Protean or UTIITSL using your existing PAN number. This issues a fresh physical card with identical data rather than requiring a full reapplication.
Yes, most portals also support a name-based status lookup if you’ve misplaced your acknowledgement number.
Yes. Foreign individuals use Form 95, and foreign companies or entities use Form 96. Both are distinct from the Indian citizen and Indian entity forms.
Yes. Your existing PAN card and number remain fully valid. The form changes affect only how new applications, corrections, and reprints are submitted going forward.
PAN 2.0 is a government project to unify PAN services into a single portal with free e-PAN generation and enhanced dynamic QR codes. It hasn’t launched yet, so applications still go through Protean or UTIITSL exactly as described in this guide.
Yes, PAN-Aadhaar linking is a separate compliance requirement from applying for a new PAN, and unlinked PANs can become inoperative for certain transactions. Check your linking status if you’re unsure.
Yes, through Form 93, with a parent or guardian completing the application and providing their own identity documents alongside the minor’s details.
Yes. A new PAN costs ₹107 for an Indian address, while a correction or reprint costs ₹50, since no fresh PAN number is being allotted in the latter case.
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