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ABHA health ID guide for your patients. A printable step sheet in English and Hindi.
Free printable ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) guide for clinic patients: the Aadhaar and driving licence routes, the OTP step, the ABHA address, the helpline, in English and Hindi on your letterhead.
Handout
A line from the clinic
Clinic
Doctor
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Clinic name
Create your ABHA number
अपना ABHA नंबर बनाएँ
ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) is a 14-digit number that links your health records so you can share them with a doctor when you choose. It is free and voluntary. It is not an Ayushman card and does not give free treatment.
ABHA (आयुष्मान भारत हेल्थ अकाउंट) 14 अंकों का नंबर है जो आपके स्वास्थ्य रिकॉर्ड को जोड़ता है, ताकि आप चाहें तो उन्हें डॉक्टर के साथ साझा कर सकें। यह मुफ़्त और स्वैच्छिक है। यह आयुष्मान कार्ड नहीं है और इससे मुफ़्त इलाज नहीं मिलता।
Keep your Aadhaar number and the mobile linked to it with you.
अपना आधार नंबर और आधार से जुड़ा मोबाइल पास रखें।
Open abha.abdm.gov.in, or install the ABHA app from Google Play or the App Store.
abha.abdm.gov.in खोलें, या Google Play / App Store से ABHA ऐप लगाएँ।
Choose to create an ABHA number with Aadhaar, enter the number and give consent.
आधार से ABHA नंबर बनाना चुनें, आधार नंबर डालें और सहमति दें।
Enter the OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile, then verify your own mobile number.
आधार से जुड़े मोबाइल पर आया OTP डालें, फिर अपना मोबाइल नंबर सत्यापित करें।
Choose an ABHA address like name@abdm. It is easier to remember than the 14 digits.
name@abdm जैसा ABHA एड्रेस चुनें। यह 14 अंकों से याद रखना आसान है।
Save or download your ABHA card. No paper has to be submitted anywhere.
अपना ABHA कार्ड सेव या डाउनलोड करें। कहीं कोई कागज़ जमा नहीं करना है।
No mobile linked to Aadhaar? Use your driving licence instead (name, date of birth, gender), or ask at a participating health facility for Aadhaar biometric verification.
आधार से मोबाइल नहीं जुड़ा? ड्राइविंग लाइसेंस से बनाएँ (नाम, जन्मतिथि, लिंग), या किसी सहभागी स्वास्थ्य केंद्र पर आधार बायोमेट्रिक सत्यापन करवाएँ।
Your records are shared only with your consent, record by record, and you can opt out of ABHA later.
आपके रिकॉर्ड केवल आपकी सहमति से, एक-एक रिकॉर्ड के अनुसार साझा होते हैं, और आप बाद में ABHA से बाहर निकल सकते हैं।
Help: 1800-11-4477 or 14477 · grievance.abdm.gov.in
सहायता: 1800-11-4477 या 14477 · grievance.abdm.gov.in
Source: National Health Authority, ABDM FAQ, and PIB explainer of 4 April 2024.
Preview at reduced size. Prints one A4 sheet; print as many as the desk needs.
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What the handout tells patients, and where it comes from
Every line on the sheet is drawn from the National Health Authority's own FAQ and the PIB explainer. These cards quote the source for each.
- NHA, ABDM FAQ, ABHA Number
ABHA is a random 14-digit number
"An individual/citizen/patient is provided with a randomly generated fourteen-digit number which is known as ABHA." It identifies a person in the digital health ecosystem and links their records, with consent, across providers.
- NHA, ABDM FAQ, ABHA Number
It is voluntary
"No, it is not mandatory for all citizens to get an ABHA Number." The FAQ also answers whether a patient without one can be denied treatment: "No." The handout says so, and the desk keeps its normal registration route for everyone.
- PIB explainer, 4 April 2024; NHA, ABDM FAQ
It is free, and it is not an Ayushman card
Any individual can generate an ABHA "free of cost". Holding one "does not mean the eligibility of a person for the particular scheme including AB-PMJAY", and the FAQ says it gives no free treatment. The two cards are different programmes of the same authority.
- NHA, ABDM FAQ, ABHA Number
Two self-registration routes
"ABHA number can be generated in two ways i.e. via Aadhaar and Driving licence in self-registration mode." Aadhaar needs the Aadhaar number and the mobile linked to it; the driving licence route asks for the licence, name, date of birth and gender. No physical document is submitted.
- NHA, ABDM FAQ, ABHA Number
Consent is the OTP
"The consent is sought by submitting the OTP (one-time password) received on your Aadhaar linked mobile number while creating your ABHA." A patient whose Aadhaar has no linked mobile can use biometric authentication at a participating facility.
- NHA, ABDM FAQ, ABHA Number; PIB explainer, 4 April 2024
The ABHA address is the part to remember
An ABHA address is "a unique address similar to a virtual payment address or email ID", such as ajay@abdm, created in the ABHA app or another PHR app and linked to the number. Patients need not memorise the 14 digits.
- NHA, ABDM FAQ, ABHA Number
Records stay with the provider, shared record by record
"ABDM does not store any health records." They stay with the clinic or hospital that made them, and consent is "granular": it can be given for each record separately. A patient can also opt out and deactivate the ABHA number.
- NHA, ABDM FAQ, ABHA Mobile App
Scan and share at the counter
At an ABDM-enabled facility a patient can scan the clinic's QR code in the ABHA app to share name, gender, mobile, date of birth and ABHA details for a token. That needs clinic software that supports it; the handout does not promise it.
- NHA, ABDM FAQ, ABHA Number
Help lines for a stuck patient
"You can either speak at our call center number, 1800-11-4477 / 14477 or can file an online grievance at https://grievance.abdm.gov.in/". Both are printed at the foot of the handout so the desk is not the help desk.
Using the handout at the desk
For the clinic that wants patients to have an ABHA without turning the counter into an Aadhaar centre.
Print A4 copies for the notice board and A5 copies to hand over with the prescription
Give the sheet to patients who ask about ABHA or who were asked for one elsewhere; do not make it a condition of registration
Tell patients the clinic does not create the number for them; they do it on their own phone in about five minutes
Point patients without an Aadhaar-linked mobile to the driving licence route or a participating facility, as the sheet says
Do not collect or photocopy Aadhaar numbers at the desk for this; the OTP goes to the patient's own phone
If a patient brings an ABHA number or address, write it in the register only if the clinic has a use for it and the patient agrees
Keep the helpline on the sheet as the place for problems, and keep the clinic's own number for appointments
Where Vitels stands on ABDM
Vitels does not connect to ABDM today: it does not create ABHA numbers, read Scan and Share QR codes or link records to ABHA. It runs the clinic's own patient registration and token queue, with tokens sent to patients on WhatsApp and SMS. This handout is for clinics that want to point patients the right way regardless.
Straight answers
What is an ABHA number?
ABHA stands for Ayushman Bharat Health Account. It is a randomly generated 14-digit number issued under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission that identifies a person in the digital health system and lets them link their health records and share them with a doctor with their consent.
How does a patient create an ABHA number?
On abha.abdm.gov.in or in the ABHA app: choose to create with Aadhaar, enter the Aadhaar number, give consent, enter the OTP sent to the Aadhaar-linked mobile, verify a mobile number and choose an ABHA address. A driving licence can be used instead of Aadhaar. The FAQ says it takes about five minutes and no paper is submitted.
Is ABHA compulsory for treatment at a clinic?
No. The ABDM FAQ says it is not mandatory, and that a patient will not be denied treatment for not having one. Creating it is voluntary and free.
Is an ABHA card the same as an Ayushman card?
No. The Ayushman card belongs to AB-PMJAY, the hospitalisation cover scheme. ABHA is a health record identity. Having an ABHA does not make anyone eligible for AB-PMJAY or for free treatment.
What if the patient's Aadhaar is not linked to a mobile number?
The FAQ recommends linking it at an Aadhaar centre, or visiting a participating health facility for biometric authentication with Aadhaar, after which the ABHA number is issued there. The driving licence route is the other option.
Does the clinic need ABDM registration to hand this out?
No. The handout explains how a patient creates their own ABHA; it does not need anything from the clinic. Registering the clinic itself in the Health Facility Registry is a separate, voluntary step covered in our ABDM guide.
Is anything I type sent to Vitels?
No. The clinic name and phone are kept in this browser so the other Vitels tools can reuse them. No patient details are typed into this tool.
This page and the handout summarise the National Health Authority's ABDM FAQ (abdm.gov.in/faq) and the Press Information Bureau explainer on Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts of 4 April 2024, as read on 31 Oct 2026. Screen labels on abha.abdm.gov.in and in the ABHA app may change. The Hindi text is a plain translation prepared by the Vitels team; have a Hindi reader check it before printing. It is patient guidance, not legal advice.
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