PAN card correction: an agent's counter guide

“My PAN card is wrong, please fix it” can mean four different jobs. The spelling of the name may be off. The address may have changed. Or the card is lost and nothing is wrong with the details. Each job has its own form, proof and fee, so the first few minutes at the counter matter most.

Ask the customer to explain the problem in their own words. Write down the result they want, and agree on it before you talk about money. Everything below about forms, proofs and fees was checked on 18 October 2026.

Which service does the customer actually need?

A corrected record and a replacement card are two different things. As of 18 October 2026, UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited (UTIITSL) offers correction, reprint and Aadhaar-based address update as separate services. So work out which one you’re dealing with first.

If the customer can’t tell you their PAN, sort that out first. Don’t guess a number from an old photo or half a message.

Which correction form do you use?

Use the current change-request form, never an old new-application form you saved on your computer. As of 18 October 2026, Protean’s PAN CR-01 is for an individual and its PAN CR-02 is for a non-individual. Both tell the applicant to mark the change they want and fill in the other mandatory fields.

CR-01 asks for identity proof, address proof, birth-date proof and proof for the change itself, plus a copy of the PAN. The name-change document is not the whole file. You need the base proofs too.

There’s a small trap in the name field. CR-01 has a separate “Name as per Aadhaar” field, and its guidelines say the Aadhaar name is the one printed on the PAN card. So look at the customer’s Aadhaar before you type the corrected name. CR-01 also makes the Aadhaar number mandatory, except for exempt categories.

A form being public doesn’t mean your agent account can take every case that uses it. Check with the provider that will receive the file. For the newer application form numbers, see PAN forms 93 to 96.

Which proof works for a name change?

Ask why the name is different before you pick a proof. A small spelling fix and a real name change are not the same job.

Protean’s correction instructions, checked on 18 October 2026, separate minor corrections from bigger changes that need evidence linking the old name to the new one. That page shows no reliable revision date, so confirm the rule with Protean when it matters.

Protean’s additional-document checklist, checked on 18 October 2026, lists these:

A document that simply has the new surname on it is not enough. It has to connect the old name and the new one.

In a marriage case, find out what is actually changing. It could be her own name, her parent’s name, or both. Be careful not to replace the father’s name with the husband’s name while you’re only changing a surname. More in PAN name-change proofs.

If she also wants an address different from Aadhaar, treat the name evidence and the address as two separate entries. Protean’s checklist asks for address proof for both a communication address and another address. Ask the receiving provider which proof it wants and how to submit.

What about birth date and parent names?

Get the proof for the corrected date before you type it. Protean’s correction instructions need a document from a competent authority that shows the right birth date. Its additional-documents checklist, on the other hand, allows a prescribed identity proof for a minor correction in name, father’s name or date of birth. Those two statements don’t sit neatly together, so ask Protean which one applies to this customer. And if the customer has two conflicting dates in two documents, don’t pick one for them.

Check what each document really proves. UTIITSL’s document matrix, page 1, is headed Form F93 and is meant for fresh applications. It lists Aadhaar for identity and address, but not as proof of birth date.

For parents, CR-01’s instructions say a married woman must enter her father’s name in the father field, not her husband’s. They also ask you to select which parent’s name should be printed on the card. Check these two entries separately from the applicant’s own name.

For a company, firm or trust, don’t ask for a birth certificate. Check the date against the entity’s own papers instead. CR-02 separates the date of incorporation, agreement, partnership or trust deed, and formation. Ask the applicant which one applies before you enter a date.

When is the Aadhaar address update the right route?

If the customer only wants a new address, there may be a shorter way. As of 18 October 2026, UTIITSL’s Aadhaar address-update facility is for Indian citizens whose Aadhaar is already linked with their PAN. Its instructions offer two options: Aadhaar-based electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) or DigiLocker. The address comes from Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) records, and the applicant sees it in masked form to confirm.

So ask the customer to check their Aadhaar address first. If the address they want is different from the one on Aadhaar, this isn’t the route. UTIITSL tells applicants who don’t want the UIDAI address to use change-request mode.

The customer also needs to pass authentication using the contact details registered with UIDAI. Let them do that step themselves. If they can’t get in, stop on this route and ask the provider what to do next.

Also ask whether they want only the address record updated or a printed card as well. Don’t add a card order without asking.

How do contact details and photographs work?

When a customer says “change my mobile number”, ask which record they mean. CR-01 has mobile and email fields, and its instructions make both mandatory. But typing a number in that form is not the same as changing the number registered with Aadhaar. So ask two separate questions: the PAN contact details, and the Aadhaar authentication number.

For a paper CR-01, the instructions ask for two recent colour photographs on a white background, each 4.5 cm × 3.5 cm. The signature or left thumb impression goes across the left photograph. The right photograph stays clean. The signature or impression must sit inside the box given for it. A thumb impression needs attestation by a Magistrate, Notary Public, Oath Commissioner or Gazetted Officer, under official seal and stamp.

For a photo-only or signature-only request, don’t improvise. Confirm the method with Protean or UTIITSL before you accept the job.

When should you choose a reprint?

A reprint is for a card where nothing needs to change. As of 18 October 2026, UTIITSL’s reprint service covers unchanged PAN data. It’s for PANs processed and dispatched through UTIITSL, or PANs obtained through the Income Tax Department’s Instant e-PAN facility.

Ask the customer to confirm the communication address before you start. If they’ve moved, settle that first, because a reprint won’t fix the record.

A lost card where the details also need correcting is a correction file, not a reprint. The current CR-01 and CR-02 printed instructions ask for a copy of the PAN card, or a copy of the FIR if the card is lost. If you’re stuck on that kind of case, see our lost or damaged PAN card guide.

What does each route cost?

Say which provider, which submission method and which output you mean before you quote any fee. A PAN agent-registration payment and a customer’s correction request are two separate things. Don’t call a provider’s fee a SiOnline wallet deduction or a licence to charge the customer extra.

These are base fees, checked on 18 October 2026. They include the taxes the provider states, and they are not necessarily the total payable.

The first four rows are Protean’s correction channel. If you plan to work through a UTI PSA account, get the UTIITSL correction quote separately. Also ask the provider in writing whether any authentication, e-Sign or payment-gateway charge applies.

UTIITSL’s homepage says its Aadhaar-based PAN address update has no charge, as of 18 October 2026. That covers that one facility only. It doesn’t apply to PAN agent registration or to every correction.

For Protean’s public online correction route, its payment instructions, checked on 18 October 2026, allow paperless payment by credit card, debit card or net banking only. For an individual application, the applicant or immediate family can pay. Check the payer list before you pay for an entity, and confirm SiOnline’s own channel terms separately. Don’t promise a completion date.

What should you check before you submit?

Follow the submission instructions of whichever provider gets the file, Protean or UTIITSL. Then run through this list with the customer sitting beside you.

1. Read the request back. Say the change or replacement out loud, including any second field they also want fixed.
2. Check the PAN and the category. Compare the PAN you were given with the record you have. If you’re unsure about the number, or whether it’s an individual or an entity, settle that first.
3. Put each proof next to its field. If a document shows a different name or date from the one you’re about to enter, stop.
4. Go through the whole form. Check the mandatory fields, not just the boxes you marked. Have the applicant check address, contact details and parent selection.
5. Confirm the receiving channel. If you haven’t handled this kind of case through your account before, ask SiOnline support first: the support page or +91 91091 35959, 24 hours, 7 days.
6. Agree on payment and handover. Explain the output and the fee. If you get an acknowledgement, give the applicant a copy.

SiOnline’s UTI PSA agents log in to the SiOnline portal, which is connected to the UTI portal. There is no direct UTI access. If your problem is only signing in, use the UTI PSA login page.

A worked example: three changes in one visit

Say a customer wants a spelling fix, a different communication address and a new email address. Don’t write “update everything” on a slip. Write three lines: the corrected name with its proof beside it, the new address with its evidence beside it, and the email with the customer’s own confirmation beside it. Ask first whether the address is the one held with Aadhaar, and don’t choose a route until you hear the answer.

This is only your counter worksheet, not an official form. Read the lines back to the customer, then compare the finished application against them. If a change is missing, stop and fix it before you submit. Give the customer the same list at handover.

The mistakes that come up most

Starting from a saved new-application form instead of the current CR-01 or CR-02. Treating the name-change paper as the whole file. Picking a birth date when the customer’s papers disagree. Offering a reprint to someone whose details are wrong. Quoting a fee before you’ve checked the route.

Thinking of adding PAN work to your shop?

If you’re considering PAN work at your shop, enquire about SiOnline UTI PSA registration and ask which correction, update and reprint cases the account supports.

Sources and checks

Forms, proofs, fees and payment rules above come from Protean’s and UTIITSL’s public customer pages, checked on 18 October 2026, plus the UIDAI glossary for the e-KYC term. They show what the providers publish. They don’t show what the SiOnline UTI PSA screen accepts or charges, so confirm that with SiOnline support before you quote a customer.

On Protean’s correction-instructions page, the “Updated As On” date in the footer is filled in by a script with the day the page is opened, so it doesn’t show when the instructions were revised. Re-check before each request.