How to change your IRCTC mobile number, with or without the old number

How do you change the mobile number on irctc.co.in?

1. Sign in at irctc.co.in with your user ID and password.
2. Open My Account, then My Profile, then Update Profile. That is the menu path in IRCTC’s own Aadhaar guide and in the marked-up screen we keep on file.
3. Choose to update the mobile number (the option is labelled Edit Mobile & Email in our screen, and Update beside the number in the app) and type the new 10-digit number. Check it twice.
4. Enter the OTPs. IRCTC sends one code by SMS and one by email. Use the newest codes; IRCTC’s screen lets you ask for a fresh one after 45 seconds.
5. Submit, then sign out and sign back in. IRCTC confirms the profile was updated and asks you to log in again. Check the profile shows the new number.

That is the whole job when you can still sign in. The rest of this guide covers the cases that bring most people here: the old SIM is gone, the OTP does not arrive, or the number is stuck on another account.

IRCTC’s menu path is marked up in our PDF of the IRCTC profile screens (also on the downloads page). IRCTC changes its screens from time to time, so if a label differs, look for Update Profile under My Account and follow your own screen.

Is it different in the IRCTC Rail Connect app?

Only in where the buttons sit. IRCTC’s Rail Connect app user guide (version 5.4, September 2025) shows the same change from the app:

1. Sign in to the IRCTC Rail Connect app and tap Account.
2. Tap My Profile, then the option to edit profile details (name, email, mobile number and so on).
3. On Update User Profile, tap Update beside the mobile number and enter the new one.
4. Enter the OTPs “as received on your email and mobile”, in the guide’s words. When the screen says the OTP was verified, submit.
5. The app says the profile was updated and exits. Sign in again to see the new details.

Can you change the number without the old SIM?

Usually, yes. What decides it is not the old SIM but whether you can sign in and whether you can still open your registered email.

Two warnings while you are here. Recover the password and change the number in that order, not at the same time. And never hand your password or an OTP to anyone who offers to “change the number for you” for a fee. A travel agent, a shop or a caller who says they are from IRCTC cannot make this change on your behalf. A real process does not need your password, so if a call or message pushes you to act fast, end it and go to irctc.co.in yourself.

What if the OTP does not arrive?

Work down this table before you assume the account is at fault.

Can you change the email ID at the same time?

You can change both, but do them one at a time. In the app, Update User Profile has a separate Update button beside the email and beside the mobile number. IRCTC’s guide shows how an email change is checked: it verifies your registered mobile with an SMS OTP and the new email with an OTP sent there. A mobile change mirrors it.

That is why one at a time is safer. If you change both together, there is no registered detail left to check the second change against. So:

1. Change the mobile number first, while the registered email still works.
2. Sign out and sign back in.
3. Change the email, now verified against your new mobile number.

If you used the old email anywhere else for railway messages, update it there too.

Personal IRCTC login or agent login: which one are you changing?

This guide is for a personal IRCTC account, the one you book your own family’s tickets on. An agent ID is a separate record, and changing one never changes the other.

That last row matters if you plan to become an agent. A mobile number, an email and a PAN can each sit on one IRCTC account only, so an old personal account can block an IRCTC agent registration until it is sorted out. You have two ways out:

• Change the details on the old personal account using the steps above, which frees the number and email, or
• Use a different number and email for the agent registration.

If your family still books on the old number, giving the agent ID its own number is usually neater. If you are giving up the old number anyway, change the personal account first. Decide before you apply, because the registration fee is non-refundable. The checklist is on documents for IRCTC agent registration; for a PAN on an old account, see releasing a PAN from an old IRCTC ID, and for the full comparison, IRCTC agent ID vs personal ID.

Does Aadhaar authentication change after you update the number?

Your mobile number on IRCTC and the mobile number linked to your Aadhaar are two different things. When you authenticate an IRCTC account with Aadhaar, IRCTC’s Aadhaar guide says the OTP goes to the mobile number registered with Aadhaar, sent by UIDAI. Changing your IRCTC number does not change that, and changing your Aadhaar-linked number does not change your IRCTC profile.

Why it matters: from 1 July 2025, only Aadhaar-authenticated users can book Tatkal and Premium Tatkal tickets on IRCTC’s website and app, according to IRCTC’s Tatkal Aadhaar guide for the app. An authenticated account shows a green tick beside the user name.

IRCTC’s guides say that once an account is Aadhaar-authenticated, the name, date of birth and gender can no longer be changed. They do not say the same about the mobile number or email. After you change the number, check the green tick is still there before a Tatkal morning.

If you are helping a customer at a counter with this, see helping a customer authenticate IRCTC Aadhaar.

How often can you change your IRCTC mobile number?

IRCTC’s profile screen states one limit: the name, gender and date of birth can be updated only once. We have not found a published limit on how often the mobile number or email can be changed.

Treat it as something to do once, carefully, rather than a setting to switch back and forth.

What mistakes slow people down?

• Switching off the old SIM in a panic. It is not needed for the change itself, but keeping it working until the new number is confirmed costs nothing.
• Typing the new number in a hurry. A wrong digit sends the code somewhere you cannot reach, and you start again.
• Not testing afterwards. A change is finished when you have signed in again and seen the new number on the profile, not when the button is pressed.
• Using a go-between. Handing your login to someone who “knows how to do it” puts the whole account at risk.
• Applying to be an agent before checking. If your number, email or PAN is on an old personal account, sort that out first.