The Ayushman Card gives an eligible family up to Rs 5 lakh of cashless hospital treatment every year under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY). In 2026 the entire application runs online through the beneficiary portal or the Ayushman App, and the card itself costs nothing.
This guide explains who qualifies in 2026, which documents you need, the exact step-by-step process to apply from a mobile phone, how to download the card once it is approved, and how the scheme compares with paid health insurance plans that many families also consider. It also covers the senior citizen route for people aged 70 and above, the most common reasons applications get stuck, and the frauds to watch out for while applying.
Ayushman Card 2026 at a Glance
Before going into the process, here is a quick summary of what the scheme offers in 2026. The National Health Authority (NHA) runs PM-JAY at the national level, and State Health Agencies handle enrolment and hospital empanelment in each state.
| Particular | Details |
|---|---|
| Scheme name | Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) |
| Annual cover | Rs 5 lakh per family per year (shared across members) |
| Senior citizen cover | Separate Rs 5 lakh cover for every person aged 70 and above, regardless of income |
| Application cost | Free, no fee at any stage |
| Official portal | beneficiary.nha.gov.in |
| Official app | Ayushman App (Google Play Store and Apple App Store) |
| Eligibility base | SECC 2011 data, state welfare lists, ration card (NFSA) records, plus 70+ category |
| Hospital network | More than 36,000 empanelled government and private hospitals |
| Helpline | 14555 (toll free) |
| Coverage area | All states and union territories |
Who Can Get an Ayushman Card in 2026
PM-JAY is not an open enrolment scheme. A family is either already in the beneficiary database or it is not, and the online application only completes the identity verification for families that are already listed. That is why the very first step is always to search your name on the portal before doing anything else.
Eligibility in 2026 comes from four main routes.
Rural households
Rural families are picked from the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 based on deprivation criteria. A family qualifies if it meets even one of these conditions.
- Living in a single room with kutcha walls and kutcha roof
- No adult member aged between 16 and 59 in the household
- Female-headed household with no adult male member aged 16 to 59
- A disabled member with no able-bodied adult member
- Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe household
- Landless household earning a major part of income from manual casual labour
Households that are destitute, living on alms, manual scavengers, primitive tribal groups, or legally released bonded labourers are automatically included.
Urban households
For cities, the scheme uses occupation categories from the same census. Families of the following workers are covered.
- Rag pickers and waste collection workers
- Street vendors, hawkers, cobblers and other roadside service providers
- Domestic workers such as cooks, cleaners and household helpers
- Construction workers, masons, plumbers, painters, welders and labourers
- Sweepers, sanitation workers and gardeners
- Home-based artisans, tailors and handicraft workers
- Transport workers including drivers, conductors, helpers and cart pullers
- Shop assistants, peons, delivery boys and attendants
- Electricians, mechanics, assemblers and repair workers
- Washermen, chowkidars and security guards
Senior citizens aged 70 and above
Every Indian citizen aged 70 or older is eligible for a separate Ayushman Vay Vandana Card with its own Rs 5 lakh annual cover. There is no income test and no need to appear in the SECC list. Seniors in families that already hold an Ayushman Card get an additional top-up cover for themselves rather than sharing the family limit.
ASHA and Anganwadi workers
ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, Anganwadi helpers and their families have been brought under PM-JAY. If you work in one of these roles you qualify even if your household is not in the 2011 census data. Many states have also added their own welfare-card holders, such as NFSA ration card families, through state health schemes that run alongside PM-JAY.
Documents Required for Online Application
The online process is light on paperwork because verification happens through Aadhaar. You will need the following at the time of applying.
- Aadhaar card of every family member who needs a card
- Mobile number linked to Aadhaar for OTP based e-KYC, or a phone camera for face authentication
- Ration card (NFSA) number or family ID as issued by your state
- PM-JAY ID or HHID, if you have received a letter from the government earlier
- Age proof for the 70+ category, which is taken directly from the Aadhaar date of birth
- Proof of ASHA or Anganwadi employment, if applying under that category
No income certificate, caste certificate or passport size photo is asked for on the portal. If your Aadhaar mobile number is not active, you can still complete e-KYC through face authentication in the app, or through fingerprint at a Common Service Centre.
How to Apply for Ayushman Card Online in 2026
The full process takes ten to fifteen minutes on a phone or computer. Follow these steps in order.
Step 1: Open the Beneficiary Portal
Go to beneficiary.nha.gov.in in any browser. On the home page, select the Beneficiary option. The Operator option is only for CSC agents and hospital staff, so do not use it.
Step 2: Log in with Mobile OTP
Enter any active mobile number and the captcha shown on screen. An OTP will arrive within a few seconds. Enter it to log in. This number does not need to be linked to Aadhaar; it is only used for the portal session.
Step 3: Select Scheme, State and District
From the drop-down menus pick the scheme as PMJAY, then your state and district. If your state runs a merged scheme such as Ayushman Bharat with a state name attached, choose that option from the same list.
Step 4: Search Your Family
Choose a search method. The options are Aadhaar number, family ID or ration card number, PM-JAY ID, and name search. Aadhaar search is the fastest. If nothing appears, try the ration card number and then the name search with your location details before concluding that you are not listed.
Step 5: Check the Family List
If your family is in the database, the portal shows every listed member with their status. Members who have already completed verification show as Approved. Members who have not will show an orange e-KYC button next to their name.
Step 6: Complete e-KYC for Each Member
Click e-KYC next to the member you are applying for. Choose Aadhaar OTP, and the OTP will go to the mobile number linked to that person’s Aadhaar. If that number is not accessible, choose face authentication and follow the on-screen instructions using the Ayushman App camera. Fingerprint and iris options are available only at CSCs and hospitals.
Step 7: Confirm Details and Upload a Photo
Once Aadhaar verification succeeds, the portal auto-fills the name, date of birth and gender. Check that these match the Aadhaar record. You may be asked to capture a live photo and enter category, mobile number and relationship to the head of family. Submit the form.
Step 8: Wait for Approval and Download the Card
When the Aadhaar match score is high, approval is usually automatic and instant. In other cases the application goes to the State Health Agency for manual checking, which takes anywhere from one day to about a week. Log back in later, search your family again, and if the status shows Approved, click the download icon next to the name to save the card as a PDF.
Applying Through the Ayushman App
The Ayushman App is published by the National Health Authority and is the easiest route for people who prefer a phone. It supports all major Indian languages and works well even on entry-level Android devices.
- Install the Ayushman App from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and open it
- Tap Beneficiary, enter your mobile number and verify with OTP
- Select your state, scheme and district, then search using Aadhaar or ration card
- Tap Do e-KYC next to your name and choose Aadhaar OTP or Face Auth
- For face authentication, hold the phone at eye level in good light and blink when prompted
- Submit and check the status under the same family search after a few minutes
The app also lets you download the card, view nearby empanelled hospitals, and check how much of the family cover has been used in the current year.
Checking Application Status and Downloading the Card
Status checking uses the same login and family search as the application. There is no separate tracking page. After you search your family, the status column next to each member will show one of these states.
- e-KYC pending: the member has not been verified yet, complete Step 6 above
- Pending approval: verification done, waiting for State Health Agency review
- Approved: the card is ready to download
- Rejected: usually a name or date of birth mismatch with Aadhaar, or a duplicate record
For a rejected application, the reason is shown on screen. Correct the issue through the Aadhaar update process if the mismatch is on the Aadhaar side, or raise a grievance on the portal if the beneficiary record itself is wrong. You can also call 14555 for help with a stuck application.
The downloaded card is a PDF with a QR code. A printed copy on plain paper is fully valid at hospitals. Some states also send physical PVC cards through the panchayat or urban local body, but that is optional and the digital card works everywhere.
What Treatment Is Covered Under PM-JAY
The Rs 5 lakh annual cover applies to secondary and tertiary hospitalisation. The Health Benefit Package includes close to 2,000 procedures across specialties such as cardiology, oncology, orthopaedics, nephrology, neurosurgery, and maternal care.
| Covered | Not covered |
|---|---|
| Hospital room, nursing and doctor charges | Outpatient consultations without admission |
| Surgery, ICU and operation theatre costs | Cosmetic and aesthetic procedures |
| Medicines and consumables during admission | Fertility treatment and IVF |
| Diagnostics, including up to three days before admission | Organ donor costs in most states |
| Post-hospitalisation medicines for up to 15 days | Treatment at hospitals outside the empanelled network |
| Dialysis, chemotherapy and radiotherapy sessions | Individual dental work without a surgical component |
| Transport allowance in defined packages | Purely diagnostic admissions with no treatment |
Pre-existing diseases are covered from day one. There is no waiting period, no age limit on family members, and no cap on family size. The cover is portable, so a migrant worker from Bihar can use the card at an empanelled hospital in Maharashtra or Gujarat.
Ayushman Card and Private Health Insurance: Do You Need Both
A question that comes up often is whether a family with an Ayushman Card should still buy a health insurance policy. The honest answer depends on income, city, and the kind of hospital you would want to use in an emergency.
PM-JAY works within the empanelled network and pays fixed package rates. In smaller towns and government hospitals that is rarely a problem. In metro cities, many large corporate hospitals are either not empanelled or offer only some departments under the scheme, and general ward accommodation is the standard entitlement.
A private family floater from insurers such as Star Health, HDFC ERGO, Niva Bupa, Care Health or ICICI Lombard fills these gaps. It allows a private room, treatment at any network hospital, and larger sum insured options such as Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Premiums for a family of four starting with adults in their thirties usually fall between Rs 15,000 and Rs 30,000 a year depending on the sum insured and city zone.
There is also a tax angle. Premiums paid for a health insurance policy qualify for deduction under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act under the old tax regime, up to Rs 25,000 for the family and an additional Rs 50,000 for senior citizen parents. The Ayushman Card carries no premium and therefore no deduction, but it also carries no renewal risk.
A practical arrangement for many lower-middle-income families is to keep the Ayushman Card as the base layer for major surgeries at empanelled hospitals, and add a smaller private top-up or super top-up plan for flexibility. Salaried workers who already have ESIC coverage or an employer group policy should check whether their family is also in the PM-JAY list, because the two do not cancel each other out.
Using the Card at a Hospital
The card is only useful if you know how the cashless process works on the day of admission. Every empanelled hospital has an Ayushman Mitra help desk, usually near the registration counter.
- Carry the Ayushman Card (printed or on phone) and the Aadhaar card of the patient
- Report to the Ayushman Mitra desk before admission, or as soon as possible in an emergency
- The desk verifies the card, checks the remaining balance and raises a pre-authorisation request
- Treatment starts under the approved package; the hospital bills the scheme directly
- At discharge, collect the discharge summary and confirm that no amount was charged to you
- Check the app afterwards to see the amount deducted from the family cover
If a hospital demands payment for a covered procedure, note the hospital name and call 14555 while you are still there. Complaints are logged against the hospital and empanelment can be cancelled for repeated violations.
Fraud Alert for Ayushman Card Applicants
The scheme’s popularity has created a steady stream of scams targeting new applicants. Keep these points in mind.
- The card is free. Anyone asking for Rs 50, Rs 200 or any other amount to “make” the card is cheating you, including agents outside CSCs
- Do not share your Aadhaar OTP with anyone who calls claiming to be from the health department
- Only use beneficiary.nha.gov.in, pmjay.gov.in or the official Ayushman App. Look-alike websites collect Aadhaar details and mobile numbers for misuse
- No official process requires you to pay through a UPI link or scan a QR code to activate the card
- WhatsApp messages promising a card for families not in the list are false, because eligibility cannot be added by any agent
- Hospitals cannot ask you to sign blank forms or hand over your card for safekeeping
Report any such attempt to 14555 or through the grievance option on the portal. Keep a screenshot of the message or the number that contacted you.
Common Mistakes That Delay Approval
Most rejections and delays come from small avoidable errors rather than eligibility problems.
- Spelling of the name entered differently from Aadhaar during the confirmation step
- Trying OTP e-KYC with a mobile number that is no longer linked to Aadhaar instead of switching to face authentication
- Searching only by name and giving up, when a ration card search would have found the family
- Poor lighting or spectacles during face authentication, leading to a low match score
- Applying for the same member twice from two phones, which creates a duplicate record
- Using the Operator login without an operator ID
- Assuming the card is active without checking that the status has changed to Approved
If a member’s Aadhaar shows an old address or a different spelling, update Aadhaar first at an enrolment centre and then apply. It saves a rejection cycle.
Important Points to Remember
- The Rs 5 lakh limit is per family per financial year and resets every April
- Each member gets an individual card, but the cover is shared
- The 70+ Vay Vandana card has its own separate Rs 5 lakh and is applied for through the same portal
- There is no expiry date on the card; it stays valid as long as the family remains eligible
- New family members such as a newborn or a spouse after marriage can be added by raising a request through the portal or a CSC
- Many states run parallel schemes for families not in the SECC list; check your State Health Agency’s own portal if the central search returns nothing
- CSC centres and Ayushman Mitra desks at hospitals complete the same process free of charge for anyone who cannot do it online
Conclusion
Applying for the Ayushman Card online in 2026 comes down to three actions: search your family on the beneficiary portal or the app, complete Aadhaar e-KYC for each member, and download the card once the status turns Approved. The whole thing is free, takes a few minutes, and gives the family Rs 5 lakh of cashless hospital cover every year at more than 36,000 hospitals.
Check your eligibility today even if you assume you are not on the list, especially if there is a senior citizen aged 70 or above in the house, because that route is open to everyone regardless of income. Keep the downloaded card on your phone, note the 14555 helpline, and treat any request for money during the process as a warning sign.