Aadhaar Now Mandatory for Tatkal Booking from July 1, Know the New Rules

Aadhaar Now Mandatory for Tatkal Booking from July 1, Know the New Rules

In a significant development, the Indian Railways has issued an advisory regarding the Tatkal Ticket Booking Rules. In the advisory, it is mentioned that from July 1, 2025, only users with Aadhaar authentication will be able to book Tatkal train tickets. Although for all the railway zones, a directive was also issued by the Ministry of Railways dated June 10, 2025, which says that this step was taken “to ensure that the benefits of the Tatkal Scheme are received by the common end users.”

In the official notification, it is mentioned that “With effect from 01-07-2025, tickets under the Tatkal scheme can be booked through the website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)/its app only by Aadhaar-authenticated users.”

According to the new rule, authorized agents cannot book Tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes after Tatkal booking starts each day.

The rule is applied in the following manner:

AC Classes: Agents cannot book tickets between 10:00 AM and 10:30 AM

Non-AC Classes: Agents cannot book tickets between 11:00 AM and 11:30 AM.

Moreover, the ministry has clearly stated that it is mandatory for the passengers to complete the Aadhaar-based OTP authentication step for the Tatkal Bookings.

The Ministry also gave instructions to the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) and IRCTC in order to execute the modifications made by the system and forward these updates to each and every zonal railway division. The decision was taken to make the process of booking a Tatkal ticket Simpler for travelers.