Election Commission launches e-EPIC: How to download, who are eligible beneficiaries? Get all details here 

The Election Commission of India launched the Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Card  (e-EPIC) on January 25, 2021 during the National Voters' Day celebrations.

The e-electoral photo identity card will be a non-editable digital version of the voter ID card, which can be printed in PDF format and saved in  facilities like Digi locker.

Who are eligible beneficiaries?

All voters with a valid EPIC number will be eligible to receive the Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Card.

All new electors who registered between November-December 2020 and those provided a unique mobile number while applying will be able to download the e-voter cards.

How to download e-EPIC cards?

• The new voters will be able to download the e-EPIC card by simply authenticating their mobile number.

• Other voters will be able to download their e-voter cards from February 1, 2021. 

• All those whose mobile numbers are linked can also download their e-EPIC.

• Those who don't have their EPIC number or have lost it can get it by searching their names in the electoral roll on the websites - voterportal.eci.gov.in or electoralsearch.in and then download the e-voter card.

• The electors may also use their form-6 reference number to download e-EPIC.

Steps to download e-voter card:

Step 1: Register/Login on voterportal.eci.gov.in or nvsp.in.

Step 2: Click on the download E-EPIC option

Step 3: Enter EPIC number/ Form Reference Number

Step 4: Verify with OTP sent on the registered mobile number and download e-EPIC

What about those voters whose numbers are not linked with the EC?

The voters whose numbers are not linked with the Election Commission will have to re-verify their details and get their number linked with the EC and download their e-EPIC.

Background 

The elector photo identity cards, introduced in 1993, are widely accepted as identity and address proof during any kind of verification. The electronic version of the voter ID card is being launched to mark the anniversary of the Election Commission. 

The Election Commission was set up a day before India became a republic in January 25, 1950. The day has been observed as National Voters' Day for the past couple of years.

Other identity cards including Permanent Account Number (PAN)card, driving licence and the Aadhaar card are already available in digital mode.

The launch of the e-voter card comes as Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in five states-Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry, between April- May, 2021.