PAN Card Apply Online 2026: Form 93 (Old 49A), Fees, e-PAN

📋Why You Need a PAN Card

A PAN (Permanent Account Number) is a 10-character code issued by the Income Tax Department, like ABCDE1234F. It is your permanent tax identity and it never expires.

Income tax: you need a PAN to file ITR, and filing becomes mandatory once your income crosses the basic exemption limit. Even below that limit, filing with a PAN lets you claim TDS refunds and build a financial record.

Banking and investment: banks ask for PAN during KYC, and mutual funds, stocks, and FDs all require it. Without a PAN, banks deduct TDS at 20% on FD interest instead of 10%.

Credit: every credit card and loan application is checked against the CIBIL history linked to your PAN. No PAN means no formal credit trail.

Property and salary: property registration, inheritance claims, and salary TDS all quote your PAN. Employers cannot process salary tax without it.

One hard rule before you apply: holding two PANs is illegal under Section 272B and carries a ₹10,000 penalty. If you ever had a PAN, use reprint or correction, never a fresh application.

📄Form 49A Is Now Form 93: What Changed in April 2026

If you searched for PAN card Form 49A, stop here first. Form 49A and Form 49AA were discontinued on March 31, 2026, and applications on old forms are rejected.

From April 1, 2026, four new forms apply under the Income Tax Act, 2025 and Income Tax Rules, 2026. Indian citizens, including minors and NRIs, now use Form 93.

Your existing PAN is not affected. Cards and numbers issued under Form 49A remain fully valid for tax, banking, and KYC, and you do not need to reapply.

Applications that were already pending on March 31, 2026 are also processed normally. The new forms apply only to applications filed on or after April 1.

Two new rules trip people up. Aadhaar now counts only as identity and address proof, so you must attach a separate date-of-birth document, and a mobile number plus email ID are mandatory on every application.

🗂️The Four New PAN Forms

⚡3 Ways to Get a PAN Card in 2026

Method 1, instant e-PAN: free at incometax.gov.in if you have Aadhaar with a linked mobile number and have never held a PAN. You get a legally valid e-PAN PDF in about 10 minutes, with no physical card mailed.

The catch: this route is for adults only, and it fails if your Aadhaar mobile link is broken. Minors and anyone without Aadhaar must use Form 93 instead.

Method 2, Protean (formerly NSDL): apply at onlineservices.nsdl.com with Form 93. Paperless e-KYC costs ₹101, physical document submission costs ₹107, and you get both an e-PAN and a physical card in 7-15 working days.

Method 3, UTIITSL: the same Form 93 process at pan.utiitsl.com, at the same fee. Both portals are authorised by the Income Tax Department, so pick whichever loads better for you.

Offline still works too. Fill Form 93 at a PAN centre with photocopies and two photographs, and the card arrives in 15-20 days.

For a foreign delivery address the fee is ₹1,017 because of international postage. NRIs use Form 93 with a passport, and foreign citizens use Form 95.

✨How to Get Instant e-PAN (FREE, 10 Minutes)

📝How to Apply for Physical PAN Card (Protean/NSDL Online)

📑Documents Checklist (2026 Rules)

💰PAN Card Fees (2026)

🖼️PAN Card Photo and Signature Size

Wrong image sizes are the most common reason an online PAN application stalls at the upload step. The portal validates dimensions, format, and file size, and silently rejects files that miss any of them.

On the Protean portal the photo must be 3.5 cm high by 2.5 cm wide at 200 DPI, in JPEG, under 50KB. The signature must be 2 cm high by 4.5 cm wide, also JPEG under 50KB.

UTIITSL runs slightly different limits, commonly a 213 x 213 pixel photo under 30KB. Check the upload hints on whichever portal you use before resizing.

Sign in black or dark blue ink on plain white paper and photograph it in good light. A cluttered background or a shadow across the face is the usual cause of photo rejection.

Supporting documents upload as PDF, up to 300KB per page on Protean. Free browser tools resize all of these in a minute, so do it before starting the form, not during.

📌Upload Specs at a Glance (Protean)

🧒PAN Card for Minors: Age Rules That Confuse Everyone

There is no minimum age for a PAN card. A newborn can have one, so the questions about applying at 16 or 17 have a simple answer: yes, at any age below 18, through a parent or guardian.

The child cannot apply alone. The parent or legal guardian fills Form 93 and signs as the Representative Assessee under Part E, attaching their own identity and address proof alongside the child's DOB proof.

The instant Aadhaar e-PAN route is not available for minors. Applications go through Protean or UTIITSL only, at the normal ₹101-107 fee.

A minor's card looks different: it carries no photograph and no signature of the child. Banks accept it for accounts, SSY, FDs, and mutual fund folios opened in the child's name.

At 18, the card must be updated with the holder's own photo and signature through a correction request. The 10-character PAN number itself never changes.

Once the person is 18 or older, they apply directly in their own name on Form 93, or use the free instant e-PAN if they hold Aadhaar.

📌Minor PAN Snapshot

🔁Lost PAN Card: Reprint It, Never Reapply

Losing the card changes nothing about your PAN. The number stays alive, so the fix is a reprint, and a fresh application would create an illegal second PAN.

If your PAN is linked with Aadhaar, download the e-PAN free at incometax.gov.in first. That PDF is valid everywhere, and many people never replace the plastic at all.

For a physical copy, use Reprint of PAN Card on the Protean or UTIITSL portal. The fee is ₹50 for an Indian address and the card arrives in about two weeks with the same number.

Forgot the number itself? Use Know Your PAN on incometax.gov.in with your name, DOB, and registered mobile, and it retrieves the PAN in minutes.

✏️Corrections and Updates

Name, DOB, father's name, and address are all fixed through the change/correction request on Protean or UTIITSL under the new 2026 forms. Upload proof of the correct detail, such as a marriage certificate for a name change or a birth certificate for DOB.

The corrected card arrives in 7-15 days and your PAN number stays the same. For an Indian address the fee is about ₹50, and the portal shows the exact amount before payment.

The correction that matters most: your PAN name must match your Aadhaar name exactly. A mismatch blocks PAN-Aadhaar linking, delays ITR processing, and freezes refunds.

After marriage or any legal name change, update PAN immediately. Old-name PAN with new-name bank KYC is a mismatch banks will eventually flag.

🔗PAN-Aadhaar Linking: Still Mandatory

An unlinked PAN turns inoperative. That blocks ITR filing, refund credit, new bank accounts, and most transactions above ₹50,000.

Link at incometax.gov.in under Link Aadhaar. If your deadline has passed, pay the ₹1,000 late fee through e-Pay Tax first, then link, and the PAN reactivates in up to 30 days.

A name mismatch between the two documents makes linking fail silently. Fix the name on either PAN or follow the linking guide step by step if you are stuck.

Check where you stand anytime at incometax.gov.in under Link Aadhaar Status. It shows linked, or inoperative with the reason.

🏦Where PAN Is Required

Quoting PAN is mandatory for ITR filing, opening bank accounts and FDs, all mutual fund and share investments, property deals above ₹10 lakh, and vehicle purchases above ₹5 lakh. Cash deposits above ₹50,000 in a day also require it.

Hotel bills above ₹50,000 and foreign travel spends above ₹50,000 in cash quote PAN too. The department uses these trails to match spending against declared income.

Without PAN, TDS on your income runs at 20% instead of the normal rate. On ₹1 lakh of FD interest that is ₹20,000 withheld instead of ₹10,000, recoverable only by filing ITR with a PAN.

Every TDS entry against your PAN shows in Form 26AS at incometax.gov.in. Check it once a year, because mismatches there are how refunds get stuck.

Instant e-PAN through the income tax portal is free for first-time adult applicants with Aadhaar. No fees, no document uploads, PAN in about 10 minutes.

👥PAN for Specific Situations

Students turning 18: apply even without income. A PAN prevents 20% TDS on FD interest and is required the day you start a demat account or first job.

NRIs: needed for property, NRO/NRE accounts, mutual funds, and ITR in India. Apply on Form 93 with a passport, and expect the ₹1,017 fee for foreign delivery.

Companies, LLPs, firms, and trusts registered in India now use Form 94. A business PAN is required for GST registration, the current account, and every business ITR.

Senior citizens: if a parent has no PAN and their FD interest crosses the senior threshold, the bank deducts 20% TDS. A one-time free instant e-PAN fixes years of excess deduction.

🧾PAN and Income Tax: The Connection

PAN is the thread that ties your income, investments, large spends, and taxes into one ledger the department can read. High-value transactions without matching declared income invite notices on that PAN.

Filing ITR even below the taxable limit has real upside: TDS refunds, loss carry-forward, and an income record that lenders and visa officers treat as proof of financial life.

The PAN is issued for life and never needs renewal. Correct it when details change, link it to Aadhaar, and it quietly does its job for decades.

All official routes in one line: instant e-PAN at incometax.gov.in, new applications and corrections at onlineservices.nsdl.com (Protean) or pan.utiitsl.com, linking and status at incometax.gov.in.

❓Frequently Asked Questions