PDF Password Formats for Indian Documents (Aadhaar, Bank, PAN, Form 16, CAS)

Banks, UIDAI and the Income Tax Department send most documents as password-protected PDFs, and the password is almost never one you chose. It's built from your own details, usually some mix of your name, date of birth, PAN or customer ID. The trouble is that every issuer uses a different recipe.

This page lists the formats, with an example for each. Every format in the main table was checked against the issuer's own website on 15 October 2026, and the source is linked. Issuers do change formats, so if one stops working, check the instructions in the email or download page that came with the file.

Password formats at a glance

Document	Password format	Example
e-Aadhaar	First 4 letters of your name in CAPITALS + year of birth (YYYY)	SURESH KUMAR, born 1990 → SURE1990
HDFC Bank account statement (NetBanking download)	Your Customer ID	12345678
ICICI Bank account statement (email)	First 4 letters of the account name in lowercase + date and month of birth (DDMM)	Sujit Sawant, born 5 January → suji0501
Axis Bank credit card statement	First 4 letters of your name in CAPITALS + 4 digits of your date of birth	See the Axis section below
e-PAN (Protean / NSDL)	Date of birth (or incorporation) as DDMMYYYY	Born 15 May 1990 → 15051990
Form 26AS (TRACES)	Date of birth as per PAN, DDMMYYYY	Born 1 February 1980 → 01021980
Form 16 / 16A downloaded from TRACES	Employer's TAN in CAPITALS	AAAA11111A
Form 16B / 16C / 16D / 16E (TRACES)	Date of birth of the buyer, tenant or payer as per PAN, DDMMYYYY	01021980
Mutual fund / demat CAS from NSDL or CDSL	PAN of the first holder in CAPITALS	ABCDE1234F
Mutual fund CAS requested from CAMS or KFintech	The password you typed when you requested it	—

e-Aadhaar

UIDAI's FAQ gives the format as the first four letters of your name in capitals, followed by your year of birth. UIDAI's own examples show how the edge cases work:

• SURESH KUMAR, 1990 → SURE1990
• SAI KUMAR, 1990 → SAIK1990 (the space is skipped, so the 4 letters run into the surname)
• P. KUMAR, 1990 → P.KU1990 (the full stop counts as a character)
• RIA, 1990 → RIA1990 (a 3-letter name just uses all 3 letters)

Use your name exactly as it's printed on your Aadhaar, not as you usually spell it.

Bank statements

HDFC Bank. For a statement downloaded from NetBanking as a PDF, HDFC says the password is your Customer ID, the numeric ID you log in to NetBanking with. It's also printed on your chequebook, passbook and welcome letter (HDFC NetBanking FAQ).

ICICI Bank. ICICI's help page says the e-mailed statement password has 8 characters: the first four letters of the account name, then your date and month of birth as DDMM, all in lowercase, with no spaces, special characters or salutations. For a current account, use the date of incorporation. For a joint account, use the first holder's details. ICICI also accepts your 12-digit account number as an alternative; the last 3 digits are in the email's subject line (ICICI help).

Axis Bank. Axis's help page for credit card e-statements says the password is the first four letters of your name in UPPER CASE (as printed on the statement, ignoring spaces and full stops) plus "four digits of your date of birth". It doesn't say which four. DDMM is the usual reading, so try that first, then MMYY. The alternative password is the same four letters plus your 9-digit Customer ID (Axis support).

SBI. If you request a statement by SMS (ESTMT <account number> <code>), the PDF is locked with the 4-digit code you chose in that SMS. For SBI's regular emailed statements, see the section on unofficial formats below.

Income tax documents

e-PAN. Protean (formerly NSDL) says the e-PAN PDF opens with your date of birth, or date of incorporation for a company, as given in your PAN application, in DDMMYYYY format.

Form 26AS. TRACES's password format guide says it's the taxpayer's date of birth as per PAN, DDMMYYYY. Born 1 February 1980 → 01021980.

Form 16. The Form 16 that your employer downloads from TRACES is locked with the employer's TAN in capitals, according to the same TRACES guide. But the copy you actually receive has usually been processed by your employer's payroll system, which may set its own password (often based on your PAN and date of birth). If neither works, ask HR, since they chose it.

Form 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E (property purchase, rent, contract payments, crypto): the buyer's, tenant's or payer's date of birth as per PAN, DDMMYYYY.

Mutual fund and demat statements (CAS)

NSDL and CDSL both say the e-CAS opens with the PAN of the first or sole holder, in capital letters (NSDL FAQ, CDSL FAQ).

CAMS and KFintech don't use a fixed format. When you request a CAS from CAMS or KFintech, you type a password on the request form, and the statement is locked with that password. If you've forgotten it, request a new statement.

Formats we couldn't confirm on an official site

These formats are widely reported, and many people say they work, but we couldn't find them on the issuer's own website. Try them, and check the instructions in the email that came with the file first:

• SBI emailed account statements: last 5 digits of your registered mobile number + date of birth as DDMMYY (e.g. 12345160982).
• ITR-V / ITR acknowledgement: PAN in lowercase + date of birth as DDMMYYYY (e.g. abcde1234f15081990).

Password still not working?

• Check capital letters. Aadhaar, Axis and CAS want capitals; ICICI and ITR-V want lowercase. Remove PDF Password automatically tries your password as typed, in capitals and in lowercase, and ignores stray spaces at either end, so a case slip won't stop it.
• Use the name exactly as the issuer has it. "Mohd" vs "Mohammed", or a missing middle initial, changes the first four letters.
• Check which date format. DDMM, DDMMYY and DDMMYYYY are all in use. 5 January is 0501, not 501.
• Joint accounts usually use the first holder's details.
• Check the email. Most issuers repeat the format in the body of the email or on the download page.

How to remove the password permanently

Typing the password every time you open a statement gets old fast, and some lenders and portals reject password-protected files. Once you know the password, you can save an unlocked copy:

1. Open Remove PDF Password.
2. Drop in the protected PDF and type the password.
3. Download the unlocked copy. It opens without a password from then on.

The file is unlocked in your browser and never uploaded, which matters for documents carrying your Aadhaar, PAN and account numbers. The tool can't guess or crack a password you don't know; you need the password first.

Once unlocked, you can merge several months of statements into one file for a loan application, or compress them to fit a portal's upload limit. Before sending a statement to someone who doesn't need every detail, consider redacting account numbers and transactions they shouldn't see.

FAQ

Is it legal to remove the password from my own bank statement? Yes, if it's your document and you know the password. You're saving an unlocked copy of a file you already have access to.

Will removing the password change the statement? No. The content stays exactly the same; only the password protection is removed.

Why do banks password-protect statements at all? Email isn't a secure channel. If a statement goes to the wrong inbox, the password stops a stranger from reading it straight away.

Can I remove the password without knowing it? No. Handybin only removes a password you already know. If you don't have it, ask the issuer for the format, or download the document again from their website or app.