All pensioners in India need to annually submit their Life Certificate (LC) or Jeevan Pramaan Patra to pension disbursing agencies on or before the November 30 deadline in order to keep receiving their pension payments.

Pension receiving central and state government employees can submit the document either in person at the relevant authorities or now have the option to submit a Digital LC within the deadline.

With the deadline fast approaching and as the government has not announced an extension on the same, it is best to submit the certificate and check your status as soon as possible.

Things to remember while submitting LC

All pensioners are required to submit LC, with their pension payment order (PPO) number, Aadhaar number, bank account details (where pension will be deposited), and your Aadhaar-linked mobile number.

The LC can be submitted either in person at your bank branch or local post office; through doorstep banking or online using the Digital LC.

Please note that the process has to be repeated annually, as the LC validity is one year from the last date of submission.

What happens if you miss the LC deadline?

The most immediate impact of not submitting your LC or DLC by November 30 means that you will lose out on your pension payments.

Those retired employees who fail to submit LC by deadline could see their pension stopped. Further, in case of delay, you will have to ensure that your LC is sent to one of the Central Pension Processing Centers (CPPC) for consideration.

Your delayed / held back pension amount will only be disbursed once the LC has been received by the CPPC.

Where can you go to submit LC?

LC can be submitted in person to at least 19 pension disbursing authorities, which include banks (listed below), Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA), Department of Telecommunications (DoT), India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Pensioners’ Welfare Associations (PWAs), Railways, and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Most pensioners will find their local bank branch the most accessible disbursing authority to approach. Banks that are pension disbursing authorities include the Bank of Baroda (BoB), Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), State Bank of India (SBI), and Union Bank of India, among others.

How to check status, download DLC?

After submitting your Digital LC, you will receive an SMS that includes a transaction ID.

You can download a soft copy your Digital LC from the official portal here — https://jeevanpramaan.gov.inThe status of your life certificate will be mentioned in your downloaded certificate.

Tracking the status of the life certificate after submission can help take prompt action in case of rejection.