How to e-Verify Your ITR: Six Ways, the 30-Day Rule and What Happens If You Miss It

Verification is your signature on the return. An unverified return is treated as never filed: no processing, no refund, and possibly a late fee or a notice for not filing.

The deadline is 30 days from the date you filed. Verify on time and your filing date stays the original date. Verify late and the date of verification becomes the filing date. If that falls after the due date, the return becomes belated, with a late fee and lost benefits.

1. Right after submitting, the portal offers e-Verify. If you've already left that screen, go to e-File → Income Tax Returns → e-Verify ITR.
2. Choose "I would like to verify using OTP on mobile number registered with Aadhaar".
3. Tick the consent, click Generate OTP, and enter the six-digit OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile.
4. Submit. You get an acknowledgement on screen and by email, and the return status changes to "Successfully e-Verified".

• The OTP goes to the mobile number linked with Aadhaar, not the one in your e-filing profile. If that number has changed, update it at an Aadhaar centre, or use another method meanwhile.
• Check that your PAN is linked with Aadhaar. Unlinked or inoperative PANs can't use Aadhaar OTP. Check it with our PAN-Aadhaar link checker.
• Use an EVC instead. Pre-validate your bank or demat account under My Profile, then generate the EVC from the e-Verify screen. Some banks also let you generate an EVC at their ATM or through net banking.
• Still stuck near the deadline? Post the signed ITR-V in good time. It only has to reach the CPC within 30 days.

1. Download the ITR-V (acknowledgement) from View Filed Returns.
2. Print it, sign in blue ink, and don't fold it badly or staple it.
3. Send it by ordinary or speed post to the Centralised Processing Centre, Income Tax Department, Bengaluru. The address is printed on the ITR-V.
4. It must reach the CPC within 30 days of filing. Posting it on day 30 is too late.

You'll get an email when it's received. Until then, check the status on the portal.

• Verify it anyway, now. The return will be treated as filed on the verification date, and a late fee applies if that is after the due date.
• If you had a genuine reason for the delay, file a condonation of delay request on the portal (Services → Condonation Request), explaining why. If it's accepted, the original filing date stands.
• If the return is no longer valid and the deadline for belated returns has passed, consider an updated return (ITR-U).

Need to correct something you only noticed after filing? See how to file a revised return. And once you've verified, track your refund with our refund status guide.

TaxQue's income tax return filing service files and e-verifies your return in the same session, so it never sits unverified.