CKYC 101
What is CKYC?
Complete guide to Central Know Your Customer (CKYC) in India — what it is, who needs it, and how it works.
What is CKYC?
CKYC (Central Know Your Customer) is a centralised KYC repository maintained by CERSAI under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). All entities regulated by RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA are mandated to perform CKYC compliance for every customer onboarded.
The vision: a customer's KYC done once, accepted everywhere in India's financial system.
CKYC Number Format
What does a CKYC Number look like?
99999999999999
14-digit unique identifier assigned by CERSAI. Masked format from Jan 2025: XXXXXXXXXX1234 (last 4 digits visible).
Who needs CKYC compliance?
🏦Banks — Public, Private, Small Finance
🏢NBFCs — All categories including HFCs
🛡️Insurance Companies — Life & General
📊Mutual Fund AMCs & Distributors
📈Stock Brokers & Depository Participants
💳Payment Aggregators & Fintechs
Three CKYC obligations for every BFSI institution
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Search before you onboard
Before creating a new KYC record, you must check CERSAI. If a CKYC record exists — download it instead of creating a duplicate.
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Generate for new customers
If no CKYC record exists, submit customer data and documents to CERSAI for fresh CKYC number allocation. Mandatory at onboarding.
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Receive update notifications
Once your FI code is linked, CERSAI notifies you whenever a customer updates their KYC with any other institution.
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CKYC 2.0 (Jan 2025): CERSAI moved to masked CKYC numbers. The last 4 digits are visible; the first 10 are masked. This change was implemented to enhance customer privacy while maintaining the integrity of the CKYC system.
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