The short answer
As a new patient you get a UHID (Unique Hospital ID) from the hospital itself, in one of three ways: by paying a small card fee at the registration counter, by booking online on the government's ORS portal, or by scanning the hospital's QR code with the ABHA app (Scan and Share). All three still end at a hospital counter where the hospital's own system creates or links your UHID. We read the official pages for each route on 26 September 2026.
Already have a UHID and want your card or reports? That is a different job, covered in UHID card download: how it really works.
Which route are you on?
| Route | Best when | What you need | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counter | Walk-in, no smartphone, small hospital | Cash for the card fee, a mobile number, whatever ID the hospital asks for | Queues; hours are short (often 8 to 11 am) |
| ORS online | Big government hospital (AIIMS, central hospitals, many state hospitals) | A mobile number that gets OTPs, or an ABHA | Slots can be full; the online slip may not be your UHID yet |
| ABHA Scan and Share | The hospital has the QR at its counter | An ABDM-enabled app such as the ABHA app | Only where the hospital has switched it on; you still go to the counter |
New to the terms? See what a UHID is and UHID vs ABHA vs OPD numbers first.
Route 1: register at the hospital counter
This is the oldest route and still the default. The ABDM Scan and Share Playbook describes it in one sentence: you give basic details such as name, age and gender and your ailment, or show a referral slip, and the counter clerk enters them and prints your OPD card.
What the hospital pages we read actually say:
| Hospital | Card fee | Registration hours | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIIMS Delhi | ₹10 (OPD card, main counter, OPD ground floor) | General OPD 8:30 to 10:30 am | OPD card; then register at the counter of the OPD you need |
| GMCH Chandigarh (GMCH-32) | ₹20 per calendar year; revisit within one year free; duplicate card ₹30 | 8 to 11 am, Mon to Sat | OPD card and a C.R. No. |
| PGIMER Chandigarh | Not verified (its charges page returned no rows for us) | Online pre-registration counter: 8 to 11 am Mon to Fri; walk-in hours not stated | OPD card with a permanent CR No. |
| MGIMS (Sevagram) | ₹10 first time, ₹5 later visits | 8 am to 1 pm, Mon to Sat | A card and a 12-digit clinical record number |
| M S Ramaiah (private, Bengaluru) | ₹60 one-time | Not stated | OPD card |
| Apollo Cancer Centres | Not stated | Not stated | UHID created at first registration; "a one-time process" |
| Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital (Delhi Govt) | "All facilities free of cost"; no card fee named | Weekdays 7:30 am to 12; Sat 7:30 to 11 | Registration at the counter; separate queues for men, women, seniors |
AIIMS Delhi, OPD services page, read 26 Sep 2026.
GMCH Chandigarh citizen charter, read 26 Sep 2026.
PGIMER Chandigarh, new-patient pre-registration instructions, read 26 Sep 2026.
Two honest gaps. First, most hospital pages we read do not list which ID document the counter wants. Apollo's page names a copy of Aadhaar (or a passport for foreign patients) and PGIMER asks non-paying patients to bring "relevant proof". For the rest, ask before you go. Second, fees change, so treat the rupee figures as "what the page said on 26 September 2026".
Apollo Cancer Centres, first-visit page, read 26 Sep 2026. This page is for its cancer centres only, not every Apollo hospital.
Route 2: register online on ORS
ORS is the Online Registration System run by NIC for the Ministry of Health. AIIMS, Dr RML and many state hospitals take appointments through it. Its seven-step strip is: select state and hospital, select mode of appointment, select appointment type, select department, select date, register or login, get a confirmation SMS.
Choose "New Appointment". For AIIMS New Delhi the screen offers two choices: New Appointment (Don't have UHID/Registration Number) and Followup Appointment (Have UHID/Registration Number), with a note to check your OPD card for the number.
ORS appointment type screen, read 26 Sep 2026.
What ORS's own FAQ says about a new patient:
- You need a registered mobile number or an ABHA. ABHA is optional.
- You pick the state, hospital and department, choose a date and time, and select the New Patient option.
- You enter name, age or date of birth, gender, mobile number and address. An OTP goes to your mobile for verification.
- You get an OPD appointment slip you can download or print and show at the hospital on the day.
ORS FAQ, read 26 Sep 2026.
Does ORS create your UHID? The current ORS FAQ does not say. Older official documents do: the 2015 ORS on-boarding manual says a new patient who verifies with an Aadhaar number is given a UHID and an e-OPD card, and one without Aadhaar gets the UHID and OPD card at the hospital's registration counter after paying the registration fee. Today's ORS uses mobile or ABHA verification, so do not assume the online step alone gives you a UHID. Print the slip and take it to the counter.
When we looked, we could not book. For AIIMS New Delhi on 26 September 2026 every September date on the calendar showed as not available, so we could not reach the register step, and we did not book anything. Slots open and close on the hospital's schedule. If you cannot get one, walk-in counters remain (Route 1).
Route 3: ABHA Scan and Share
Scan and Share lets you skip the manual form. You scan the hospital's QR code with an ABDM-enabled app, share a small part of your ABHA profile, and get a token number.
ORS Scan and Share page, read 26 Sep 2026.
The four steps (ORS and ABDM):
- Scan the hospital's QR code at the registration counter, using the ABHA app, your phone camera or another ABDM-enabled app. The ORS page lists Aarogya Setu, ABHA App, EkaCare, DRiefcase, Bajaj Health and PayTM.
- Install and log in to one of those apps if you have not already.
- Share your profile. The hospital gets your name, gender, mobile number, date of birth, ABHA address and ABHA number, "with an implied consent from the user, for token generation", per the ABDM FAQ. You get a token number.
- Go to the counter when your token is called and collect your OP slip. The hospital may still ask extra details there.
ABDM FAQ, read 26 Sep 2026.
What it does not do. It does not skip the hospital. The Playbook requires the hospital's software to "auto assign" a new UHID to new patients and link it to ABHA, so the UHID still comes from the hospital. ABHA is voluntary: ABDM's FAQ says it is not mandatory for all citizens. The ABDM FAQ calls the consent "implied", but hospital guides show an "I Agree" step, so read the consent screen in your app before you tap share.
Is it live near you? Only at hospitals that have set it up. A June 2024 government release said it was running at over 5,435 facilities across 546 districts, which is a snapshot, not today's number. Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Delhi says it works at two dedicated counters. SGT Hospital publishes its own nine-step guide. Look for the QR code at the counter, or ask.
No smartphone? The Playbook describes a "Scan and Pull" route where the counter scans the QR on your physical ABHA card, and says hospitals may set up ABHA creation counters or kiosks. Whether your hospital does this is worth asking.
Our ABHA login and card guide covers getting the card itself, and the ABHA Health ID explainer covers what it is for. Ayu also plans to add ABHA creation and management inside the app in the next few months, so everything can sit in one place.
What you get and how to reuse it
- A hospital-specific number. It may be called UHID, registration number, CR No. or record number. PGIMER's CR No. is "used for all your subsequent visits to all departments" of PGIMER. It does not work at another hospital.
- Carry the slip or card. Dr RML's own 2017 tutorial tells patients to keep the OPD slip and re-use the same UHID on later visits instead of registering again.
- On ORS, choose "Followup Appointment" on later visits, and enter the number from your OPD card.
- Revisit fees can be lower. GMCH Chandigarh lists a revisit within one year as free, and MGIMS charges ₹5 for later visits against ₹10 for the first.
Fixing mistakes
Only a few hospitals publish how, so here is exactly what we could source.
| Problem | What the official pages say |
|---|---|
| Wrong mobile number | PGIMER: contact the registration counters to register or correct your number. Several portals say to give a correct and valid number because OTPs and passwords go there |
| Wrong name, age or address | One hospital publishes a form: GMCH Chandigarh's "Change/Update the record in C.R. No." application to its Medical Record Department, which asks for ID documents. We found no official procedure at other hospitals we checked, so ask the medical records desk |
| Two UHIDs at the same hospital | ORS's FAQ says ABHA helps avoid duplicate UHIDs. We found no official way to merge duplicates, so ask the medical records department to link them |
| Lost OPD card | GMCH Chandigarh lists a duplicate card at ₹30. Odisha's state portal has a "Find C.R. No. by Mobile" lookup. For others, ask the registration desk |
| Online registration expired | PGIMER's online pre-registration is valid only for the chosen visit date, and Odisha's for 15 days |
What to bring: a checklist
Only items backed by an official page we read:
- A mobile number you will keep, that can receive OTPs.
- Cash for the card fee, if the hospital charges one (₹10 to ₹60 at the pages above; some government hospitals list no fee).
- ID, where the hospital names it. Apollo: a copy of Aadhaar (a passport for international patients). PGIMER: relevant proof if you are not a paying patient. Others: ask.
- Old OPD cards and reports if you have been there before. PGIMER asks for them.
- Referral letter, if applicable. AIIMS speciality clinics need a referral from the general OPD or a government institution.
- Your appointment slip if you booked on ORS.
- Your existing UHID or CR No. from the old OPD card, for follow-ups.
- A smartphone with an ABDM app for Scan and Share. Not needed for the other routes.
Keep your IDs together with Ayu
After a few hospitals you hold several numbers: a UHID here, a CR No. there, plus your ABHA. Ayu lets you save each hospital's ID next to its reports and prescriptions, so a family member or a new doctor can find them without a hunt through old cards. If you are managing a parent's records, see managing elderly parents' medical records.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers on UHID registration for new patients
Medical disclaimer
This article is for general information. Fees, hours and portal features were read from official pages on 26 September 2026 and change often, so confirm with the hospital before you go. Some facts could not be confirmed and are marked as such. Older ORS documents describe behaviour that may no longer apply.
