C.K. Gupta
In short
A TRACES-issued Form 16 PDF opens with a password made from the first five letters of your PAN in capitals, followed by your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format – for example, ABCDE15081990 for a PAN beginning ABCDE and a birth date of 15 August 1990. The same rule covers Form 130, the successor certificate under the new Act. If that password fails, the cause is almost always a different date of birth on the employer’s record, a name or PAN spelling mismatch, or a payroll variant – not a corrupt file.
Verified November 2026 · TaxGST.in
Every June, the same scene plays out: an employee downloads a Form 16, double-clicks it, and is asked for a password nobody told them about. They try their name, their employee ID, their bank password. None of them work, because the password was never chosen by them at all. It was generated from the document itself, from two pieces of information printed on it. This guide shows that formula, works through examples, and covers every reason it fails – so the next Form 16 opens on the first try.
For the wider income-tax picture, see the income-tax hub and the Form 12BB guide if your salary TDS looks too high. The missing-TDS guide covers the case where tax was deducted but does not appear in 26AS or AIS, the Form 131 guide explains the certificate that replaces Form 16A, and the TDS hub collects the rest.
The standard password, step by step
The password is not a secret chosen by you. It is generated from two pieces of information already on the form: your PAN and your date of birth.
First five letters of your PAN, in capitals + your date of birth in DDMMYYYY
Your PAN is ten characters: five letters, four digits, one letter. Only the first five letters are used. Your date of birth is written as two digits for the day, two for the month and four for the year, with no slashes or spaces.
The last five characters of your PAN – the four digits and the final letter – are not used. The date must be written as two digits for the day, two for the month and four for the year, with no slashes, spaces or dashes.
Worked examples
| Employee | PAN | Date of birth | Password |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priya Sharma | ABCDE1234F | 15 August 1990 | ABCDE15081990 |
| Rahul Verma | XYZAB9876K | 3 March 1985 | XYZAB03031985 |
| Anita Desai | PQRST4567L | 7 July 1992 | PQRST07071992 |
| Vikram Singh | LMNOP2345M | 30 December 1980 | LMNOP30121980 |
Note the details that trip people up. The day and month are always two digits, so 3 March becomes 03 and 03, not 3 and 3. The year is always four digits. The PAN letters are always capitals, even if you typed them in lowercase when you checked.
Payroll variants: try these next
Not every employer uses the standard formula. Payroll software varies, and some employers set their own pattern. If the standard password fails, try these variants in order:
| Format | Example (PAN ABCDE1234F, DOB 15 Aug 1990) | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| First 5 PAN letters + DDMMYYYY | ABCDE15081990 | TRACES-issued Form 16 |
| First 5 PAN letters + DDMMYY | ABCDE150890 | Older payroll software |
| Full PAN in capitals | ABCDE1234F | Some banks and large employers |
| First 4 PAN letters + DDMMYYYY | ABCD15081990 | A few older payroll systems |
| Employee code or date of birth alone | Varies | Small employers with custom setups |
Try them in order, and type the password by hand rather than pasting it – a copied password can carry a hidden space at the end.
Why the standard password fails
A change in the date of birth is the single most common cause. Employers sometimes hold an older date, a date from a joining form, or a date with the day and month swapped. Ask HR which date they hold, and use that date, not the one on your Aadhaar or passport, for this file.
A name change after marriage, a spelling difference between PAN and payroll, or a PAN correction that payroll has not yet updated can all produce a password that looks right but is built from the wrong letters.
Open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader rather than a browser viewer. Some browser viewers report a correct password as wrong, or fail to prompt at all.
If none of the variants work, download a fresh copy from TRACES. A truncated download on a slow connection can also produce a file that reports as damaged, even though the password was right.
Form 16 is now Form 130
Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, the familiar Form 16 is being replaced by Form 130 for the new regime. The document serves the same purpose – a certificate of tax deducted at source by your employer – but the form number and some fields have changed. The password logic has not: employers continue to protect the PDF with the same PAN-and-date-of-birth formula, so everything in this guide applies whether your file is labelled Form 16 or Form 130.
If you receive a Form 130 and the standard password fails, apply the same checks: the PAN and date of birth on the document, the variants above, and a fresh TRACES download before assuming the file is corrupt.
Keeping the unlocked file safe
- Do not email the unlocked file to yourself or others. It contains your PAN, salary and tax details – everything needed for identity theft.
- Store it in a password manager or encrypted folder, not in a shared drive or a phone gallery.
- Delete email copies once you have saved the file securely – email inboxes are the most common leak.
- Share only with your chartered accountant or tax filer, through a secure link, and only when you are actually filing.
FAQs
Is the Form 16 password the same for everyone?
The formula is the same for most employers, but the password itself is unique to you because it uses your PAN and date of birth.
Can I change the Form 16 password?
Not directly – the password is set when the file is generated. You can remove it by opening the file and saving an unprotected copy in Acrobat, then protecting that copy with your own password.
Why does my ITR acknowledgement show a different salary from my Form 16?
It does: the acknowledgement reflects what was filed, while Form 16 reflects what was deducted. A small difference usually comes from a late TDS entry or a revised return – check AIS and 26AS, not just the two documents, before assuming an error.
Does the password work on a phone?
Yes, if the PDF app supports password-protected files. Adobe Acrobat on mobile works reliably; some built-in viewers do not.
I entered the right password but the file says it is damaged. What now?
Download a fresh copy from TRACES or ask payroll to reissue it. A truncated download during a slow connection is the usual cause.
Is Form 130 the same document as Form 16?
It is the successor certificate under the new Act, serving the same purpose. The password approach is unchanged.
Sources
Form 16 / Form 130: Income-tax Act, 2025, TDS certificate provisions · TRACES: Form 16 download and password guidance · CBDT: TDS certificate rules and employer filing duties
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