Is NIC Down?

If you're experiencing issues with NIC, try these troubleshooting steps:

Basic Steps

• 1. Verify your internet connection. Ensure you have a stable, active connection by loading a non-NIC website (like a search engine) in a separate browser tab. If that fails, restart your router or switch to a wired connection.
• 2. Refresh the NIC portal aggressively. NIC pages can be cached by your browser or ISP. Perform a hard refresh using Ctrl + F5 (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + R (Mac) to bypass the local cache and request the latest server response.
• 3. Clear browser cookies and site data for NIC. Stale authentication tokens or session cookies can block page loading. Clear your browser's cache and cookies for the last hour or all time, then restart your browser before reattempting access.
• 4. Try a different browser or an incognito window. Extensions (pop-up blockers, privacy tools) often interfere with government sites. Test NIC in a default incognito/private window with all extensions disabled to isolate the issue.
• 5. Disable VPN or proxy services temporarily. NIC frequently restricts traffic from known VPN IP ranges. Turn off any active VPN, Smart DNS, or corporate proxy, then attempt to load the site directly.

Intermediate Steps

• 1. Check for Java/Plugin dependencies. Several NIC applications (like e-Office, PFMS, or GSTN portals) require specific Java versions or browser plugins. If a specific NIC subdomain shows a blank page or a certificate error, verify that your Java runtime is up to date (version 8 or 11) and that the Java plugin is enabled for the site.
• 2. Perform a DNS flush and change your DNS server. NIC's national infrastructure often has slow DNS propagation. Flush your DNS cache (run ipconfig /flushdns in Command Prompt) and temporarily switch your DNS to a public resolver (like Google DNS 8.8.8.8 or Cloudflare 1.1.1.1) to rule out ISP-level DNS failures.
• 3. Test during off-peak hours. NIC servers are heavily loaded between 9 AM and 5 PM IST, especially on financial portals. If you're seeing timeouts, try accessing the service after 8 PM or on weekends to distinguish between server overload and a true outage.
• 4. Check your system's date/time and TLS settings. Many NIC pages use certificate pinning. If your device clock is off by more than a few minutes, SSL handshakes will fail. Also, ensure that TLS 1.2 is enabled in your browser's advanced settings, as NIC has deprecated older protocols.

If the NIC website remains inaccessible after trying all of the above, the problem is very likely on the national infrastructure side. Please click the 'Report Outage' button on this Is It Down Bro? status page to help us and other users confirm the current status.