UAN or Universal Account Number is a number allotted to all salaried employees, who contribute a part of their income towards the Employee Provident Fund (EPF). The reason is, UAN is a unique identification number that is linked to your EPF and is allotted by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
What is UAN?
The Universal Account Number (UAN) is a 12-digit unique number assigned to every employee contributing to the EPF. It is generated and allotted by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and authenticated by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. An employee’s UAN remains the same throughout his/her work life, irrespective of the number of job changes.
Every time an employee switches his/her job, EPFO allot a new member identification number or EPF Account (ID) linked to the UAN. As an employee, one can request a new member ID by submitting the UAN to the new employer. Once the member ID is created, it gets linked to the employee’s UAN. Hence, the UAN will act as an umbrella for the multiple member IDs allotted to the employee by different employers.
UAN stands for Universal Account Number which is a 12 digit number that each member of the Employee Provident Fund is allotted against his/her name. The EPFO UAN is issued by the Government of India under the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
This number is the same throughout an employee’s professional life. In case the employee changes jobs, he is allotted a new member ID by EPFO, however, his UAN remains the same as it is linked to all the member IDs. So this number helps you in tracking your total EPF contributions, under your previous employer(s) as well as current employer, all in one place.
Employee Provident Fund has now become easily accessible for many employees like us. With just a few clicks you can check the balance, transfer or even withdraw from your provident fund. All this could happen, just by a single linkage of all your Provident Funds through to a single account.
Earlier, in case of any PF related issues like payout issue, withdrawal, etc., it was tedious to keep a track of activities from various PFs. Now, the universal account number assembles all these PF accounts associated with multiple ids of different organizations in one place.
With the help of UAN, an employee can easily access, withdraw, transfer funds and many other activities on a single platform.
Getting a UAN Number
UAN can be availed of by a person in 2 ways, through employers or through the UAN portal.
Usually, employees are provided the UAN number by the employers. Alternatively, one can get it by using the PF Number/Member ID by visiting Visit the UAN Portal
Features of UAN
- UAN helps to centralise employee data in the country.
- It reduces the burden of employee verification by the EPF organisation from companies and employers.
- It is useful for EPFO to track multiple job switches of the employee.
- Untimely and early EPF withdrawals have reduced considerably with the introduction of UAN.
- Many PF e-services can be accessed through UAN, such as:
- Viewing and downloading the PF passbook.
- Get details of the organisations, such as organisation name, date of joining and Employee’s Pension Scheme (EPS) details.
- Download the UAN card.
- Update KYC details.
- Update basic details.
- Apply for PF or EPS withdrawal.
- Merge two member IDs.
- Track EPF claim status.
Advantages of UAN to Employees
- Every new PF account created when joining a new job or company will come under the umbrella of a single unified account.
- It is easy to withdraw (fully or partially) PF online with the UAN.
- You can check the PF balance of all your EPF accounts in a single place.
- You can view and download the EPF passbook online, which contains the details of EPF contributions, EPS contributions and PF interest credit.
- You can transfer or merge old EPF accounts to the current EPF account online.
- You can download your PF statement online from anywhere at your convenience.
- You can also check your EPFO claim status online by logging into the EPF member portal using your UAN.
Find and Activate UAN Number
If you are searching for how to find my UAN number and activate it, you can visit the EPFO homepage and click on ‘Member UAN/Online services’. You would be required to fill the required details in the UAN portal.
Next, you would be required to click on ‘Get authorization PIN’. You will receive PIN on your registered mobile number. Next, ‘Validate OTP and Activate UAN’.
You will get a password on the registered mobile number to access UAN account.
Documents Required to Open UAN
- Account information includes the account number, IFSC code, and branch name.
- ID evidence includes any photo-affixed and national identity cards, such as a driver’s license, passport, voter ID, Aadhaar, and SSLC Book.
- A recent utility bill in your name, a rental/lease agreement, a ration card, or any of the ID proofs listed above that shows your present address.
- Your PAN Card should be associated with your UAN.
- Aadhaar card: Because Aadhaar is linked to a bank account and a mobile phone, it is required.
- The ESIC card.
How to Withdraw or Transfer with the UAN Number?
- You could link all of your PF accounts to your UAN.
- After the KYC verification, you must provide your UAN to your employer and manage your account online.
- You receive a monthly update on contributions made by the employer into the PF account on your mobile device.
- When a PF account is linked to a UAN, the employer’s involvement is reduced.
- EPF passbook can be accessed online via the website or the Umang app.
- PF withdrawals are simpler and can be conducted without the involvement of the employer.
FAQs
I misplaced my UAN; how can I get it back?
If you have linked the UAN to your Aadhaar or PAN card, you can recover it. Navigate to the EPFO homepage>For Employees>Member UAN/Online Service>Know Your UAN Status> Enter Specifics> OTP Request> Enter your OTP>Enter your details>Click on the Show My UAN button.
What information is stored on the UAN card?
On the front of the UAN card is information about the universal account number and the KYC details (if verified by the employer). The recent five member IDs and EPFO helpdesk contact numbers are printed on the back of the card.