UAN or Universal Account Number is a number allotted to all the salaried employees, who contribute a part of their income towards the Employee Provident Fund (EPF). The reason being, UAN is a unique identification number that is linked to your EPF and is allotted by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). In this article, we will cover in detail all that there is to learn about the Universal Account Number including the registration, benefits, activation and much more.
The Universal Account Number 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 at a single platform.
Since a part of your salary gets accumulated in the EPF account, it is important for you to know exactly what UAN is and how it is relevant to you.
There are two ways to know your UAN, viz. Through employers or through the UAN portal.
Usually, employees are allotted a Universal Account Number by their employer under the EPFO. Some employers also mention the UAN number in the salary slips.
If one cannot get the Universal Account Number from their employer, it can be also obtained through the UAN portal. Just follow the steps below:
Step 1: Visit the UAN Portal https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/
Step 2: Click on the tab which says ‘Know your UAN Status’. Upon clicking, the following page will appear.
Step 3: Select the state and the respective EPFO office from the dropdown menu and enter the PF number/member ID along with the other required details such as name, date of birth, mobile no, and captcha code. PF number/member ID can be obtained from your salary slip. Next, Enter the tab ‘Get Authorization Pin’.
Step 4: A PIN will be received on your mobile number. Provide the PIN and click on the ‘Validate OTP and get UAN’ button.
Step 5: Finally, your Universal Account Number will be sent to your registered mobile number.
In order to activate UAN, one must have his/her Universal Account Number and PF member ID. Below given are the steps for UAN activation and login to the EPFO portal using UAN
The following is a description of how to transfer a PF UAN number and account using the portal:
Step 1: Check your PF eligibility and make sure all of your current and former employers’ records are online at EPFO.
Step 2: Upload the digital signature to the internet.
Step 3: To file a transfer online, you must first register on the EPFO portal.
Step 4: Select the option to transfer your account after logging into the EPF member portal.
Step 5: Fill out all three sections of the form.
Step 6: Click “Get OTP” after selecting the attesting authority and member ID/UAN.
Step 7: Your registered mobile number will receive an OTP. To proceed, enter this OTP.
Step 8: Your form will be submitted, and you will be provided with a tracking ID.
Step 9: Take a print of the transfer form and give it to your current employer.
If you have just started working for your first registered firm, you will need the following documents to obtain your Unique Account Number.
UAN login for Employee & Employer is required to access the UAN portal and use the website’s features. Employees can quickly download/view the passbook or change information via this site. Employers, on the other hand, get to analyse the activities and retain a record in the accounts as a result. The portal gives a more unified record of EPF account actions.
After entering the UAN and password, one can do the following:
The UAN of EPF is very useful for employees to check PF related activities. UAN benefits employers as well since it helps them perform PF updates and other necessary tasks. Below mentioned is the essentiality of the UAN:
On EPFO’s website, there is a distinct UAN helpdesk with different sections dedicated to different visitor queries. The two major categories are Help and Claim. ‘Help’ responds to employee and employer inquiries on EPFO office locations, UAN, Services, Grievances, and so on. ‘Claim,’ on the other hand, caters to the numerous claim forms available to users, such as the Composite Claim form (Aadhar), and so on. Members can use this help desk, which is open 24 hours a day, to get answers to questions and concerns.
Q1. Can an employee have two UANs?
No, having two UANs is not allowed; an employee can only have one UAN which is transferable across all eligible employers.
Q2. Is UAN a must for online claims?
Yes, it is mandatory. Without UAN, one cannot submit online claims.
Q3. Can I register my UAN number from where I am?
Yes, you can register for UAN online.
Q4. What is the objective of UAN?
The UAN acts as an umbrella for the multiple member IDs allocated to a single individual by different establishments by linking them all.
Q5. What services are offered by the UAN portal?
You can download your passbook, view the member’s ids and much more.