Universal Account Number (UAN)

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).

Here, we will cover in detail all that there is to learn about the Universal Account Number including the registration, benefits, activation and much more. 

What is UAN Number?

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.

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.

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 https://unifiedportal mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/.

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.

Download UAN Card

Visit the EPFO official website https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/ and enter your UAN number, password, Captcha Code displayed.

Sign in and go to the ‘View’ section. Next, click on ‘UAN Card’ and then ‘Download’ UAN card from the options mentioned.

Documents Required to Open UAN

If you have just started working for your first registered firm, you will need the following documents to do your Unique Account Number Registration.

• 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.

Services Offered by the Portal

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:

• Download the passbook and the UAN card.
• View the member’s ids as well as the PF connecting status.
• Check the status of a transferred claim, file a claim, and review system-generated transfer claims.
• Change your email address and phone number.
• Update the KYC documents and upload them as well.
• View the contact information for the helpdesk.

EPF Management Through UAN

• The UAN comes in very handy throughout an employee’s career by just sharing the UAN and PF account details with various employers. All our old accounts are linked to a single UAN.
• You can also download our UAN card by registering at the EPFO e- Sewa member portal. 
• KYC verification can also be done online by just uploading the scanned KYC documents by Employee on the portal. 
• The UAN also helps in monitoring and checking the process status for the claim transfer on the EPFO portal.
• Using UAN, you can check your PF balance by just downloading or accessing the passbook from EPFO’s website.

Importance of Universal Account Number

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-

• The UAN helps the EPFO in tracking the changes in the organizations for the employees.
• When an employee changes his/her job, they would just need to link the new PF account to the UAN and then the EPFO will update the same in its records.
• UAN facilities can also be accessed online. The UAN e-Sewa portal has many facilities that make PF withdrawal and transfers. This makes withdrawals and transfers a few clicks away when we change our jobs.
• UAN also ensures that all PF accounts of the employee are valid and genuine.
• The employer or the organization can authenticate employees through their UAN if KYC documents are verified.
• The employer or the organization shall not be able to deduct or hold back employees PF as the UAN is online and hence is visible for any activity done.
• Employees can check the deposit of their PF by the employer every month by just registering on the EPF Member Portal using our 12 digit UAN. Also, the EPF passbook facility can be accessed by sending an SMS EPFOHO UAN ENG to 7738299899 from the registered mobile number with the EPFO.

UAN Benefits to the Employee

• With UAN, employer involvement has reduced drastically. The PF of the old organization will be transferred to the new PF account once KYC verification is complete.
  
  
• The employee needs to give his UAN details and KYC to the new organization and the old PF is just transferred to the new PF account once the verification is done. Hence, there is no manual process of transferring funds explicitly.
  
  
• One can also subscribe to SMS service and get notification whenever a contribution is made by the employer after registering at the UAN portal.

How to Withdraw or Transfer with the UAN Number?

When an employee changes jobs, he has the option of withdrawing or transferring his funds. However, because the process was so time-consuming, most people did not use their PF.

The task has been made easier by the implementation of UAN in the following ways-

• 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.

UAN Customer Support

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.