EPF Passbook Download - How to Download it Online, Login, & Balance Check

The Employees' Provident Fund Organization is a statutory body that reports to the Ministry of Labour and Employment of the Government of India. It oversees the social security programs for industrial workers established under the Employees' Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act of 1952.

The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is one of India's best and most well-known social security investment schemes for salaried people. It is an excellent retirement benefit program where the employer and the employee contribute a specific percentage share of the employee's basic salary and dearness allowance towards EPF while employed. It offers relatively higher interest rates than other saving plans and tax benefits. All businesses with 20 or more employees are eligible to benefit from PF accounts.

The Employees' Provident Funds Ordinance established the initial legal framework for this investment strategy on November 15, 1951. But eventually, it was replaced by the Employees' Provident Funds Act of 1952, which was presented as bill number 15 in 1952. The Employees' Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, which is relevant to the entire country of India, has thus replaced the original version of this law and is now in effect. A tri-partite board known as the Central Board of Trustees, Employees' Provident Fund, composed of representatives of the federal, state, and local governments, employers, and employees, is responsible for overseeing the Act and the Schemes covered under it.

Now, to manage the investment and transactions made under the EPF scheme, the members are provided with an online passbook EPF, which helps them to track their account information adequately. The article focuses explicitly on the EPF passbook, its download, and other functionalities associated with the same.

Understanding the EPF Passbook

The EPF passbook of an employee contains a list of their and their employer's contributions to the EPS and EPF accounts. The EPF passbook contains a list of all monthly contributions and the interest accrual on the beneficiary's account. Notably, if you have multiple EPF accounts, you will have separate passbooks for each account, which can be accessed after logging in by entering the correct member ID. However, you must register your UAN (Universal Account Number) on the official EPFO website to access your EPF passbook.

Procedure to Download EPF Passbook Online

The EPFO portal offers a very straightforward process for viewing and downloading the PF Passbook. To view and download the passbook online, the employee must bear the following in mind:

1. Members who successfully register their UAN on the EPFO portal are the only ones who have access to the PF passbook feature.
2. The passbook feature will be unavailable until six hours have passed since registration or activation.
3. There must be consistency between the entries made in the passbook and those made by the EPFO field offices.
4. The EPF Passbook feature will not be available to Inoperative Members, Settled Members, or Exempted Establishment Members.

UAN Registration

Each EPF member possesses a distinct 12-digit account number, the Universal Account Number, which is received by each member and the organization upon registration. The UAN and EPF member IDs are connected. This acts as the account's identification number for subsequent transactions. The stepwise procedure to obtain UAN is given below.

Step 1: Go to EPFO Portal. Hover over 'Services' on the top navigation panel; a drop-down menu will appear. Select 'For Employees,' from the menu, and you will be redirected to another page. 

Step 2: On the 'For Employees' page, click on 'Member UAN/Online Service (OCS/OTCP),' and you will be redirected to a new page.

Step 3: On this page, click on 'know your UAN,' from the “important links” section.

Step 4: Enter your mobile number and captcha code and request OTP.

Step 5: You will receive an OTP on your registered mobile number; enter that OTP to get your UAN number.

Step 6: After validation, you will receive a message with the UAN number and its status on your mobile phone.

The process to Activate UAN

Just acquiring the UAN number is not enough for member passbook download; you also need to activate the UAN number to get started. The steps to activating UAN are illustrated below.

Step 1: Visit the EPFO Portal and select the 'Activate UAN' option.

Step 2: Register on the portal using personal information, like UAN/member ID, AADHAAR card number, date of birth, name, mobile number, and the captcha code.

Step 3: An authorization PIN will be sent to the registered mobile number once you have entered the necessary information and submitted it. To verify your information, enter your PIN.

Step 4: After PIN verification, your registration on EPF/UAN member portal gets completed.

EPF Passbook Download using UAN

Given below is the step-by-step procedure for the UAN Passbook download.

Step 1: Visit the EPFO Portal.

Step 2: Click on the “e-Passbook” option, and you will be redirected to the e-passbook login page.

Step 3: Fill in the UAN number, password, and captcha code to log in.

Step 4: The employee's member ID will be visible on the subsequent page upon logging in. If an employee has multiple member IDs, then all of those will be visible on the screen.

Step 5: The employee must click on the member ID of the account from which they want to download their PF statement.

Step 6: The name of the company, the employee's name, the address of the office, the percentage ownership held by the employer and the employee, and the contribution made to the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) account will all be displayed once the employee clicks on the Member ID.

Step 7: Additionally, the employee can print out and download UAN Passbook or PF statement in PDF format.

Password Reset on EPFO Portal

If you've forgotten your EPF login password, use the steps below to reset it.

Step 1: Go to the EPFO member portal and click on “Forgot Password.”

Step 2: Fill in the UAN number and the captcha code as requested.

Step 3: Now request for OTP on your registered mobile number.

Step 4: Enter the OTP to authenticate your ID. Once authenticated, you will be redirected to the password reset page.

Step 5: Enter a new password and click on “Confirm” to set a new password for member login.

EPF Passbook Download using Umang App

One of the common ways to download the PF Passbook online is through the website; however, you can also use the Umang app to perform the same. The steps for the EPF Passbook download using the Umang app are listed below.

Step 1: Android users can download the Umang App from Google Play Store, while Apple users can download the app from the App Store.

Step 2: Once downloaded, open the app and go to “All Services.”

Step 3: Select “EPFO” from “All Services.”

Step 4: Go to “Employee Centric Service” and select “View Passbook.”

Step 5: Enter your UAN and request OTP.

Step 6: Enter the OTP to authenticate the login.

Step 7: Once logged in, you can see the member IDs of all EPF accounts linked with your UAN. Select the member ID for which you want to download the EPF passbook. Upon selection, the passbook will be downloaded.

Details Enclosed within the EPF Passbook

The EPF Passbook download enables you to access and store the following details about the member’s EPF account.

1. The passbook holds the exact information about the employer or the company in which the member works.
2. You can also find the establishment ID in the passbook, a unique 7-digit number is specific to the organization registered under the EPF scheme.
3. The EPFO office's detail and its type are precisely defined in the passbook.
4. In the passbook, you will find accurate information about the employee and employer share contribution to the EPF scheme.
5. You can also get information about the monthly contribution made toward an employee’s pension account.
6. You can find the precise date and time the passbook was printed.
7. You can find your UAN number in the EPF passbook.
8. The precise information about the employee’s date of birth and the date of joining the organization can be found in the passbook.
9. You can also get information about the opening balance and total balance of the EPF account, along with the details of interest earned.
10. Apart from the fixed EPF funds, EPFO members can contribute more funds to the account. These extra funds are Voluntary Provident Funds (VPF) and are recorded separately in the EPF passbook.

Benefits of the EPF Passbook Online

Several benefits are associated with an online EPF passbook, some of which are listed below.

1. You enjoy the flexibility to access the EPF account anytime and anywhere, as the passbook can be easily downloaded using the website or the Umang app.
2. You only need the UAN to access the passbook. Besides, the document can be used to prepare for retirement and validate payment information at the employer’s end.
3. If there is some mistake or error in the EPF account details, it can be validated and rectified using the e-Passbook.
4. Employers who are EPF members can use the portal to update their e-passbook in the event of a change in occupation. A permanent record of the EPF contributions is kept in the e-passbook.

Alternative Ways to Check the EPF Account Balance

E-passbook is undoubtedly the best way to fetch detailed information about EPF transactions and account details. However, if you only need information about the account balance, you can also use the below-listed methods.

Checking Balance via SMS

Simply send an SMS to 7738299899 from your registered mobile number with the text 'EPFOHO UAN ENG' to find your EPF account balance. Please keep in mind that ENG stands for English. Ten different vernacular languages are available, which you can request to receive your account balance.

Give a Miss Call

Members who have registered on the UAN Member Portal can get information about their most recent PF contribution and PF balance by placing a missed call to 011-22901406 from their registered mobile numbers.

Other Services Offered at EPFO Portal

Although the EPFO portal prioritizes offering EPF passbook downloads and associated activities, it also provides several other services, some of which are listed below.

One Employee-One EPF Account

The EPFO recently added a feature called One Employee-One EPFO Account to its portal that enables EPF account holders to combine all of their PF accounts under their UAN without the employer's involvement. The facility ensures proper consolidation and collection of multiple accounts under one UAN.

Pensioner’s Portal

The Pensioner's Portal on the EPFO website also offers assistance with pension-related questions. In addition to submitting Jeevan Praman Patra, pensioners can check their Pension Payment Order (PPO) number, passbook information, and details concerning pension credits.

ECR Portal

The employer must register with the e-Sewa portal to generate a user ID and password. After logging in, the employer must upload the Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) and digitally sign it.

Principal Employer

This facility establishes a connection between the principal and the relevant contract employer for effective compliance. To increase the number of eligible employers covered by the EPF, the principal employer can upload information about contract employees, work orders, and outsourced job contracts.

Temporary Return Reference Number (TRRN)

TRRN uses a temporary number to track the development of PF challan payments. Without logging into the PF portal, you can download the number as a PDF and use it to check the status of your PF payment. Monitoring the Temporary Return Reference Number is possible online.

Helpdesk

For UAN-related issues, EPFO has set up separate help desks for employers and employees. A query can be submitted via email or by phone. You can call on 1800-118-005 to connect with the EPFO representative.

Conclusion

EPF is a popular savings scheme administered by EPFO under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour and Employment of the Government of India, aiming to secure salaried people's money.

The scheme offers lucrative incentives such as high-interest rates and tax benefits. The EPF is a perfect option to look for when planning retirement savings. Through this scheme, you save a specific amount of your salary every month, which eventually adds up to a significant amount in the future.

With the advancement in digital technology and the Internet, it has become easy to access the EPF account online anytime and anywhere, without much hassle. Consequently, EPF members find it easy to access their accounts and transaction online through EPF e-passbook downloads.

It is the easiest way to track the account balance and the transactions made by employees and employers into that account. Therefore, the article provides a complete guide to EPF passbook download as it is an easy solution to acquire relevant details about the scheme without having to visit the EPFO office.

FAQs

Is it possible to access the EPF passbook in the absence of UAN?

No, you can not log in to the EPFO account without the UAN. Therefore, acquiring your UAN from the EPFO portal is essential before logging in to view the passbook.

What should I do if I forget the EPFO login password?

If you forget the EPFO login password, go to the EPFO member portal and select the 'RESET Password' option. You will be redirected to a password reset page where you can set up your new password. Once you set your new password, you can log in to the EPFO portal again using that password.

Is there any way to track an inoperative EPF account?

You seek answers to all such queries on EPFO’s inoperative account helpdesk. To access the helpdesk, go to the EPFO member portal. Log in as a new user or sign up with your username and password. Once logged in, you can access the helpdesk webpage of the portal to resolve your queries.

Who is not eligible to avail of the EPF passbook download facility?

The EPF passbook is not available to all; the people exempted from this facility are:

1. Exempted Establishments Members
2. Settled Members
3. Inoperative Members
4. How much time does it take for the update made online to be reflected on the passbook?

The online updates made will get reflected in the passbook only after 6 hours, as it takes time to validate the information and update the database with the new data.