April 26, 2023

UAN Registration & How to Register Number - Online, Portal, Process, & Activation

The UAN or the Universal Account Number is a unique number allotted to the people of India who contribute a portion of their salary to the Employee Provident Fund. The number consists of 12 digits, and you need the number to access your EPF account. Once you open an EPF account, the same account continues throughout your life, even if you switch organizations.

Therefore, the UAN plays a vital role in the lives of people earning regular salaries. The UAN is generated when you join your first company. The employer generates the UAN for you, and you can use the number and the account linked to the number throughout your life. UAN registration is not a tedious task. However, you must make yourself aware of the steps that go into the process.

However, if your first employer employs less than 20 people, they might not make the Unified Member Portal registration for you. Hence, you must complete the UAN registration when you switch the company.

The Process of Generating UAN

As discussed earlier, the employer completes the UAN registration of the employee. The employer must perform the following steps and get the employee's name on the UAN register.

The employer must use their establishment ID and password to log in to the UAN portal.
Once the employer logs in to the EPFO UAN account, they need to go to the member section on the page. Post that, click on the option called 'Register Individual.'
Now, the employer will fill in the necessary details of the employee, like their PAN details, Aadhar number, bank information, etc.
Post adding all the details, the employer will recheck all the details in the 'approve' section and then approve all the pointers.
The UAN registration process concludes, and a UAN is generated for a particular employee. Now, the employer will sync the PF account of the employee with the UAN generated at the end of the process.

A company has a dedicated department to look into the Unified Member Portal Registration for all the employees who are a part of the organization. However, if the company is small, it might not have a dedicated team for the activity. Hence, HR resources in the company might perform the function.

Know your UAN

Before you activate your UAN, you must know the UAN attached to your account. There are different ways in which you can access this number.

Reach Out to the Employer

You can contact the employer to know your Universal Account Number. As the employer generates the UAN, they have access to such information. Also, most companies choose to mention the UAN of the employees on their salary slips. You can also take the number from there.

Via UAN Portal

If you have access to your PF number or your member ID, you can access the details of the Universal Account Number from the UAN portal. You can follow a few simple steps listed below.

Visit the UAN portal.
Click on the option 'Know your UAN' to begin the process. A window will pop up on your screen.
Add your mobile number and the captcha to generate an OPT. Now, enter the OTP that you receive on your mobile.
It will redirect you to a section where you can add basic details such as your name, date of birth, Aadhar information, member ID, etc. Now click on the 'Show my UAN' to access the UAN number.
You will again receive a PIN on your mobile. You must enter the PIN and click on the 'Validate OTP and Get UAN' option.
Once you click submit, your Universal Account Number will be sent to your mobile number.

You can then use the Universal Account Number and activate it along with your PF accounts.

Activating the UAN

Once the employer completes the UAN registration, the employee must log into the EPFO portal and activate the UAN. Only when you have an active UAN the UAN registration process be considered complete. You need to follow a few steps to activate your UAN:

Before you begin the process, you must have your UAN and the details of your Provident Fund.
Visit the official website of EPF and go to the 'Our Services' section. Now, select the 'for employees' option to begin with the account activation.
Click on the 'Member UAN' option under the services tab. This will take you to a separate portal called the UAN portal.
In this portal, you must add important details like your UAN, PF number, mobile number, etc. You also need to fill in the captcha box based on the sequence of alphabets and numbers displayed on the screen. Click on 'get authorisation PIN' to generate a login PIN.
You will receive a PIN on your mobile phone. Enter the PIN and check the 'I agree' checkbox at the bottom of the screen.
Add the OTP sent to your mobile and click on the 'Validate OTP and Activate UAN' option.
Your account will now become active. The portal will generate a password for your account, which will be shared with you via e-mail.

You can now access your account and check the PF payments made to it.

Documents for UAN Registration and Activation

You need to have a few documents at your disposal if you want to activate your UAN. These documents include the following:

Aadhar Card
Details of your bank account, like the bank account number, IFSC code, etc.
PAN Card
Proof of Address

You must try to arrange a backup identity proof if the portal asks for additional information.

Linking of Aadhar with the UAN

In India, the Aadhar Card is the most important document. It is an identity proof that is accepted throughout the country. For ease of operations, several Government bodies ensure that your Aadhar is linked to different accounts like your Demat account, etc.

Similarly, you should link your Aadhar with the UAN too. The linking of Aadhar with the UAN and the PF under the UAN can be done online and offline. Let's look at both ways of linking your Aadhar with the UAN and PF.

Online

Linking your Aadhar with the UAN online is quite easy. You just need to follow a few simple steps and be done with them in a few minutes.

Visit the official EPFO portal and log in to the website using your credentials. Click the 'For Employees' option to access the drop-down. Select the 'UAN Member e-Sewa' option from the drop-down.
A window will appear on the screen. Enter your UAN and the portal password to get into the portal. You must also add the captcha correctly to log in smoothly.
Now, choose the 'Manage' option from the title bar. From the drop-down, select the option labeled 'KYC'.
A window will open your screen. Click on the 'Add KYC' tab and fill in all the necessary details like your bank account details, PAN number, Aadhar number, and other ID proofs like your Passport, Driving License, etc. Click on 'Submit'
You can access these details under the 'Pending KYC' tab.
Your new employer will approve the details provided by you in the next 15 days. Once approved, the information will shift to the 'Approved KYC' tab.

You can also use the Umang app to link your Aadhar number with your UAN and PF accounts. If you do not have access to the app, you can visit the EPFO portal and perform all the above steps.

Offline

If you struggle with the online mode of linking your Aadhar or if you do not have access to a laptop and the internet, you can complete the process offline.

Collect the Aadhar linking application form from your employer and add the details such as the UAN, Aadhar number, PAN card details, etc.
Submit the self-attested copies of the Aadhar, PAN, and UAN. You can then travel to the field offices of EPFO and submit the form. You can travel to the Common Centres if your city does not have an EPFO field office.
Once you submit the documents and the form, the Aadhar will be linked to your UAN. You will be notified about the update via an SMS.

Resetting the UAN Password

In case you forget the password of your UAN account or the EPFO account, you can reset it by using some simple steps:

Open the login page of the EPFO portal
Now, click on the 'Forgot Password' option to reset your old password
Enter your Universal Account Number and fill in the captcha box to start the process.
You will receive an OTP. You need to enter the OTP in the section displayed on your screen.
Once you click on submit, you get the option to reset your password.
You can add the new password that you want for your EPFO account and click on submit.

Importance of the Universal Account Number

While many people know that their UAN is essential information for them, they don't know why the information is important. Let's look at the importance of the UAN:

UAN acts as a single reference using which you can access all your PF accounts. Earlier, keeping track of all the EPF accounts was quite challenging for the employees. However, with the introduction of UAN, managing these accounts has become much more straightforward.
The members can use the UAN to transfer their PF from old accounts to new accounts without hassle.
Once the employee activates their UAN, they can access all the services offered by the EPFO.
Also, tracking the amount credited to the EPFs is now easy, as you can use the UAN to check the balances of all the PF accounts.

Benefits of Having a UAN

There are some great benefits of having a UAN in the organized sector. You must understand these benefits to contribute to it and grow your money. Some of these benefits include:

UAN is assigned to all employees irrespective of their companies. Hence, it brings a centralized system for managing the employees' retirement contributions.
Via UAN, the country can create a central database of all the employees currently employed in the country across organizations.
The UAN helps the EPFO track the organizational switch that the employees make from time to time.
As the Government issues the UAN, it brings in a level of credibility; hence, the burden of verifying information again does not hold a lot of significance.
Also, the employee can easily manage all the PF accounts under a single umbrella.
Using the UAN, you can easily withdraw money from your PF accounts if you are stuck in some financial emergency.
Also, when a company creates a UAN or collects UAN information from you, they must make the PF payments regularly.
With the UAN, you can access the EPFO portal, where you can track all your PF accounts singlehandedly.
You can also use the UAN to transfer EPF accounts online.
Another essential benefit of having a UAN is that you can use it to make partial withdrawals online. You can also use the EPFO member portal to check the status of your claims.

You must check the passbook of your PF using the UAN register. The passbook will give you an overview of all the PF transactions you have undertaken in each period.

Conclusion

The UAN plays a vital role in the life of a salaried employee. The number is used to access all the PF accounts of the employee so that they can keep track of the PF accounts and make claims if they want to make partial or complete withdrawals of the funds from their PF accounts.

Therefore, once your first employer creates your EPFO account, you should activate your UAN. You can then use the same account and the UAN for your life. You will have to provide the UAN to all your following employers to make the PF payments to the correct account.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Q.Can contractual employees register for a UAN and access the facilities provided by the EPFO account?

If the company's employer has more than 20 employees working for them, they need to generate the UAN for all the employees with a monthly income of at least Rs. 15,000. Also, the employer can register both the contractual and the full-time employees online and provide them with the UAN number. The employees can then activate their UAN either online or offline.

Q. Do I have to pay any fees to activate the UAN?

The Government of India provides UAN and EPFO services. These services exist because the Government wants the working citizens of the country to save for their retirement. Hence, you do not have to pay fees during the registration or the activation of the UAN.

Q. Is there an app to activate the UAN?

Currently, there are no apps to activate the UAN. You will have to visit the EPFO member portal if you want to activate your UAN. However, some provisions in the Umang App, like linking your Aadhar with the EPFO account, etc.