Life is much more enjoyable when we have an easier and more convenient process for everything. Just think about it: Would you enjoy it if your PF fund transfer kept demanding a lot of details from you and took a lot of time before it was completed? It’s a no-brainer.  In fact, it would be much simpler to deal with fewer steps. 

This is why UAN exists. This 12 digital number ensures a hassle-free fund transfer to your new PF account when you start under a new employer. Therefore, it is important that you know UAN registration. 

UAN: What is it & Why Do You Need It?

Before we explain how you should complete your UAN registration, it is crucial that you understand what UAN itself is. 

This is a 12 digital number used for identification purposes. Every working professional is given a unique UAN number, which is generated by the EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation). EPFO assigns a special UAN to the employer as well. 

The employee’s UAN serves as a cover umbrella for all the PF accounts that the person had in the past or owns in the present. This is why this UAN doesn’t change even when you start a new job. You will have a different member ID and EPF account number, but the UAN remains constant. 

Now that you know what is UAN, the next question is: why is this UAN important? It’s because of the following reasons:

  1. Every working employee has the same UAN till the time he/she retires. 
  2. An individual needs this UAN to check upon the credits as well as debits in their PF account. 
  3. Using the UAN, an individual can withdraw as well as transfer funds in a much simpler way. Moreover, they don’t need to depend on their employer. 
  4. An individual can monitor the deposits they are making monthly using their UAN. But for this, the individual has to be registered on the EPFO. 

UAN Generation Process

When a person begins a job for the first time, the employer has to undertake a process to generate a new UAN for this specific individual in the following manner:

  1. Access the EPF Employer Portal by entering the Company ID and password. 
  2. Choose the “Register Individual” option under the “Member” section. 
  3. The employer then needs to submit the necessary details such as Aadhaar and PAN card. 
  4. All these details need to be validated under the “Approval” section. You must do it.

Once the employer completes the above-mentioned process, the EPFO generates a new UAN. The employer needs to connect this newly generated UAN of the employee with their EPF account. 

EPF account

UAN Registration an Activation Process

If you want to monitor your PF account and use the EPFO website, you must know how to activate your UAN number. For this, you must do the following steps:

  1. Open the EPFO portal. Once there, choose the “Activate UAN’ option. You will find this on the bottom and right-hand side corner of the page. 
  2. Once you have the “Activate UAN” option opened, fill in the required UAN. You will have to do this alongside your name, phone number, date of birth as well as your Aadhar number. Make sure you submit the right captcha text. 
  3. Once you are done with all of this, you should click on “Get Authorisation Pin”. 
  4. After you are done with Step 3, you will receive an authorization pin on your registered phone number. 
  5. You will need this pin for “Validate OTP and Activate UAN”. 
  6. After your UAN is activated, you will receive a password on your registered phone number. 
  7. You can use this password to access your EPF account. 

Now that you are equipped with the knowledge of how to activate UAN number, you must keep in the following fact. You will be able to use your UAN only after 6 hours after it gets activated. So once these 6 hours are over, you will be able to check your PF balance as well as any other transactions you might have made in the account. 

What All Documents Do You Require for UAN Registration/Activation?

If you are planning on undertaking the UAN registration process, you need to keep the following documents ready. 

  1. Your Aadhaar card
  2. Your PAN card
  3. Your bank account details. This will include IFSC
  4. Your identity as well as address proof 

Conclusion

Your UAN is a 12-digit number generated by EPFO. Considering the advantages it offers, you shouldn’t ignore the importance of this number. For instance, it eases the PF fund transfer process whenever you open a new PF account after joining a new job. Moreover, it eliminates the dependence on the employer. So, it’s necessary that you educate yourself about UAN, UAN registration, and the activation process. 

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