The Universal Account Number (UAN) plays an essential role in managing your Employees' Provident Fund (EPF). It acts as a central identity that links all your PF accounts across different employers, making updates, transfers and withdrawals seamless.
With EPFO’s simplified online system, activating your UAN today is much faster and more convenient than before. Employees can verify their details online, receive an authentication OTP, and complete the activation with just a few clicks.
Once activated, your UAN helps you access your EPF passbook, track contributions, initiate transfers, and submit online withdrawal claims, making it an important part of your employment and financial documentation.
EPFO has been taking several steps to make the employee services more convenient in recent times and UAN activation is one of its most user-friendly features. Previously, PF access required manual forms and employer dependency. However, the latest update has brought new changes to make the process simpler where employees can activate and manage their EPF online through the official UAN Member Portal within minutes.
The EPFO rules said, employees who contribute to Provident Fund must activate their UAN and access essential online services. The activation process is paperless and requires only mobile verification of the personal information.
The UAN is crucial, especially, when you have been trying to handle multiple PF accounts when switching jobs or accessing retirement savings. If you're unsure how to activate it, the guide below breaks down every step clearly.
Before going through the steps of activating your UAN on the EPFO portal, you should understand why UAN matters. UAN or Universal Account Number is a permanent number issued by the EPFO for employees to streamline PF data and ensure secure digital access. Once you activate you UAN, you will get the below benefits:
View and download your EPF passbook
Update KYC details online
Transfer PF when changing jobs
File online EPF withdrawal claims
Receive SMS alerts on monthly PF contributions
Your UAN will only be functional after it’s activated. This number confirms your identity and syncs your PF account with your login credentials. Also, it ensures that your personal details and EPF records remain updated throughout your employment journey. To activate UAN, you have to ready the following documents:
UAN or Member ID
Aadhaar number
Registered mobile number
PAN card
These are the mandatory documents you need to have with you before you begin the process.
Also Read: How to Use Aadhaar Face ID to Submit Your Digital Life Certificate Online
Now that you have all the documents ready with you, let’s dive into the steps:
Access the EPFO member portal on the official website
Click specify 'Activate UAN’
Enter the required information: UAN/ Member ID, name, date of birth, Aadhaar or PAN
Confirm the registered mobile number via the generated OTP
Create the password and activate your UAN account
After the procedures have been completed properly, you will receive a confirmation. You can log in with your UAN number and the password you created. Make sure to keep the password safe. You can now respond to all EPF services online, view your passbook, and check updates directly from your account using that particular password.
Certainly, it is important for employees to activate their UAN. If you do not activate it, you will not be able to avail EPFO's online services or manage your PF independently. While most employees are used to managing employment documents through various digital services, activation of UAN, regardless, ensures your ability to securely and hassle-free access your retirement funds at any time.
The procedure doesn’t charge any money, but it is fast. It has been created in such a way that the employee is always in command of the PF life cycle, from the time they enter the organization until their retirement.
Also Read: How to Use Aadhaar Face ID to Submit Your Digital Life Certificate Online
Activating your Universal Account Number (UAN) is simply the first but most important step in managing your EPF benefits online. The process at the EPFO’s portal, which is already streamlined, is now quick, secure, and easy. Upon activation, your UAN opens the door for easily monitoring contributions, quickly transferring PF, and being granted instant access to withdrawal services all the time during your employment period.
So, in case you have not activated your UAN as yet, it is very much the right time to do so now and enjoy all the EPF benefits that come your way.
What is a UAN?
Ans: UAN (Universal Account Number) is a distinctive number assigned by EPFO that connects all your EPF accounts with different employers and simplifies your PF-related tasks.
Is UAN activation mandatory?
Ans: Indeed. UAN activation is a prerequisite for logging into the EPF portal, checking balance, updating KYC, and withdrawing or transferring your PF.
Can I activate UAN without my registered mobile number?
Ans: No. For verification, you will have to verify your mobile via OTP. If your mobile number is not the same, you will need to get it changed through your employer or a EPFO office.
What if my UAN details don’t match during activation?
Ans: If there is a mismatch in your name, date of birth or Aadhaar, your only option will be through your employer or modify KYC after successful login.
Can I activate UAN using Aadhaar only?
Ans: Sure. EPFO provides the option for Activation using Aadhaar, Member ID or PAN which in any way matches to the records now.