EPFO: How To Locate Your PF Account Number In Four Easy Ways

Employees in India’s formal sector are required to contribute a portion of their salary to the Employees' Provident Fund. This contribution goes towards building a retirement corpus, in a government-backed scheme managed by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation. The contributions in this corpus generate interest over time and serve as a reliable financial cushion for employees at their retirement.

Besides the employees, their employer is also required to contribute an equal amount towards this fund. This is generally 12% of the employee's basic salary and is contributed every month. Employees can also partially withdraw these emergency funds for certain reasons, such as marriage or medical expenses. This ensures that the PF corpus also serves as a safety net during emergencies.

Employees should periodically track the developments in their PF accounts to ensure that their details and contributions are as per the rules. The government offers multiple ways to access PF account details, including SMS, the official web portal and other digital platforms.

Employees are assigned a dedicated, unique PF account number and a Universal Account Number, which can be used to track the account details. The PF account number is a unique 22-digit alphanumeric code, while the UAN contains 12 digitals.

• If you know your UAN, head to the EPFO website and log into your account using your UAN and password. The account dashboard contains all the relevant information, including the PF number.

• Typically, the salary slip also includes the PF and UAN of the employee. One can use it to locate the information or reach out to the HR.

• The government's Umang app, which is a resource tool to access government services, can also provide the information.

• On the app or web portal, head to the 'department' section.

• Search EPFO.

• Then click on the view passbook.

• Enter login credentials.

• Employees also have the option to visit their nearest EPF office to get their account details. Generally, one will be asked to furnish details like PAN and salary slips for this purpose.