UAN | Meaning and Definition

What is UAN?

EPFO will provide a UAN (Universal Account Number) (Employees Provident Fund Organization). This is used to link multiple Member Identification Numbers assigned to a single member to a single Universal Account Number. This allows the user to see all of the Member Identification Numbers associated with their UAN account. 

If someone already has a  Universal Account Number, he or she must supply it while joining a new business so that the employer may match the new Member Identification Number to the existing Universal Account Number. 

After downloading Universal Account Number list, an employer has to follow various steps mentioned below:

  • Provide UAN to members- Complete Form-11 and provide the necessary information to the new employer.
  • Either provide the KYC details of every single individual or you can opt for the option of bulk upload in order to provide data of number of employees.

Features of Universal Account Number

Here are some features of Universal Account Number:

  • UAN helps to facilitate the online access to all Provident Fund Account linked to the employee’s UAN number.
  • It allows flexibility to transfer funds from one PF account to another without any hassle.
  • It helps to ensure that all the PF accounts are linked and controlled by a single UAN number.
  • If required, the employees KYC details can be updated on the portal itself.
  • Ensures that there is  a better communication between the employees, employer and the EPFO

We can thus summarize that UAN acts as a unique identifier for PF account holders as it streamlines the whole Provident Fund Management System. Moreover, it also guarantees the employee’s safety as it is not possible for employer’s to hold or reject PF claims. UAN eliminates the  need for number of PF accounts and reduces the overall cost and time needed for settlement of PF.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Step 1: Go to the the Services section of the website (epfindia.gov.in).

Step 2: Choose For Workers and then Member UAN/Online Service (OCS/OTCP) from the services menu.

Step 3: You will now be led to the (unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in) portal. Click on Know Your UAN under the Important Links section.

The Universal Account Number or UAN is a 12-digit unique number assigned to every employee contributing to the EPF.

By using EPFO online portal an employee can check his PF balance.

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