Checking Your EPF Balance: Methods With and Without a UAN

The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is a government-backed retirement savings program in India, where both employees and employers make monthly contributions from a portion of the salary. Regularly reviewing your EPF balance, either via the EPF passbook or Universal Account Number (UAN), is essential for monitoring contributions, interest accrual, withdrawals, and loan activities. This practice also supports effective financial planning and helps secure tax advantages under Section 80C.

How to Verify PF Balance?

Several methods exist for verifying your Provident Fund (PF) balance, applicable whether you have a Universal Account Number (UAN) or not.

EPF Balance Inquiry Using UAN

EPF members can verify their PF balance by utilizing their UAN through these specified approaches:

1. PF Balance Inquiry via EPF Portal

To access your EPF balance, it is mandatory to first activate your Universal Account Number (UAN). This unique identifier is assigned to every employee enrolled in the EPF program. After activation, you can proceed with these steps to view your balance:

• Step 1: Navigate to the official EPF portal and select the 'For Employees' option located within the 'Services' menu at the top.
• Step 2: From the 'Services' area, choose 'Member Passbook'.
• Step 3: On the subsequent page, log in by entering your UAN, password, and the Captcha code.
• Step 4: A One-Time Password (OTP) will be sent to the mobile number registered with your Aadhaar.
• Step 5: Input the received OTP and click 'Verify' to see your PF account balance displayed.

2. PF Balance Inquiry via UMANG App

Your EPF balance can be verified using the UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) application, which also facilitates the submission and monitoring of claims. To access your balance, claim status, and additional EPF information via your smartphone, you must register on UMANG with the mobile number connected to your UAN.

To view your EPF transaction history using the UMANG app, follow these steps:

• Step 1: Download and install the UMANG application from your device's Play Store or App Store.
• Step 2: Launch the application, then navigate to Services → Social Security → EPFO.
• Step 3: Within the 'Employee Centric Services' section, choose 'View Passbook'.
• Step 5: Provide your UAN and authenticate your identity using the One-Time Password (OTP) dispatched to your registered mobile number.
• Step 6: After successfully logging in, select the specific employer account you wish to examine.

Your comprehensive EPF passbook, detailing all deposits and withdrawals, will be presented, and you have the option to download it for your records.

EPF Balance Inquiry Without Using UAN

Members can also verify their PF balance without needing a UAN by employing these methods:

1. PF Balance Inquiry via SMS

SMS-based PF balance inquiry is possible only if your UAN is active and properly linked to your Aadhaar, PAN, and bank account. Following successful KYC completion, send an SMS to 7738299899 from your registered mobile number, using the format: 'EPFOHO UAN ENG'.

The final three characters in the SMS string specify your desired language for receiving the details. This service supports multiple languages, including English (ENG), Hindi (HIN), Punjabi (PUN), Gujarati (GUJ), Marathi (MAR), Kannada (KAN), Telugu (TEL), Tamil (TAM), Malayalam (MAL), and Bengali (BEN).

2. PF Balance Inquiry via Missed Call

Verifying your EPF balance is straightforward by placing a missed call from your registered mobile number, adhering to these instructions:

• Step 1: Dial 9966044425 from your registered mobile number and let it ring once.
• Step 2: Subsequent to the missed call, an SMS containing your PF account information will be delivered to your registered mobile number.

Important: For successful EPF balance inquiry via missed call, confirm that your UAN is active and connected to your PAN, Aadhaar, and bank account. Additionally, ensure your mobile number is properly linked and registered with your UAN. This particular service incurs no cost.

How to Check EPF Balance for Exempted Establishments?

Individuals employed by exempted establishments or private trusts are unable to view their EPF balance directly on the EPFO portal. This is because their Provident Fund contributions are administered by a trust established by their company, rather than by the EPFO itself.

To ascertain your PF balance in such cases, you need to either:

• Review your salary slips
• Utilize the company’s internal employee portal, or
• Reach out to the Human Resources department

Although EPF serves as a vital retirement savings mechanism, possessing your UAN assists in monitoring your PF account, particularly during urgent situations or career transitions. Nevertheless, within exempted organizational structures, access to the balance is limited to the employer's trust records.

Key Considerations

• Verifying your PF balance on the EPFO portal is exclusively feasible if your UAN has been activated and registered within the portal.
• The option to access your passbook becomes available approximately six hours after completing your registration on the EPFO Portal.
• The passbook will display the most current entries that have been reconciled by the EPFO Field Offices.
• Members of exempted establishments and private trusts are unable to perform an EPFO balance check through the official EPFO Portal.

Summary

Consistent monitoring of your EPF balance allows you to keep track of your accumulated savings, accrued interest, and contributions, positioning it as a fundamental aspect of sound financial planning. The advent of digital services has streamlined the process, making EPF balance inquiries both rapid and user-friendly. These checks can be readily performed via the EPFO portal, the UMANG application, a missed call, or an SMS, irrespective of whether you are using a UAN.