UAN - Universal Account Number (How to withdraw money from PF?)

Universal Account Number (UAN) is a 12-digit unique number assigned to all salaried employees making contributions to the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). It remains unchanged for the entire period during which the person serves, regardless of changes in employment. The UAN consolidates all the provident fund accounts with a single number which makes it easy to track, transfer, and manage PF contributions and online KYC.

• Universal Account Number (UAN) plays an important role in the Digital India initiatives in terms of social security and labour governance. It provides a unified portable identity to the EPF and avoids maintaining separate Provident Fund (PF) accounts when an employee changes the job. This is in line with the concept of Digital India in terms of e-governance, ease of living, and paperless service delivery.
• With the use of EPFO Unified Member Portal, the UAN system helps employees to avail online services. The members may view their PF account balances, download passbooks, and make applications for withdrawals and transfers of their balances. The use of Aadhaar and PAN systems in identity authentication makes the whole process secure.
• The UAN system helps to reduce the burden of the employers, automate record keeping, and facilitate the contribution upload process and claims handling.
• Systemically, information on the UAN system enables the EPFO to keep an eye on job mobility and monitor compliance.
• The creation of the digital social security framework through the UAN system is an example of digital infrastructure in public governance.

S.No.	Step	What to Do	Important points
1	Check your eligibility	You need to decide if you need full withdrawal or partial advance.	You can withdraw a full provident fund usually after 2 months of unemployment. You can withdraw partial pf only for specific reasons and within limits.
2	Ensure UAN & KYC are ready	You can activate UAN link and verify Aadhaar, PAN and bank account on EPFO portal.	It is important that your KYC must show ‘Verified’. The bank account should be in your name with the correct IFSC.
3	Log in to EPFO portal	You can visit the official portal of EPFO and login with your UAN and password.	You can use the same mobile or email linked with UAN for One Time Password (OTP).
4	Go to claim section	You can click on Online Services then Claim (Form-31, 19, 10C & 10D).	This is the common screen for full, partial and pension claims.
5	Verify bank details	You can enter the last 4 digits of the bank account or other required details and click on Verify.	It will confirm where the PF amount will be credited.
6	Choose claim type	You need to select Form 19 for full PF settlement after leaving the job. You need to select Form 31 for advance or partial PF withdrawal while employed. You need to select Form 10C for Pension withdrawal.	You can claim for medical problems, marriage, house, unemployment as applicable.
7	Enter details & upload documents	You need to provide your address, amount and upload a cancelled cheque or passbook. The employer attestation may be needed in offline mode for some advances.	You can follow the prompts on the screen for further course of action.
8	Submit with Aadhaar OTP	You can accept disclaimer, click on Get Aadhaar OTP, enter OTP and finally Submit.	Your claim will be sent to EPFO directly. You can track status by ‘Track Claim Status’ under Online Services.

• Firstly, the UAN is advantageous in helping the salaried class manage their retirement savings in numerous ways. It gives the person an identity or ID for his entire life in terms of the Provident Fund (PF).Therefore, avoiding remembering many Member IDs and tracking his PF from former employers.
• Secondly, the UAN provides easy portability. If an individual changes his or her job, the same UAN number is retained by the individual, and he or she can also transfer the PF balance online.
• Thirdly, the UAN helps in accessing the PF passbook and account balance online.
• Fourthly, the UAN makes it easier for making claims or withdrawing money for usages like housing, education, health care emergencies, or retirement purposes. It is processed automatically if the KYC process is completed.
• Additionally,the UAN is also connected with the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) and also helps workers in tracking their contribution towards pensions.

What is a UAN number?

UAN is a 12 digit unique number allotted by EPFO to every salaried employee who contributes to the EPF.

How to activate UAN?

Go to EPFO members' portal, click 'Activate UAN', enter UAN, name, Date of Birth (DOB), mobile number, receive OTP, confirm it, and set your password.