How to link Aadhaar to EPF

There are several advantages to linking your 12-digit Aadhaar number to your Employee Provident Fund (EPF), particularly for those employees who intend to withdraw money from their EPF account. A Provident Fund, also known as a PF scheme, is a plan where the employee and the employer together contribute towards a corpus fund which is received by an employee upon their retirement. The employee’s EPF account is represented through their Universal Account Number (UAN). Basically, the UAN has to be seeded with an Aadhaar card so that it can be linked to the PF.

The online process

1. Visit the webpage for Unified Portal of Employees’ Provident Fund at unifiedportal.epfindia.gov.in.
2. Choose the ‘UAN Member e-Sewa’ link under the tab that reads ‘For Employees’.
3. Login by using your UAN ID and password.
4. Under the ‘Manage’ tab, choose the ‘KYC’ option.
5. You will be directed to a page where you will find tabs to upload a number of documents to link with your EPF account.
6. Choose the ‘Aadhaar’ tab.
7. Type in your name and Aadhaar card number correctly.
8. Click on ‘Save’, and your Aadhaar number will be verified with the UIDAI’s database.
9. After the approval is successful, the EPF account will get linked to the Aadhaar card.

The offline process

1. Visit the EPFO branch, where you have to fill in the ‘Aadhaar Seeding Application Form’.
2. Enter the Aadhaar card number and UAN details.
3. Submit the application form, along with the self-attested copies of your PAN, UAN, and Aadhaar card.
4. After verification is done, your Aadhaar card will be linked to your EPF account.

Benefits of linking Aadhar card to EPF account

1. Because the Aadhaar card contains relevant and important information about your identity, linking it with an EPF account reduces the chances of errors appearing in your EPF and UAN.
2. It prevents misuse in the form of a duplicate account, since an employee cannot have more than one EPF or UAN account linked to their Aadhaar card.
3. Once the two have been linked, a cardholder does not need their employer’s permission to withdraw money.
4. It becomes much easier to verify your details if you link your Aadhaar card with your EPF account because it contains all your demographic information and related biometrics.