Universal Account Number (UAN) is a 12-digit unique identification number allotted by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to all salaried employees who contribute a part of their income towards the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) . The UAN remains the same throughout an employee’s professional life, and a new member ID is allotted each time an employee changes their job, but all the member IDs of the employee are linked to a single UAN. The UAN helps in tracking an employees total EPF contributions under their previous employer(s) as well as their current employer, all in one place. Some benefits of UAN for both employees and employers include:

• The UAN helps the EPFO in tracking the change in the job of the employee.
• When the employee changes their job, they have to link the new PF account to the UAN, and hence the EPFO will update the same in its records.
• UAN facilities can be accessed online, making withdrawals and transfers easy when one changes their job.
• UAN also assembles all PF accounts associated with multiple IDs of different organizations in one place, making it easier to access and check on EPF.

To find your UAN number, you can check your salary slip from the time your company starts deducting your salary towards PF contributions, as this is the most common protocol followed by Indian companies. You can also obtain your UAN number through the UAN portal by entering your registered mobile number and captcha for verification.