Information on How to Link Aadhaar with EPF Account

What is an EPF Account?

The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Account allows salaried employees to create a retirement corpus when they are actively employed. Salaried employees contribute 12% of their basic salary including dearness allowance towards the EPF fund and their employers also contribute an equal amount. These contributions gradually build up a secured corpus with fixed returns which can be used when the employee retires.

What is an Aadhar Card?

Aadhar card, on the other hand, is a unique identification card which is issued by the Government of India to Indian citizens. This card helps in identifying the individual and it contains a 12-digit number which is unique for every individual holding the card. The Government has also introduced the concept of linking Aadhar cards to different financial accounts which individuals have including EPF accounts. Salaried individuals are advised to do EPF Aadhar link so that their EPO account can be matched to their unique Aadhaar numbers.

EPF Aadhar link can be done online, offline as well as through your Smartphone and you, as a salaried employee, can choose which mode of linking is more convenient to you. The steps for EPF Aadhar link online as well as through other modes are stated below for easy understanding –

How to do EPFO Aadhar link online ?

You can do EPF Aadhar link online through your EPF account. The process is as follows –

1. Visit the website of Employees’ Provident Fund which is the online website of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation. The link to visit the website is https://epfindia.gov.in/site_en/index.php
2. On the home page, choose ‘KYC Updation (Member)’
3. A new page would open wherein you would have to enter in your UAN number, password and captcha code to log into your online account
4. On your online account, choose ‘Manage’ and then choose ‘KYC’
5. A new page would open wherein you should provide your bank account details, PAN card number, Aadhar card number, etc.
6. Hit ‘Submit’ to submit your details online for EPF Aadhar link
7. Your KYC would have to be approved by your employer after the Aadhar details are verified
8. Once approved it would reflect on your online account as ‘Approved KYC’

How to do EPF Aadhar link offline?

You can also do EPF Aadhar link offline by filling and submitting an Aadhar linking form. The steps for offline linking are as follows –

1. There is an Aadhar Linking Application form which is available with EPF offices. You would have to avail this form
2. Fill up the form stating your UAN number, PAN Card number, Aadhar card number and other details which are contained in the form
3. Once the form is filled up, sign it 
4. The documents which you would have to submit along with linking form include the self-attested copies of PAN Card, UAN and your Aadhar card
5. The filled up form and the self-attested documents should, then, be couriered to the office of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation. The address of the head office is Bhavishya Nidhi Bhawan, 14 Bhikaiji Cama Place, New Delhi – 110 066. You can also send the post to one of the zonal offices of EPFO in your region. The addresses of the zonal offices can be found online on the EPFO website at https://epfindia.gov.in/site_en/Contact_us.php. You can also locate an EPFO office in your city. To do so, visit https://search.epfindia.gov.in/locate_office/office_location.php and enter in your State and city. You would also have to enter your PIN-code and enter ‘Submit’. The offices in the area would then be displayed where you can post the linking form and documents.
6. Once the EPFO office receives your Aadhar linking application form and the documents, the details would be verified
7. Once the details are verified, your EPF Account would be updated with your Aadhar card details.
8. Once the linking is complete, you would receive a message on your registered mobile number about the confirmation of the linking 

How to do EPF Aadhar link through Smartphone?

In keeping with the popularity of mobile applications, the EPFO has developed a mobile application called UMANG which helps you avail different services related to your EPF Account. You can download the application on your smartphone through Google Play Store (for Android phones) or from the Apple App Store (for iPhones). Once you have downloaded the application, you can use it for different EPF services, linking Aadhar card is one of them. To do EPF Aadhar link through the UMANG application, the steps are as follows –

1. Register yourself on the UMANG application by providing your UAN number and other details
2. Once you are registered, open the application and choose the option of ‘EPFO’ which would be available under the ‘All Services’ tab
3. Under ‘EPFO’ choose ‘eKYC services’
4. When the list of services open, choose the option called ‘Aadhar Seeding’
5. When you click the ‘Aadhar Seeding’ option, a screen would open which would ask your UAN number to generate an OTP
6. Provide the UAN number and an OTP would be sent to your registered mobile number
7. Enter in the OTP to authenticate your UAN
8. Once authenticated, you would be asked to enter your Aadhar card number
9. Enter the 12-digit Aadhar number
10. Another OTP would be generated. It would be sent to your registered email ID and mobile phone number
11. Enter the OTP that you have received to verify your Aadhar
12. Once verified, your EPF Account would be linked to your Aadhar card number

Things to keep in mind

When you are linking your EPF account with Aadhaar card, the following things should be kept in mind – 

1. Remember the user ID and password of your online EPF account so that you can log in and link your Aadhaar card easily
2. Enter the Aadhaar number, PAN Card number and UAN number correctly so that the linking does not fail
3. The mobile application can be downloaded on an Android or Apple Smartphone
4. Your mobile number needs to be registered in the Aadhaar database before you do the linking. An OTP is generated at the time of linking which is sent to your registered mobile number. So, if the number is not registered, register it first before you do the linking.

Why is the EPF Aadhar link beneficial?

It is not mandatory to link your EPF account with your Aadhar card number. However, when you do the EPF Aadhar link, you get many benefits. These benefits are as follows –

1. Prevent Fraud:
   When you link your EPF to Aadhar, even your biometric details are updated with EPFO. EPFO can, therefore, ensure that your EPF Account is not fraudulently used by anyone other than yourself
2. Update Database:
   By doing the EPFO Aadhar link you also provide your EPF Account details to the UIDAI database. Thus, the database becomes a central record-keeper where your EPF details can be checked from.
3. Authenticate EPF Account:
   There is no scope of any errors in your EPF Account as the account can be authenticated and cross-referenced with your Aadhar card details
4. Eliminates the chance of duplicacy:
   Every individual has one Aadhar card containing his unique biometric details. When the Aadhar card is linked to the EPF account it ensures that the individual would have only EPF Account in his name. This eliminates the possibility of duplicacy in maintaining more than one EPF Account for the same individual
5. Easy Withdrawal:
   If you want to withdraw funds from your EPF account, the verification of the withdrawals would become easy if your account is linked with Aadhar.
6. Easy Transfer:
   You can avail the facility of online EPF transfer, withdrawal from your account, etc. only if your Aadhar card is linked to your EPF account

Given these benefits, it is beneficial to link your EPF account to your Aadhar card and centralize the storage of your financial records.