Know your UAN: how to find your UAN number

When you need to know your UAN number

You need your UAN when you join a new employer, sign in to the portal, check your passbook, or file a claim. Many people got the number from their first employer years ago and lost the slip. Others had it created by HR and were never told.

Before searching, ask yourself one question: did any employer ever deduct PF from your salary? If yes, a UAN almost certainly exists, and you should find it rather than make a new one. A second UAN causes trouble at claim time. If no employer ever deducted PF, you may need a fresh UAN, covered on our UAN activation guide.

Quick places where you can find UAN number

Try these first. They take no OTP.

• Your latest or any old salary slip. The UAN is often printed near your employee code.
• Your Form 16 or the PF section of a pay statement shared by HR.
• Old SMS from EPFO about monthly contributions.
• A downloaded UAN card or passbook PDF in your email or phone.
• Your current or former employer's HR or payroll team, who can look up the number in their records.

If you only have a member ID from an old slip, keep it. It works as a search detail in the online method below.

EPFO know your UAN steps on the portal

The search works best when your name and birth date agree with what your employer entered. Try your name as on Aadhaar first, then as on your old salary slip.

How to get UAN number from PF number

If you have an old PF member ID but no UAN, choose the member ID option in the search step above. Enter the full 22 character ID without slashes, plus your name and birth date. The portal looks up which UAN that member ID is linked to.

If you are unsure what each part of the ID means, our what is UAN page has a decoder tool.

Finding the UAN in the UMANG app

Inside UMANG, EPFO appears as a department with services for employees. Look for the option to know or retrieve your UAN. It asks for your UAN linked mobile number and an OTP, then shows the number. Menu names in the app change from time to time, so search for EPFO inside the app if you cannot see it.

UMANG is also where new UANs are created and existing ones activated, through Aadhaar face authentication. If the search shows no UAN at all, that may be the next step.

Why the search fails and what to do

If nothing works, write to your employer with your full name, father's name, birth date and joining date. They can find the UAN in their records. You can also raise a grievance, described on helpline and grievance.

After you find it: next steps

• Save the UAN in a safe place, such as a note on your phone.
• Check whether it is activated. If sign in fails with an activation message, activate it in UMANG.
• Sign in and confirm your KYC: Aadhaar, PAN and bank. See KYC update.
• Give the UAN to your new employer so the new member ID is linked to it.
• Merge old accounts through PF transfer.