How to Merge UANs of Different EPF Accounts

The recent times have witnessed multiple cases where employees have been assigned multiple UANs (Universal Account Number). As per the rules, a person should only have one UAN throughout his lifetime. An employee’s EPF account is linked to his UAN. In case an EPFO member has been assigned two UANs, the old UAN should be deactivated.

Reasons for Allotment of Two UANs

When an employee switches his job, a new EPF account is opened by the new company. All EPF accounts are linked with a UAN. Hence, there is a huge probability that a new UAN is allotted to the member employee when he changes his organisation. There may be various reasons for allotment of new UAN to the member. The most common reasons are listed below:

• The employee did not disclose his previous UAN – When an employee switches his job, he has to disclose his previous UAN and EPF account number (Member ID). If he does not give these details, the new employer opens his new UAN and EPF account
• Non-furnishing of “Date of Exit” by the previous employer – Your previous employer has to mention the date of exit in the ECR (Electronic Challan and Return). If this information is not provided on time, the new establishment allots a new UAN to the employee.

What Happens When You Have 2 UANs

Having two active UANs at the same time is against the rules. A member should have only one UAN having all his EPF accounts linked to it. EPF accounts are non-transferrable in case of different employees. However, an employee having two UANs can get his EPF account transferred from one to another and get his previous UAN deactivated. Hence, an EPF account linked with one UAN will mandatorily have to be transferred to another EPF account linked with a different UAN.

What Should an Employee Do in Case of Allotment of 2 UANs

In case you have been allotted two UANs, you can get one of them deactivated (generally, the previous one). There are two methods to get the UAN deactivated and your EPF account transferred as per the EPFO website. Enlisted below are the two methods:

Method 1

• Report the issue to your employer or EPFO as soon as you come to know about it
• You can send an email to uanepf@epfindia.gov.in mentioning your current and previous UAN
• EPFO will conduct verification for the issue
• Your previous UAN will be blocked and your current UAN will be kept active
• Post this you must submit a claim to transfer the EPF account (linked with the blocked UAN) to the new active account

• The EPFO member needs to request for the transfer of EPF amount from the old UAN to the new one.
• Once there is a request for transfer of EPF, the EPFO system automatically identifies the duplicate UAN. This identification process takes place in intervals.
• After proper identification, the old UAN from which the EPF transfer has been processed will be deactivated by EPFO and and the employee’s previous member ID gets linked to the new UAN. The deactivation status is intimated to the employee through an SMS.
• In case the employee has not activated his new UAN, he will be requested to activate it to get the updated status of the account.
• There might be instances where the employee receives PF arrears from the previous employer. In such cases, the arrear is received in the new PF account linked with the new UAN since you have two EPF accounts with different UANs, the EPFO’s system will identify it automatically. This identification takes place on a periodic basis. Hence, you must apply for the transfer of old EPF to the new one as soon as you come to know about it. The system auto-populates the new UAN number in the ECR.

Steps to Transfer EPF Online

1. Visit the EPFO online portal here
2. Enter the details such as your UAN, password, OTP received on your registered mobile number and captcha
3. After logging in, under the Online Services section, click on ‘One Member- One EPF Account’
4. On the next page that appears, check whether all your personal details are correct to date
5. Click on ‘Get details’ in order to see your PF details and verify them properly.
6. Once you have verified your PF details, click on ‘Get OTP’
7. Enter the OTP that is sent to your registered mobile number and click on ‘Submit’
8. Post this, you are required to fill Form 13 here that will ask you for your PF details from both the previous and current employers
9. Filling up of this form will generate a Tracking ID for you which can be used to track the progress of transfer
10. You must take a printout of this form, sign it and send it across to your employer within 10 days
11. Both your employers will verify the details entered by you, and approve it in case of correct information, leading to successful transfer of your EPF online

FAQs

Q. What happens if you have 2 UAN numbers?

Having 2 different UANs for one employee is illegal and against the rules. If you move from one organization to another, you must get your PF account transferred as soon as possible.

Q. How many days does it take to merge 2 PF accounts?

Generally, it takes around 20 days from the date of submission to transfer one EPF account to the other.

Q. Is Form 13 mandatory for UAN transfer?

The formal sector employees are necessarily required to submit Form 13 for EPF transfer to their new account upon changing jobs.

Q. What is the use of Form 13?

Form 13 is used to transfer the Provident Fund from one account to another. The employees are required to submit this form to their employers for verification and approval of the details.

Q. What are the consequences of having multiple UAN numbers?

It is illegal to possess more than one UAN simultaneously. You need to get one of your UANs deactivated.

Q. What documents are required to merge two UAN numbers?

No documents are required to merge two UANs. However, in order to get two UANs merged, your UAN must be activated, your Aadhaar should be linked to UAN and your KYC details including your PAN, bank account and mobile number must be updated and verified on the EPFO portal.

Q. What happens after my UAN numbers are merged?

Once you have merged your UANs, all your EPF account will be mapped under a single UAN and you can earn interest on the total accumulated EPF corpus.

Q. Can I merge UAN numbers if I have changed jobs frequently and have multiple PF accounts?

Yes, it is mandatory to merge all your different UANs to a single one and get all your EPF accounts mapped to a single UAN.

Q. Is there any fee or charge for merging UAN numbers?

No, you are not required to pay any fee or charge to merge your UANs.