EPFO members can now activate Universal Account Number via UMANG app

IANS April 9, 2025 246 views

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation has launched a groundbreaking digital service for UAN activation through the UMANG mobile app. Users can now generate and activate their Universal Account Number using Aadhaar Face Authentication Technology, eliminating previous manual hurdles. This contactless method ensures 100% Aadhaar validation and pre-populates user data directly from the Aadhaar database. The innovation aims to simplify employee onboarding and provide instant access to crucial EPFO services.

"Several reminders were given to employers to get employees to activate their UAN" - EPFO Statement
New Delhi, April 9: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Wednesday said its members can now generate a Universal Account Number (UAN) and activate it using Aadhaar Face Authentication Technology (FAT) through the UMANG mobile app.

Key Points

1

EPFO introduces contactless UAN generation through Face Authentication

2

Direct digital activation reduces manual errors and processing delays

3

Only 35.30% UANs were previously activated by members

4

Instant access to EPFO services through new digital method

The contactless and secure service marks a major leap in providing hassle-free and fully digital experiences to crores of EPFO members.

Earlier, UANs were largely generated by employers using employee data submitted to the EPFO.

While Aadhaar details were validated, inaccuracies in fields such as father’s name, mobile number, or date of birth were common, according to the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

These errors often required corrections during claim processing or while accessing other EPFO services.

In the financial year 2024-25 alone, out of 1.26 crore UANs allotted, only 44.68 lakh (35.30 per cent) were activated by members.

"Several reminders were given to employers to get employees to activate their UAN using Aadhaar OTP so that in future any benefit under the Employment Linked Scheme could be potentially provided using direct benefit transfer (DBT)," according to the EPFO.

In many cases, the UAN was not even communicated to the employee, and mobile numbers were missing or incorrect, making direct communication difficult. Furthermore, UAN activation through Aadhaar OTP validation on the EPFO Member portal was a separate process to be completed by the member, causing confusion.

To address these challenges, the EPFO has now enabled direct UAN generation and activation using Face Authentication via the UMANG App.

This service can be used by both employees and employers. It offers 100 per cent validation of Aadhaar and user using Face Authentication and data of user is pre-populated directly from Aadhaar database.

According to the EPFO, the mobile number of the user is matched with the mobile registered with Aadhaar, and UAN activation on EPFO portal simultaneously completed during generation process.

At the time of employment, an employee can hand copy of the e-UAN card PDF and UAN to the employer for onboarding with the EPFO. Access to EPFO services such as passbook viewing, KYC updates, claim submission, and more is immediately unlocked.

Last week, the government announced two key reforms in the EPFO claim settlement process. The EPFO dispensed with the requirement of uploading an image of a cheque leaf or attested bank passbook while filing online claims, which would benefit over 7.7 crore members.

The EPFO also removed the requirement of employer approval after bank verification.

Reader Comments

R
Rahul K.
Finally! This is such a welcome change. I've been struggling with UAN activation for months because my employer had wrong details. Face authentication through UMANG will save so much time 🙌
P
Priya M.
Great initiative but I hope they've tested the face recognition properly. Many rural workers might have issues if lighting conditions aren't perfect during authentication.
S
Sunil T.
Just tried it - worked like a charm! Whole process took less than 2 minutes. EPFO is finally catching up with digital India vision 👍
A
Anjali R.
The statistics about low activation rates are shocking! Shows how disconnected the system was from actual users. Hope this new method improves things.
V
Vikram S.
While I appreciate the digital push, EPFO should also focus on educating migrant workers about these changes. Many aren't tech-savvy enough to use UMANG app independently.
N
Neha P.
The removal of employer approval after bank verification is the real game-changer! No more waiting for HR to respond to EPF withdrawal requests 🎉

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Tags:
EPFO Universal Account Number Aadhaar Authentication UMANG App Digital Services Labour Ministry Provident Fund
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