Got 2 UANs? Here is how to fix the problem

Many employees find themselves saddled with more than one universal account number (UAN) after they switch jobs. Issued by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the 12-digit number allows an employee to access the retirement fund account.  It is best to have just one UAN, here is how to do it:

Multiple UANs 

Every person should have only one UAN. Multiple UANs can be problematic for the holder as well as the EPF system. As soon as you come to know that there are multiple UAN assigned to you, you should cancel the old ones and or deactivate them.

How to deactivate an old UAN

-You should start the EPF transfer for all the EPFs which are not under the latest UAN. This can be done using the OTCP portal of EPFO. Make sure all the old EPFs are transferred and linked to the new UAN.

-The EPFO system will automatically identify those UAN for which the EPF transfers have happened and completed. Once it finds the idle UAN, it will automatically deactivate that UAN. You don’t have to do anything. This deactivation process takes place from time to time as per EPFO'ss decision. Once the deactivation happens, your old member id (your old EPF accounts) will be linked to new UAN.

-If you are sure that your old UAN does not have EPF linked to it, you can mail your old UAN number along with the recent UAN to your employer and to uanepf@epfindia.gov.in . They will verify your UAN’s status and deactivate the old UAN.

How do multiple UANs get allotted?

UAN is a unique number for each EPF member for all their accounts. You can see the UAN as the folder (UAN) which has various files under it (EPF accounts).

a) Not disclosing old UAN number

A lot of employees do not want to disclose their past employment, hence they do not quote their old UAN number to the new employer. The new employer then generates a fresh UAN for the employee.

b) Previous employer fails to furnish ‘the date of exit’ in ECR

ECR or Electronic Challan cum Return is an electronic return filed by employers to EPFO to submit your EPF payments and other things. In this, they mention “the date of exit” for those employees who have left the job. If for some reason the employer does not mention the date of exit, another UAN is generated by the new employer.