Complete Guide to Checking Your EPF Balance Online

Every working professional dreams of having a secure financial life after retirement. To make this dream come true, schemes like the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) can be ideal, as they provide numerous financial benefits after retirement. As an employee, you can keep track of your EPF balance offline and online. It is essential to check your EPF balance if you want to withdraw money for expenses.

Read this blog to learn about the overall process of EPF balance check with and without your UAN number.

What Is EPF?

EPF is a retirement savings scheme that applies to all salaried individuals engaged in the organised sector in India. Both the employee and the employer contribute 12% of the employee's basic salary to the fund. EPF is administered by the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), a statutory body under the Indian government’s Ministry of Labour and Employment.

After retirement or changing jobs, employees can avail this amount which has been added to their savings. You can also avail a loan against your PF savings for different purposes.

One of the key benefits of EPF is the interest income generated on the contributions made. The interest on the balance is credited to the account at the end of each financial year, with the government setting the annual interest rate. For the financial year 2024-25, the current interest rate of EPF is at 8.25%, which is determined by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

What Is an EPF Balance?

The EPF balance is the amount of money in your EPF account at any given time. It represents the portion of your salary that is deposited monthly into your EPF account by both you and your employer. This amount acts as a long-term saving that can ensure financial security after your retirement.

Therefore, an EPF balance check is crucial for you, which helps to plan your future and manage savings effectively. You can also check the accumulated interest in your EPF account.

How To Check EPF Balance Online and Offline?

You can check your EPF balance both online and offline. The entire process of EPF balance check can be executed in four different ways. You can see the balance of your EPF account online through the EPFO portal and the Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) app. To check the balance offline, you may avail the call and the SMS service.

EPF Balance Check Via EPFO Portal

You may simply visit the EPFO portal and check your EPF balance. You need to have a Universal Account Number (UAN) number to check it online. Follow the given below steps to check the balance through this platform if you have a UAN number:

1. After visiting the EPFO portal, go to the ‘For Employees’ section under ‘Services’.
2. Now click on the ‘Member Passbook’ under the ‘Services’ section.
3. Once you have clicked on it, you will be redirected to sign in using your UAN number and password.
4. Put the UAN number and the password as well as fill in the captcha to sign in.
5. After logging into the EPF passbook portal, click on the ‘Passbook’ tab. Then, select the member ID associated with your UAN from the list of linked EPF accounts to view and download your EPFO passbook balance in PDF format.

Here are some requirements that you should meet to view the EPF balance on the portal:

• You need to register yourself on the UAN Member Portal and activate your UAN to check the balance online with the EPFO website.
• Only after six hours of registering on the UAN Member Portal, the balance will be visible to you. Hence, any changes you make to your UAN profile will take place after six hours on the portal.
• You will see the latest entries reconciled by the PFO Field Offices (EFO) in the passbook.
• Members of Exempted Establishments, Settled Members and those with inoperative accounts will not be able to initiate EPF balance check and view their passbook on the EPFO website.
• If you stop contributing to your EPF account for more than 3 years, your account will become inoperative.

EPF Balance Check Via UMANG Application

You also have the option to check the balance of your EPF account with the government’s centralised UMANG application, which is available in any app store. Follow these simple steps to complete the EPF balance check process using the UMANG application:

1. Download the UMANG app from the Play Store or App Store.
2. To log in to the UMANG app, tap on your profile picture. Next, choose 'Services' and select the 'Social Security' option.
3. Click on ‘EPFO’ from the list of services displayed.
4. Click ‘View Passbook’ under the ‘Employee Centric Service’.
5. Enter your UAN number.
6. You will receive an OTP. Once you receive it, enter it and click on the submit button.
7. Select the current company for which you want to check and download the EPF passbook.
8. You can now see the passbook on your screen. By clicking 'Download', you can also download it from your internal storage.

EPF Balance Check Via SMS

If you have activated your UAN with EPFO, then you can send an SMS to 7738299899. Through this process of EPF balance check, you can check your PF balance and the last contribution. Follow the below steps to check your EPF balance by SMS:

1. While sending an SMS, choose the first three letters of your preferred language after writing 'EPFOHO UAN' to receive the details. Therefore, if you want to choose the English language, you should keep the format 'EPFOHO UAN ENG'. You can choose any one language from Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telugu, English, and Hindi.
2. You must link your PAN, Aadhaar, and bank details to the UAN to avail these services.

EPF Balance Check Via Call

To check your EPF balance through a missed call, ensure your mobile number is registered and activated on the UAN portal. You can ask your employer to help link your UAN with KYC details.

These are steps you can follow for EPF balance check via missed call:

1. You should take employer assistance to link your UAN with KYC details.
2. Call 9966044425 using your registered mobile number. The phone will automatically disconnect after two rings, and you do not need to pay anything for it.
3. After some time, you will receive the entire details of your balance and last contributions to the account with the help of a text message.

How To Check EPF Balance For Exempted Establishments?

Exempted establishments are large organizations that maintain their own EPF trusts and are not required to contribute their EPF corpus to the EPFO. The EPFO does not provide any passbook facility for exempted establishments. If you fall in this category, you can check your EPF balance with these different types of options:

1. You can find your monthly contributions as well as your EPF account balance in a payslip, which is provided by your company.
2. If you come from exempted establishments, you can also check your company's website in the EPF section by logging in. By doing so, you can view your EPF account balance with a statement.
3. You can also reach out to their company's HR department, as it handles the employees' PF and is best equipped to provide the related information.

Final Word

If you want to track your EPF savings and plan your expenses, you must consider an EPF balance check. You can use four different methods to check your EPF balance. These include the EPFO portal, UMANG application, SMS and a missed call. After checking your EPF balance, if you find your savings falling short of your financial goals, it is worth exploring alternative investment options with higher returns. One such option is fixed deposits through Stable Money. 

With Stable Money, you can earn up to 9.5% annual returns and compare the best fixed deposit offerings available in India. So, download the app now!