EPFO plans Aadhaar-based portal to unlock dormant PF accounts

NEW DELHI: The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) plans to launch a digital platform to help members identify and reactivate dormant or unclaimed EPF accounts using Aadhaar-based authentication, even if these are not linked to a Universal Account Number (UAN), labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Wednesday.

The proposed portal, called E-PRAAPTI (EPF Aadhaar-Based Access Portal for Tracking Inoperative Accounts), will allow subscribers to access legacy accounts, update profiles and complete UAN seeding without employer intervention. The move marks a shift towards user-driven account management within EPFO’s ecosystem, Mandaviya said.

In its initial phase, E-PRAAPTI will operate on a member ID-based system, enabling users with older account details to initiate retrieval and activation. The platform is expected to expand later to cover those unable to recall or access their member IDs.

The move comes amid a broader push by EPFO to digitize services and reduce manual processes, reflected in a record 83.1 million claim settlements in fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26), up from 60.1 million in the previous financial year. A growing share of these claims, particularly advance withdrawals, is being processed through auto mode within three days. Procedural relaxations, including the removal of cheque leaf uploads and simplified bank seeding, have also improved ease of access for subscribers.

“The new platform is expected to help unlock a substantial volume of inoperative accounts, improve transparency and reduce paperwork, while complementing ongoing efforts to automate claim settlements and enhance service delivery timeline,” the minister said.

Advance or partial withdrawals accounted for 55.1 million claims, pointing to improved access to provident fund savings as members increasingly draw on balances to meet financial needs.

Automation has played a key role. As much as 71.1% of advance claims were processed through auto mode in FY26, compared with 59.19% a year earlier, reducing manual intervention and enabling settlement within three days.

Digital simplification has also eased procedural hurdles. Around 66.8 million members filed claims without uploading cheque leaf images, while 15.9 million seeded their bank accounts without employer approval. Similarly, 7.05 million transfer claims were auto-processed without intervention from either members or employers, and 2.48 million transfer requests were initiated directly by members.

Profile management has improved as well, with 2.93 million members correcting their details and accessing PF accounts independently, without approaching EPFO offices or employers.

The momentum has carried into the current financial year. In April 2026 alone, EPFO settled 6.10 million claims, with nearly 74% of advance claims processed through auto mode. Overall, 98.70% of claims were settled within 20 days, indicating sustained gains in turnaround time and service efficiency.