EPFO Discontinues UAN Activation on Portal; Subscribers Must Use UMANG App with Face Authentication

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has discontinued the facility to activate the Universal Account Number (UAN) through its Unified Member Portal. Subscribers must now use the UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) app to activate their UAN or generate a new one using Aadhaar-based Face Authentication (FAT).  

The change follows the rollout of EPFO's upgraded Unified Member Portal, introduced in a phased manner from July 3, 2026, as part of a major system upgrade aimed at improving security, reliability, and user experience. 

UAN Activation Now Available Only Through the UMANG App 

With the latest upgrade, the EPFO portal no longer supports UAN activation or direct UAN allotment. A notice on the Unified Member Portal informs users that these services have been shifted to the UMANG app.  

Existing members who need to activate their UAN, as well as employees requiring a new UAN, must now complete the process through the government-backed UMANG application using Aadhaar-based Face Authentication. 

How to Activate Your UAN Through the UMANG App 

Subscribers can activate their UAN through the UMANG app by following these steps:  

New UAN Generation Also Shifted to UMANG 

EPFO has also discontinued the facility to generate a new UAN through its website. Employees requiring a new UAN must now open the UMANG app only. 

Forgotten UAN Retrieval Made Simpler 

The upgraded Unified Member Portal has simplified the process of retrieving a forgotten UAN.  

Subscribers can recover their UAN by entering their registered mobile number, uploading the required identity or address proof, verifying the OTP sent to the registered mobile number, and completing the identity verification process. 

Death Claim Filing Continues on the EPFO Portal 

While UAN-related services have moved to the UMANG app, the EPFO Unified Member Portal continues to provide the online facility for filing death claims.  

Beneficiaries must keep an Aadhaar-linked mobile number, bank account details, the member's death certificate, a cancelled cheque or bank passbook, and date of birth proof, where applicable.  

EPFO has specified that all supporting documents must be uploaded in PDF format, with each file being less than 2 MB, and file names should not contain spaces. 

Read More: EPFO Introduces 3-Day PF Claim Settlement Rule; Auto-Settlement Limit at ₹5 Lakh

Why EPFO Introduced These Changes 

According to EPFO, the changes are part of a major database consolidation and software modernisation initiative aimed at improving service delivery, security, and system reliability.  

The organisation has also informed members that claims and online requests may take slightly longer than usual during the initial 2-week stabilisation period due to additional verification and validation checks. Subscribers have been advised to avoid repeated submissions and multiple login attempts during peak hours. 

Conclusion 

EPFO has shifted UAN activation and new UAN generation entirely to the UMANG app, making Aadhaar-based Face Authentication mandatory for these services. While the upgraded Unified Member Portal continues to offer services such as death claim filing and UAN retrieval, subscribers will now need to use the UMANG app for all UAN activation and allotment-related processes.