Old EPF account lying inactive? New EPFO portal lets members trace and transfer PF balance

Many salaried employees change jobs several times over the course of their careers. While switching employers, some end up leaving behind old Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) accounts or lose track of them altogether. In many cases, the accumulated provident fund balance remains inoperative because it is not transferred to the employee's current EPF account. This problem has been particularly common among subscribers who have had multiple Universal Account Numbers (UANs).

To address this issue, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has developed a new digital portal that enables members to trace old, inoperative EPF accounts and either transfer the accumulated balance to their active UAN or apply for settlement. The development was confirmed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on July 27, 2026.

EPFO launches digital platform for old PF accounts

The issue was raised in Parliament by VK Sreekandan, Member of Parliament, who asked whether the government planned to introduce an online platform to help employees identify, track, link and activate old EPF accounts.

Responding to the query, Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje informed the Lok Sabha that EPFO has already created a secure digital platform for members to locate their inactive EPF accounts.

She said eligible subscribers can authenticate themselves using Aadhaar to access their old provident fund accounts. Once verified, they can either transfer the accumulated balance to their active UAN or submit a claim for settlement, depending on their eligibility.

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How the portal functions

The new portal is based on Aadhaar-enabled authentication, allowing EPFO to verify the identity of members digitally. After successful verification, subscribers can identify their dormant PF accounts and initiate an online transfer of the balance into their currently active EPF account linked to a valid UAN.

Where applicable, members can also opt to settle eligible old accounts through the same platform, eliminating the need for multiple offline visits or manual paperwork.

The Labour Ministry believes the portal will simplify the process of consolidating provident fund savings accumulated across different employers and reduce delays associated with traditional transfer procedures.

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No expansion for members without old account details

Sreekandan also sought clarification on whether the government intended to expand the portal's scope to cover employees who cannot remember or retrieve details of their old EPF account numbers or identification records.

The government ruled out any such move for now.

"There is no proposal to cover members who cannot recall old account details," Karandlaje stated in her reply.

This means the portal currently caters only to members who can authenticate themselves and identify their previous EPF accounts through the available records.

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Expected benefits

According to the Labour Ministry, the new EPFO portal is expected to offer several advantages to subscribers:

The initiative is aimed at making EPF account management more efficient and helping employees reunite scattered retirement savings without cumbersome offline procedures.