Lost PF account? EPFO’s E-PRAAPTI portal to enable Aadhaar-based recovery

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is set to launch a new digital platform, E-PRAAPTI portal, to help subscribers check, trace, and activate old or inoperative Provident Fund (PF) accounts, Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.

The upcoming portal, full form Employee Provident Fund Aadhaar-Based Access Portal for Tracking Inoperative Accounts, will allow EPFO members to access forgotten or inactive PF accounts using Aadhaar authentication.

In the first phase, the system will work through member ID-based login, ensuring secure access during rollout. Over time, EPFO plans to expand the service to help users who do not remember old PF numbers or account details.

EPFO has been using the Universal Account Number (UAN) since 2014 to link multiple PF accounts under a single identity. However, many older accounts remain unlinked or inactive.

The new E-PRAAPTI system will help users:

• Retrieve old EPF accounts not linked to UAN
• Update profile after Aadhaar and UAN linking
• Reduce dependency on employers and EPFO offices

EPFO claim settlement hits record levels

Alongside the portal announcement, the Labour Minister highlighted strong performance in EPFO claim processing for FY 2025–26.

EPFO settled a record 8.31 crore PF claims, compared to 6.01 crore in FY25, reflecting higher digital adoption and faster processing.

A majority of withdrawals were related to PF advance withdrawal and partial withdrawal claims, showing increased member reliance on provident fund savings for financial needs.

Faster PF withdrawal and auto claim settlement

EPFO’s digital systems have significantly reduced processing time:

• 71.11% of advance PF claims processed in auto mode within 3 days
• 98.70% of claims settled within 20 days
• 6.68 crore members filed claims without uploading cheque copies
• 1.59 crore members updated bank details without employer approval
• 70.55 lakh PF transfer claims auto-processed
• 29.34 lakh members corrected PF profile details online
• In April 2026 alone, EPFO settled 61.03 lakh claims, with nearly three-fourths processed automatically.

What changes for PF account holders

With E-PRAAPTI, EPFO aims to reduce paperwork, eliminate manual verification delays, and make PF account access more transparent and digital-first. The initiative is expected to particularly benefit workers searching for solutions related to old PF account recovery, EPF balance check, and UAN activation issues.

With PTI inputs