How To Unblock A Dormant EPF Account

The government of India has established the Employee Provident Fund (EPF), a retirement savings scheme for employees who work in the organised sector. The EPF scheme has been formulated by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), where employees who work for a company contribute a certain amount of their monthly salaries to the scheme. But sometimes, when someone is not able to contribute to EPF for 3 years or more, due to their retirement, migration abroad, or death, their EPF account turns into a dormant or an inoperative account.

However, EPF account holders can easily unblock their accounts by visiting the official website. Recently, the EPFO has implemented a new SOP for people to unblock their EPF accounts. As per the SOP, the users must check if their KYC details are up to date before unblocking the EPF account. This means that the account holder’s identity and relevant documents like the Aadhaar card, PAN card and bank details are verified. This is an important step and maintains the security of the EPF account of the user. Once the KYC is done, users can unblock their EPF account using the following steps:

Step 1: Go to the official website of the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) at www.epfindia.gov.in.

Step 2: The next step is to log in to the account using the credentials.

Step 3: Then, go to the ‘Help Desk’ section.

Step 4: Click on the ‘Inoperative Account Assistance’.

Step 5: The last step is to follow the instructions that are provided by the website to verify your identity and then request for assistance.

EPF account holders will also be given provisions to withdraw their EPF online and offline. People are also given a provision to check their EPF balance online by visiting the official portal or going to the Umang application. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) also has a unified member portal that allows people to check their current available balance, EPF passbook, etc. Currently, all account holders who have an EPF account will be earning interest on the amount up to 58 years of age.