EPF Registration: How to Register for EPF

epf registration process — (Source: mymoneysage)

After registering with EPF, an establishment needs to contribute a certain percentage to the fund. This contribution gets deducted from the salary of the concerned employee. Also, an employer needs to initiate EPF registration for the employees. Employees cannot carry out this registration on their own.

If you want to know how to register for EPF as an employer, read on to understand the simple steps involved in its procedure and other related details.

Steps to Register for EPF

If you are an employer willing to register, go through the steps for the EPF registration process given below:

Step 1: Registering Company for EPF

Visit the EPFO web portal for registering your company. Select the option stating ‘Establishment Registration’ present on the home page of this unified portal.

Step 2: Download User Manual

On clicking the ‘Establishment Registration’ option, the page would be redirected to the link https://registration.shramsuvidha.gov.in/user/register. Here on this link, there is a user manual available which you must download. This manual should be read thoroughly before registration if you are new to this process.

Step 3: Register on Unified Shram Suvidha Portal

After thoroughly reviewing this user manual, sign up on Unified Shram Suvidha Portal (USSP) of EPFO. The sign-up page of USSP would open when you click on the ‘Establishment Registration’ tab present on the home page. Then, click on the tab marked ‘Sign Up.’

On clicking the 'Sign Up button, you will be asked for your name, mobile number verification code, and email. Input all required details to create an account.

Step 4: Fill Up the Registration Form

Login to USSP and locate a tab stating ‘Registration For EPFO-ESIC v1.1’ situated on the screen’s left side. After this, choose an option displayed as ‘Apply for New Registration’ on the screen’s right side.

You would find two options on clicking, namely, ‘Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act 1952’ and ‘Employees’ State Insurance Act 1948.’ As an employer, you would have to select the option stating ‘Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act 1952’ and then click the 'Submit.'

On clicking the button stating ‘Submit,’ the page featuring ‘Registration Form for EPFO’ would be displayed. Here you need to input employment details, branch or division, contact persons, establishment details, activities and identifiers.

Step 5: Attaching DSC

After filling out the above registration form and attaching all required documents, the employer’s DSC or Digital Signature Certificate needs to be uploaded and affixed on this form. The Unified Shram Suvidha Platform would email you to confirm that EPF registration has been successfully completed on uploading the DSC.

What are the EPF Registration Eligibility Criteria?

The EPF registration is compulsory for establishments meeting the following criteria:

A factory that is engaged in an industry bearing a workforce strength of 20 or higher.
Other establishments having 20 or greater number of employees or a class of similar establishments that are specified on this behalf by the central government through a notification.

An employer should obtain EPF registration within 1 month of recruiting twenty employees, or it might lead to a penalty. At the same time, if the employee strength of a registered organisation becomes lower than the minimum threshold, it also remains under the range of the norms of the Act.

The Central Government might apply provisions to an organisation having an employee strength of lower than 20 after handing over a notice of 2 months regarding mandatory registration.

It would also be necessary for some organisations with fewer than 20 employees to obtain EPF registration, but that comes under voluntary registration.

List of Documents Required for EPF Registration

The documents necessary for EPF registration which employers should affix to ‘Registration Form for EPFO’, are listed below:

Bank statement or cancelled cheque of entity
Digital signature of Director, Partner or Proprietor
Leased, hired or rented agreement (if applicable)
PAN card of Partner, Director or Proprietor
Aadhaar card of Director, Partner or Proprietor
GST certificate or shop and establishment certificate or any license issued for the establishment by the government.
Address proof like water bill, electricity bill, or telephone bill of the registered office (must not be older than two months).

Why is it Important for an Employer to Register for EPF?

As TDS gets deducted from the salary of employees, the EPF registration is a vital process on the part of employers. Moreover, they would be required to process remittances only after the employers generate challans from the EPFO employer portal. Hence this process is mandatory for them.

With this article coming to an end by now, you must be aware of the EPF registration method. So go ahead, check the eligibility for EPF registration and carry out the entire procedure if your establishment is eligible.

Frequently Asked Questions

✓ Should EPF registration be completed for all organisations if an employer has multiple establishments?

Yes. In such a case, the process for EPF registration must be completed for each organisation.

✓ What is excluded from wages under EPF?

Following are the entities which are excluded from wages as per Employee Provident Fund:

Overtime Allowance (OTA)
Bonus
Food Allowance
Dearness Allowance (DA)
House Rent Allowance (HRA)

✓ Is it possible for an individual to withdraw Provident Fund from their account?

Yes. An individual can withdraw Provident Fund from their account only after retiring or post their superannuation period. PF withdrawals are also possible after an individual resigns from a company.

✓ Is there any other way to register for EPF?

No. The offline method for registration for EPF has been discontinued. Therefore, online EPF registration is the only way to register for the Employee Provident Fund.