EPFO enrolment campaign for workers left out of PF coverage: Who is eligible and how to enrol by October 31

Salaried individuals who were eligible for provident fund (PF) coverage but remained outside the formal system between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2026, now have a one-time opportunity to get enroled under a special EPFO campaign.

The Employees’ Enrolment Campaign (EEC) 2026, which will remain open until October 31, 2026, aims to facilitate voluntary compliance by employers and extend benefits such as PF, pension and insurance to eligible workers.

Who can benefit from the EPF enrolment drive?

The campaign is set to benefit employees who were eligible for Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) coverage but remained outside the scheme during the prescribed seventeen-year window.

However, they must be alive and still employed with the establishment when the employer makes the declaration. Salaried employees who believe that they were wrongly left outside EPF coverage should raise the issue with their employer before the campaign closes.

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Employees must note that the special campaign is intended to regularise past EPF coverage gaps for eligible employees who are still working with the establishment. It does not allow former employees to claim PF coverage retrospectively after they have left the organisation.

As a special relief measure, employees may also benefit from a waiver of their PF contribution if it was not previously deducted from their wages, provided the eligibility conditions under the campaign are met.

“The campaign provides specified relaxations to facilitate regularisation of past compliance, including waiver of the employee’s share where it was not deducted earlier, subject to the conditions of the campaign,” the Ministry of Labour & Employment said through a press release earlier.

How to register employees under the scheme?

Employers are required to generate a face authentication-based Universal Account Number (UAN) through the UMANG mobile application for every declared employee. Once the registration is done, the statutory contributions must be remitted through the Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) platform.

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As part of the process, establishments have also been asked to conduct internal audits of their employment and wage records to identify individuals who qualify under the eligibility criteria.

The fully digital process for registrations and payments seeks to ensure transparency and avoid any hassle. Employers must carry out all formalities through the designated online portal only.

What should employees do now?

Employees who believe they were eligible for EPF coverage but were not enrolled should start by checking their employment and establishment details with their employer or HR team. They should confirm whether:

Their establishment was covered by EPF provisions.They worked there between April 1, 2009, and March 31, 2026.They met the eligibility criteria but were not enrolled.They are still employed with the establishment.The employer has started the enrolment process under EEC 2026.

Simultaneously, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is also undertaking extensive awareness and outreach activities to inform employers, workers, contractors, and other industry stakeholders about the campaign’s operational rules, the labour ministry said in a press release earlier.

Various ministries, central departments, state governments, union territories, public sector undertakings, and autonomous bodies are also coordinating to ensure wider dissemination across establishments and service providers operating under their administrative control.