EPFO Employees' Enrolment Campaign 2026: Enrol Missed Staff Before 31 October
If you have people on payroll who should have been in the Employees' Provident Fund but never were, EPFO is offering a one-time way to fix it at a fraction of the usual cost. The Employees' Enrolment Campaign 2026 runs from 1 July to 31 October 2026 - so there are only weeks left to use it.
This summarises the campaign as announced. Check the official EPFO notification and your compliance advisor for the exact conditions before you declare.
What the campaign is
A voluntary, one-time window for employers to enrol eligible employees who were left out of EPF coverage, on far lighter terms than a normal regularisation.
Who you can enrol
Employees who:
- joined your establishment between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2026,
- are alive and still working for you on the date you declare, and
- were never enrolled in the EPF Scheme, for whatever reason.
Employees who have already left aren't covered by the campaign - and EPFO has said no action will be taken against employers in respect of employees who have already departed.
What it costs
This is where the campaign earns its keep:
- The employee share is waived for the past period if it was never deducted from their wages.
- You pay the employer's share for the past period, plus interest and the prescribed administrative charges.
- Damages are a flat ₹100 - a one-time payment instead of the much larger penal damages that normally apply to late or missed contributions.
Why it's worth doing now
- It shrinks a real compliance risk. Missed PF coverage normally means back contributions plus heavy damages if it surfaces in an inspection. Declaring under the campaign settles it on lighter terms.
- Your people get the benefit. Enrolled employees start building retirement savings - see how Provident Fund works in India.
- It fits the wider clean-up the Labour Codes demand. If you're already reviewing salary structures for the 50% wage rule, fixing PF coverage belongs on the same list.
How to declare
- Generate a UAN for each employee, authenticated with face authentication through the UMANG app.
- File the declaration on EPFO's online platform.
- Link it to the Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR).
- Make the lump-sum payment - employer share, interest, administrative charges and the ₹100 damages.
You can file more than one declaration, so you don't need every employee ready on the same day.
Your checklist before 31 October
- Compare your headcount against EPF membership and list everyone without a UAN
- Check each person's joining date falls between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2026
- Get employees through UAN face authentication early - it's the step that needs their time
- Work out the employer share, interest and charges for each person
- File the declaration(s) and make the payment
- Make sure PF is deducted for these employees in every payroll run from now on
How HRDesk24 helps
HRDesk24 keeps each employee's UAN on their profile, so reviewing your team for anyone who doesn't have one is a quick check rather than a records hunt. Once they're enrolled, PF is calculated in every run on the right base - including the ₹25,000 wage ceiling - and shows up clearly on each employee's payslip.
Want PF compliance handled inside your payroll run? Book a demo.