When is EPF registration for an employer mandatory?

Under section 1(3) of the EPF Act 1952, when a factory in a scheduled industry or a notified establishment employs 20 or more persons. Coverage continues even if headcount later falls.

When does ESI registration become mandatory?

When the ESI Act applies to the establishment, generally at 10 or more persons in a factory or notified establishment, in an area where ESI has been implemented. Check the notification for your state.

Can an employer register for EPF voluntarily?

Yes. The Act allows voluntary coverage by agreement between the employer and a majority of employees.

What happens if registration is late?

Contributions are due from the date coverage began, and late payment attracts interest and damages under each law.

Guide 135 chapters

Registering an establishment for EPF and ESI

EPF and ESI are separate schemes under separate laws, with separate portals, separate codes and separate monthly returns. Registration is required when an establishment meets the coverage conditions in each law, and contributions are then due from the date of coverage, not from the date you got round to registering.

This guide covers when each applies and how registration runs. Voluntary registration below the threshold is also possible under both schemes, and some employers choose it.

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Written for: Founders, finance leads and first HR hires at companies that have become, or are about to become, covered by EPF or ESI.
You will be able to: Work out when registration is required, prepare the documents, register on the EPFO and ESIC portals, and start contributions correctly from the first month.

Check whether EPF applies

The Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952 applies, under section 1(3), to factories in the scheduled industries and to other notified establishments employing 20 or more persons. Once covered, an establishment remains covered even if headcount later falls below the threshold, under section 1(5).

The count is of persons employed, which can include more than permanent staff. Check how contract workers and trainees are treated for your establishment before concluding you are below the line.

Watch for itCoverage starts from the date the condition is met. Contributions for the months between that date and registration can be demanded with interest and damages.

Check whether ESI applies

The Employees' State Insurance Act 1948 applies to factories and, through notifications by the appropriate government, to shops and other establishments, generally where 10 or more persons are employed. Coverage also depends on whether ESI has been implemented in the area where the establishment is located.

Within a covered establishment, employees whose wages are up to the ESI wage ceiling, currently ₹21,000 a month as notified, are covered. Check the current ceiling and the notification that applies to your state and area.

Prepare the documents

Both portals ask for broadly similar information about the establishment and its principal employer. Have it ready before you start, as an incomplete application usually has to be restarted.

Certificate of incorporation, partnership deed or other constitution document
PAN of the establishment
Address proof for the registered office and each place of work
Details and identity documents of directors, partners or proprietor
Date the coverage condition was met and headcount on that date
Bank account details of the establishment
Digital signature or e-sign as the portal requires

Register on each portal

EPF registration is done online through the EPFO's employer registration route, which has been linked to the Shram Suvidha portal; the result is an establishment code. ESI registration is done on the ESIC portal, which issues an employer code number. The exact screens change from time to time, so follow the current instructions on each portal.

Register each place of work as the portal requires. Branches in other states may need their own sub-codes, particularly for ESI.

Start contributing from the first month

After registration, add each employee: generate or link a UAN for EPF, and register each covered employee on the ESIC portal to get an insurance number. Collect Form 11 and nominations.

Then build the contributions into payroll. EPF is 12% from the employee and 12% from the employer on PF wages, with the employer share split between EPF and EPS, plus EDLI and administration charges. ESI is 0.75% from the employee and 3.25% from the employer on wages for covered employees. Deposit monthly through the ECR and the ESIC portal.

Checklist

Before you call it done

Every guide ends here rather than in a summary. If a line below is not true yet, that is the next thing to do.

Headcount checked against the EPF threshold, including how non-permanent staff count
ESI applicability checked for your state, area and type of establishment
Date coverage began identified
Constitution, PAN, address, signatory and bank documents ready
EPF establishment code received
ESI employer code received, with branch sub-codes where needed
UANs generated or linked and ESI numbers received for covered employees
Contributions set up in payroll and first deposits made by the due dates

FAQs

Questions about this guide

Under section 1(3) of the EPF Act 1952, when a factory in a scheduled industry or a notified establishment employs 20 or more persons. Coverage continues even if headcount later falls.
When the ESI Act applies to the establishment, generally at 10 or more persons in a factory or notified establishment, in an area where ESI has been implemented. Check the notification for your state.
Yes. The Act allows voluntary coverage by agreement between the employer and a majority of employees.
Contributions are due from the date coverage began, and late payment attracts interest and damages under each law.

Every question, in one place

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Registering an establishment for EPF and ESI

This guide covers when each applies and how registration runs. Voluntary registration below the threshold is also possible under both schemes, and some employers choose it.

Check whether EPF applies

The count is of persons employed, which can include more than permanent staff. Check how contract workers and trainees are treated for your establishment before concluding you are below the line.

Watch for itCoverage starts from the date the condition is met. Contributions for the months between that date and registration can be demanded with interest and damages.

Check whether ESI applies

Prepare the documents

Both portals ask for broadly similar information about the establishment and its principal employer. Have it ready before you start, as an incomplete application usually has to be restarted.

Certificate of incorporation, partnership deed or other constitution document

PAN of the establishment

Address proof for the registered office and each place of work

Details and identity documents of directors, partners or proprietor

Date the coverage condition was met and headcount on that date

Bank account details of the establishment

Digital signature or e-sign as the portal requires

Register each place of work as the portal requires. Branches in other states may need their own sub-codes, particularly for ESI.

Start contributing from the first month

After registration, add each employee: generate or link a UAN for EPF, and register each covered employee on the ESIC portal to get an insurance number. Collect Form 11 and nominations.