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Licenses & registrations
We check first whether your establishment already has an EPFO number sitting dormant from incorporation, then get your EPF registration filed and the registration number confirmed active, so you're compliant within the 30-day window once you cross 20 employees.
EPF registration starts with a check most guides skip: whether your company already has an EPFO number sitting dormant from incorporation. We confirm that first, then file on the Shram Suvidha portal if you need a fresh application, so you're compliant within the 30-day window once you cross 20 employees.
Every establishment employing 20 or more people has to register under the EPF Act, 1952, now Chapter III of the Code on Social Security, 2020. The count includes permanent, contractual, part-time, and casual workers, and, since the Code took effect, contractor-supplied labour as well. Formally engaged apprentices under the Apprentices Act, 1961 are the one clear exclusion.
If your company was incorporated through the MCA's SPICe+ form since February 2020, it was issued an EPFO registration number automatically at incorporation, regardless of employee count. Holding that number doesn't by itself trigger any compliance obligation. Filing returns and making contributions only start once you actually cross 20 employees. We check for that dormant number first, since activating it is faster than filing a fresh application.
Standard contribution is 12% of basic wages plus dearness allowance from both employee and employer, with the employer's share split 8.33% to the Employees' Pension Scheme (capped at the Rs 15,000 wage ceiling in rupee terms) and the remainder to EPF itself.
The Rs 15,000/month wage ceiling for mandatory membership was freshly reconfirmed at the same figure in a Code-on-Social-Security-era notification dated 29 May 2026, rather than increased.
A reduced 10% contribution rate applies to any establishment with fewer than 20 employees, plus a short list of specific categories: sick industrial companies, companies whose accumulated losses equal or exceed their net worth, and the jute, beedi, brick, coir, and guar gum industries by name.
Once an establishment crosses 20 employees and becomes covered, coverage is treated as continuing even if headcount later drops back below 20.
The 20-employee threshold counts everyone actually working at the establishment, a wider group than formal payroll headcount alone: permanent staff, contractual and casual workers, and part-time workers all count. Directors count too, if they draw remuneration for services rendered rather than sitting on the board unpaid.
A genuine change under the Code on Social Security: contractor-supplied labour is now explicitly included in the statutory definition of employee for this purpose. Before the Code, whether a contractor counted toward your 20-employee threshold was a substance-over-form question courts decided case by case. If you're unsure whether the people working for you count as contractors or employees in the first place, our article on contractor misclassification walks through the test courts actually use.
Since 15/23 February 2020, the MCA's SPICe+ web form and its AGILE-PRO integration issue an EPFO registration number automatically to every newly incorporated company, regardless of employee count. Most founders never notice this happening, and the number sits dormant until the company actually needs it. We check for it before filing anything new. LLPs, which incorporate through a different form (FiLLiP), and proprietorships or partnerships aren't covered by this auto-issuance, so those establishments go straight to a fresh Shram Suvidha filing.
| Who pays | Rate | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Employee | 12% of basic wages + DA | EPF |
| Employer | 8.33% | Employees' Pension Scheme, capped at the Rs 15,000 wage ceiling |
| Employer | 3.67% | EPF |
| Employer (additional) | 0.5% + 0.5% | EDLI insurance and EPF administrative charges |
An employee earning above the Rs 15,000 wage ceiling is an excluded employee for mandatory-membership purposes, though they can still join voluntarily if they were already a member from an earlier job, or if employer and employee jointly request higher-wage contribution.
Late contributions carry simple interest at 12% per annum from the date the amount fell due, under Section 7Q of the EPF Act. On top of that, a Gazette Notification dated 14 June 2024 replaced the older tiered damages slab (5% to 25% depending on how late, capped at 25%) with a flat 1% of arrears for every month or part month of default, with no cap. A default running past around two years now attracts more in damages than the old capped rate ever could.
Step 1 of 4
Existing number checked
We confirm whether your establishment already holds a dormant EPFO number from SPICe+ incorporation before filing anything new.
Common mistakes founders make
If your company was incorporated through SPICe+ since February 2020, you almost certainly do, issued automatically at incorporation regardless of employee count. We check this before filing anything new, since activating an existing number is faster than a fresh application.
No. Holding the number doesn't trigger any filing or contribution obligation on its own. Those start once you actually cross 20 employees, and the 30-day clock runs from that crossing date rather than from incorporation.
Under the Code on Social Security, yes, the statutory definition of employee now explicitly includes contractor-supplied labour. If you're not sure whether someone working for you is genuinely a contractor or an employee in substance, that's a separate question worth getting right first.
Coverage is treated as continuing once an establishment has crossed the threshold, rather than lapsing the moment headcount dips back down.
12% per annum interest on the delayed amount, plus damages. Since a June 2024 amendment, damages run at a flat 1% of arrears per month of default with no cap, replacing the older 5-25% tiered structure most current articles still quote.
12% of basic wages plus DA from both employer and employee, with the employer's share split 8.33% to the pension scheme and 3.67% to EPF, plus a further 1% in EDLI insurance and administrative charges on top.
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