How to register for PF and ESI in India changed when labour codes took effect on 21 November 2025. Miss a worker and arrears, interest and prosecution can follow.

The real risk is choosing the wrong coverage date, excluding a worker within the wage limit, or treating a registration number as proof of compliance. This guide runs from applicability to the first paid challan, updated for the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the September 2026 EPF wage-ceiling change.

What Changed for PF and ESI Registration in 2026?

The Central Government brought the four labour codes, including the Code on Social Security, 2020, into force on 21 November 2025. It consolidated the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 and seven other laws. The Ministry of Labour and Employment's 2026 compliance handbook explains current coverage.

Three changes matter before you open a portal:

  1. EPF coverage is broader. Chapter III of the Code applies to every establishment with 20 or more employees. The former restriction to scheduled industries has been removed.
  2. ESI coverage is national and threshold-based. Chapter IV generally applies to establishments with 10 or more persons. It can apply to a hazardous or life-threatening activity even where only one person is employed. Seasonal factories are excluded under the First Schedule.
  3. The mandatory EPF wage ceiling is now ₹25,000 per month. The Union Cabinet increased it from ₹15,000 with effect from 17 September 2026. The official announcement says employees joining on wages between ₹15,000 and ₹25,000 now enter mandatory EPF coverage, subject to the applicable scheme provisions.

Do not confuse the establishment threshold with the employee wage ceiling. A business crossing 20 employees triggers EPF applicability. The ₹25,000 figure helps determine which new employees must become members. Existing members ordinarily do not cease to be members merely because their wages later cross the ceiling.

For ESI, the Ministry's additional labour-code FAQ confirms that the current wage ceiling remains ₹21,000 per month and that the Code's definition of wages applies from 21 November 2025. Official guidance also retains ₹25,000 for a person with disability. Unlike EPF, ESI applicability also depends on notified geographical and establishment coverage.

Does Your Business Need Both Registrations?

Run two separate tests. PF and ESI are related payroll obligations, but one registration does not automatically prove the other applies.

EPF applicability test

Register and comply under Chapter III of the Code on Social Security, 2020 when your establishment employs 20 or more employees. Count the establishment as a whole, including departments and branches that form one establishment. Review direct employees, eligible contract labour and workers at all covered units; excluding contractor headcount without examining the principal employer relationship is a common and expensive mistake.

Keep the date on which headcount first reached 20. Coverage begins because the facts trigger the law, not because the portal later issues a code. Delaying registration does not move the legal start date.

An establishment below 20 may seek voluntary coverage. Do that only after modelling the continuing payroll cost and administration. Social-security coverage is not a free trial that can be switched off casually.

ESI applicability test

Register under Chapter IV when the establishment employs 10 or more persons, subject to the notified coverage for the location and type of establishment. A hazardous or life-threatening activity can trigger coverage with one employee. Use the establishment's actual operating address when checking coverage; a registered office in Mumbai does not answer whether a plant in a partially notified district is covered.

Next, identify insurable employees. The current general wage ceiling is ₹21,000 a month, or ₹25,000 for a person with disability. Apply the Code's section 2(88) definition of “wages”, including its inclusion and exclusion rules, rather than copying gross salary from the offer letter.

Create a dated applicability memo showing:

That one-page memo gives the payroll team a defensible start date and gives an auditor something better than “our consultant said so.” For a broader control framework, use this payroll compliance guide alongside the registration steps below.

Which Documents Should You Prepare Before Registration?

Collect the evidence first. A rushed operator entering a convenient date can turn a clerical shortcut into a statutory admission.

Prepare this employer file:

Match names across PAN, MCA records, bank proof and digital signature before filing. Preserve the source payroll and headcount report used to choose the coverage date. A corrected spreadsheet saved later does not explain why the original declaration was made.

How to Register for PF and ESI in India Online

The correct route depends on how the entity was formed.

Route 1: New companies through MCA

Since 8 October 2020, new public companies, private companies and one-person companies receive EPFO and ESIC registration numbers through the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' SPICe+ and AGILE-PRO incorporation process. The Shram Suvidha Portal notice is explicit: new registrations for these company types stopped on Shram Suvidha, but actual EPF and ESI compliance begins only when the respective employment threshold is crossed.

After incorporation, do not file a duplicate application because payroll cannot find the codes. Retrieve the registration communications, verify the entity details, activate access and document the applicability date separately.

Route 2: Common registration on Shram Suvidha

Other eligible establishments can use the Common Registration for EPFO and ESIC on the Ministry of Labour and Employment's Shram Suvidha Portal. Create an account, identify or generate the Labour Identification Number, choose the applicable registrations, enter establishment and employment details, upload or validate the required evidence, and sign the application.

The Ministry provides a common-registration user manual. Portal labels can change, so follow the current screen. Save the submitted application, acknowledgement, code numbers and registration letters immediately.

Section 3 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 requires covered establishments to register electronically or otherwise. It also says an establishment already registered under another central labour law need not obtain registration again under the Code; the existing registration is deemed valid. That prevents duplicate Code registration, but it does not excuse employee enrolment, returns or payment.

Route 3: Existing employer portals

Once codes are allotted, verify access on the official systems. EPFO's employer portal links registration, sign-in and Electronic Challan-cum-Return services. ESIC's employer-registration guide covers online registration and the C-11 letter.

Complete four controls before calling registration finished:

  1. Confirm the legal name, address, PAN, coverage date and activity.
  2. Verify that every branch or sub-unit is correctly mapped.
  3. Change initial credentials and restrict portal access to named staff.
  4. Store acknowledgement and registration letters in an access-controlled compliance folder.

How Do You Enrol Employees Without Creating Duplicate Records?

For EPF, ask every employee whether a Universal Account Number already exists. A job change does not justify a second UAN. Match the existing UAN, complete the current identity process and retain evidence of the employee declaration. EPFO's current member portal directs UAN activation and generation through the UMANG application and face authentication.

For ESI, search for the employee's existing insurance number before creating a new one. That number is portable between covered employers. Validate personal details, family particulars, bank information and dispensary selection, then give the employee access to the generated identity record.

Use a maker-checker workflow:

Never solve a name or date-of-birth mismatch by entering a convenient variation. Correct the source record through the prescribed process. Duplicate UANs and insurance numbers break service history, benefits and later claims.

What Must Happen After the Registration Number Arrives?

Registration creates the account; the first correct remittance proves the process works.

For EPF, section 16 of the Code governs contributions. The statutory base rate is 10% of wages, while the Central Government may specify 12% for classes of employees and establishments; the applicable EPFO scheme and portal determine the live rate. Do not hard-code a rate from an old payroll template. The employee share ordinarily matches the employer's prescribed share, while pension, insurance and administrative components follow the applicable scheme. Contributions and the ECR are generally due by the 15th of the following month.

For ESI, the current contribution is 3.25% of wages from the employer and 0.75% from the employee. Section 31 makes the principal employer responsible for paying both shares in the first instance. The contribution is generally due within 15 days after the end of the calendar month in which it falls due.

Before paying the first challan:

  1. Reconcile covered employees to the payroll register.
  2. Test the wage definition against each salary component.
  3. Confirm the correct coverage date and arrear period.
  4. Map contractor workers and obtain contractor challans plus employee-wise records.
  5. Review excluded employees and record the legal reason for each exclusion.
  6. Generate the return, review exceptions, approve it and pay through the official portal.
  7. Save the return, challan, payment proof and employee-level reconciliation together.

The principal employer cannot outsource liability with the payroll file. Ask contractors for employee-wise proof before releasing their bill, and reconcile deployed headcount with the contribution record.

What Does a Safe First-Month Compliance Calendar Look Like?

Use this minimum calendar after registration:

Section 127 of the Code makes the employer liable for simple interest on overdue amounts at the notified rate. Section 128 permits damages up to the amount of arrears after an opportunity to be heard. Section 133 goes further: failure to pay a contribution can lead to imprisonment and fines. Where an employer deducted the employee share but did not deposit it, the stated punishment includes at least one year's imprisonment and a ₹1 lakh fine, subject to the court's statutory discretion. Registration without remittance is not a harmless paperwork gap.

How Should You Prove Compliance During an Inspection?

Keep one monthly evidence pack containing the employee master, wage calculation, coverage exceptions, ECR or ESI return, challan, bank proof, contractor reconciliation and reviewer approval. Also retain the registration application, C-11 or EPFO letter, Code section 3 deemed-registration basis, branch mapping and applicability memo.

Your dashboard should show four states: applicable, registered, filed and paid. One green “compliant” label hides the failure an inspector will find.

This is where an applicability system earns its keep. Compliance Radar can map the obligations that apply to your entity, locations and workforce, place them on a timeline and alert you when a threshold or rule changes. It does not run payroll or file returns; it helps prevent the earlier failure of not knowing what applied. Check your compliance posture free before the next payroll closes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is PF registration mandatory at exactly 20 employees?

Yes. Under the First Schedule and Chapter III of the Code on Social Security, 2020, EPF provisions apply to establishments employing 20 or more employees. Record the first date the establishment reached 20; the portal filing date does not replace it.

Is ESI registration mandatory at 10 employees in every case?

Chapter IV generally applies at 10 or more persons, and hazardous or life-threatening activities can be covered with one employee. You must also confirm notified geographical coverage and any applicable establishment-specific provision.

Did the EPF wage ceiling increase in 2026?

Yes. The Government increased the mandatory EPF wage ceiling from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month with effect from 17 September 2026. This changes employee coverage; it does not change the 20-employee establishment threshold.

What is the ESI wage ceiling in September 2026?

The Ministry of Labour and Employment states that the current ESI wage ceiling is ₹21,000 per month. The official guidance retains ₹25,000 per month for a person with disability. Apply the Code's section 2(88) wage definition.

Do companies incorporated through SPICe+ need another PF or ESI application?

New public companies, private companies and one-person companies obtain EPFO and ESIC numbers through SPICe+ and AGILE-PRO. They should retrieve and activate those registrations, then begin substantive compliance when the relevant threshold is crossed instead of creating duplicate applications.

Can an employee have two UANs or two ESI insurance numbers?

An employee should continue the existing portable number. Search and validate the prior record before creating anything new. Where a duplicate already exists, use the official correction or merger process rather than ignoring it.

What if the business registered late?

Do not choose today's date merely because it is convenient. Reconstruct the actual coverage date, employee list and wages; calculate arrears; and obtain professional advice on correction, interest, damages and disclosure. Sections 127, 128 and 133 of the Code make delay financially and potentially criminally serious.

Finish Registration With a Paid, Reconciled Return

Knowing how to register for PF and ESI in India means more than collecting two code numbers. Fix the applicability date, enrol the right employees, calculate under the current wage rules, pay by the 15th and preserve evidence that payroll agrees with the portals.

The September 2026 EPF ceiling change is exactly the kind of update a static spreadsheet misses. Check your compliance posture free at Compliance Radar and see which payroll, labour and establishment obligations apply to your business.