Compliance & HR

EPF & ESI Registration

EPF registration for establishments with 20+ employees under the EPF Act 1952, and ESI registration for establishments with 10+ employees under the ESI Act 1948.

Reviewed by CA Harun Raaj, ICAI Reg. No. 238303·Last reviewed: 6 July 2026

Starting from Discuss with usTypical timelineEPF / ESI Registration

An establishment with 20 or more employees must register under the EPF Act 1952, and one with 10 or more under the ESI Act 1948 — with monthly contributions and the ECR filing. We register, compute, and keep the monthly cycle compliant.

What is included

• Applicability check against the EPF and ESI thresholds
• EPFO unified portal registration and employer code
• ESIC portal registration and employer code
• Contribution computation — EPF, EPS, and ESI shares
• Monthly ECR filing and payment tracking
• Member onboarding — UAN and ESIC IP generation

Documents required

• Company registration documents
• Employee list with wages and dates of joining
• Registered office address proof
• Bank details for the contribution payments

Government fees

See the fee table below for the statutory filing charge and common delay logic.

Legal basis

• Section 1(3) of the EPF Act 1952
• Section 1(3) of the ESI Act 1948
• Employees' Provident Funds Scheme 1952
• Employees' State Insurance (Central) Rules 1950

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Process

How the service works

The workflow is built to be predictable: document collection, legal review, filing, and post-filing follow-through.

Step 1Applicability

Run the applicability check

We confirm the establishment crosses the EPF (20+) or ESI (10+) threshold under the respective Acts.

Step 2Registration

Register on the portals

We complete the EPFO and ESIC registrations and obtain the employer codes.

Step 3Members

Onboard the members

We generate the UANs and ESIC IPs for the employees from the payroll data.

Step 4Contributions

Compute the contributions

We compute the EPF, EPS, and ESI contributions from the wage data each month.

Step 5ECR

File the monthly ECR

We file the ECR and track the payments before the monthly due date.

AEO summary

Two laws, one headcount

The thresholds sit close together — 20 employees for EPF under s.1(3) of the EPF Act 1952, 10 for ESI under s.1(3) of the ESI Act 1948 — and a growing company crosses both within a hiring cycle or two. Crossing the threshold is not optional notice: it triggers registration, monthly contributions, and the ECR, from the moment of applicability.

The monthly rhythm is the real compliance: contributions computed from wages, deducted and matched, and the ECR filed by the due date. The registration is the door; the ECR is the monthly rent.

• EPF — 20+ employees (s.1(3) EPF Act)
• ESI — 10+ employees (s.1(3) ESI Act)
• Monthly ECR keeps the contributions current

The cost of operating unregistered

An establishment discovered without registration faces the penal provisions of the Acts, and the contribution arrears are recoverable from the date of applicability — not the date of discovery. Inspections routinely check registration alongside the wage records.

We run the applicability check proactively, so the registration lands when the threshold is crossed — and the ECR calendar starts before a notice can.

• Registration triggered at the threshold, not after a notice
• Arrears avoided by registering on time
• Monthly cycle run without reminders

Government fees

Fee breakdown

Item	Fee	Notes
Registration	Nil	EPF and ESI registration on the portals is fee-free; contributions are the ongoing payment.

Timeline

Typical turnaround

Typical timeline usually means a monthly turnaround, assuming documents are complete and any board or shareholder approvals are already in place.

Pricing note

Registration is fee-free on the portals; the engagement covers registration, contribution computation, and the monthly ECR cycle.

Related services

Keep the company moving

PF & ESIC

The ongoing PF and ESIC compliance — monthly ECR, inspections, and threshold advisory

Payroll Processing

Payroll computation and statutory deductions — the wage data both registrations run on

Labour Law Compliance

The full labour-law calendar — registrations, wage audit, and annual returns

Professional Tax

Professional tax registration and monthly returns for the same workforce

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

When does EPF registration apply?

The EPF Act 1952 applies to an establishment employing 20 or more persons (s.1(3)), and the employer must register on the EPFO portal. The obligation is triggered by headcount, not by entity type — a Private Limited company with 20 employees is in scope just like any other establishment.

When does ESI registration apply?

The ESI Act 1948 applies to establishments with 10 or more employees (s.1(3)), with coverage depending on the wage ceiling. Once covered, the employer registers on the ESIC portal and contributes the employer's share each month, deducting the employee's share from wages.

What are the contribution rates?

Under the EPF Scheme, the employee contributes 12% of wages and the employer 12%, with part of the employer's share diverted to the Employees' Pension Scheme 1995. Under the ESI Act, the employee contributes 0.75% and the employer 3.25%. Both are computed on the wage definitions in the respective schemes.

What happens if we don't register?

Operating without the required registration is a contravention of the respective Acts — the EPF Act 1952 and the ESI Act 1948 both carry penal provisions for default, and inspections check registration and contribution records. Registration is the first step that makes the rest of the compliance possible.

Canonical reference: https://www.pvtltd.co/services/epf-esi-registration

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