PF & ESI Registration
EPFO and ESIC registration for employers crossing the employee thresholds — the applicability check, the Shram Suvidha filing, and the contribution calendar set up correctly from the first payroll.
Provident Fund and Employees' State Insurance are two separate employer obligations that kick in once your headcount crosses a fixed number — not once your turnover does, which is what usually surprises people used to GST thresholds. Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) registration, under the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952, becomes mandatory once you employ 20 or more employees. Employees' State Insurance (ESI) registration, under the Employees' State Insurance Act 1948, becomes mandatory once you employ 10 or more employees in an establishment the Act covers — which in Tamil Nadu includes shops, hotels and other non-factory establishments, not only factories.
Both counts include every person on your payroll, whatever they earn — the headcount that triggers registration is not the same as the headcount that gets enrolled. Only employees drawing up to ₹15,000 per month (basic wages plus dearness allowance) are compulsorily covered under EPF, and up to ₹21,000 per month (₹25,000 for an employee with a disability) under ESI; anyone above either ceiling can still be enrolled voluntarily, but is not required. A business can legitimately owe both registrations, one, or neither, depending on how its actual payroll is structured.
Skipping registration once you're liable is not a quiet gap — EPF's Section 14 exposes you to imprisonment up to 1 year, a fine up to ₹5,000, or both, and ESI's Section 85 carries imprisonment up to 3 years (minimum 1 year for specified defaults) and a fine up to ₹10,000, on top of the contributions and damages you owe for the whole unregistered period. Most cases we see were never deliberate — a business crossed a headcount threshold during a hiring push and nobody was tracking the number against either Act.
Enquire about PF & ESI Registration
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If any of these describe where you are right now, this is the service you are looking for.
Your headcount has reached 20 or more employees — EPF registration is mandatory from that date, whatever your turnover.
You employ 10 or more employees at an establishment the ESI Act covers — in Tamil Nadu this reaches shops, hotels and similar non-factory establishments, not only factories.
You want EPF coverage before you're legally required to — voluntary coverage available below the 20-employee threshold, with the mutual consent of the employer and a majority of employees, granted by the Central PF Commissioner.
A tender, a bank or a client has asked for proof of EPF or ESI compliance before dealing with you.
You crossed a threshold some time ago and have not registered yet, and want it corrected before an inspection finds it first.
You are setting up payroll for the first time and want both registrations built into it from day one, not added later.
Everything handled, end to end
The full scope of the engagement, so there is nothing to discover halfway through.
Applicability assessment
We confirm whether EPF, ESI, or both actually apply to you today, and the exact date your liability began.
Common registration on Shram Suvidha
Filed as a single "Registration for EPFO-ESIC" application on the Unified Shram Suvidha Portal, not two separate applications to two different departments.
Establishment code allotment
Your EPFO establishment ID and ESIC employer code obtained and handed over, along with the portal logins that go with each.
UAN setup for your employees
Universal Account Numbers set up for covered employees, whether they are new to EPF or bringing one over from a previous employer.
Contribution structure configured
Contribution rates set up correctly from month one — 12% of basic wages and DA from both employer and employee for EPF and 4% of gross wages in total — 3.25% employer, 0.75% employee for ESI.
Filing calendar handover
The monthly and half-yearly filing dates handed to you, or to whoever runs your payroll, so the first cycle is not a scramble.
Query response
We respond to any clarification the EPFO or ESIC field office raises while the application is being processed.
What you'll need to hand over
Collected once, at the start. We tell you which of these apply to your case before you gather anything.
Every applicant
- 01Certificate of Incorporation, partnership deed, or registration certificate — whichever applies to your entity type
- 02PAN of the business
- 03Cancelled cheque or the latest bank statement of the business's current account
- 04Address proof of the establishment — electricity bill, property tax receipt, or rent agreement with a No Objection Certificate
- 05GST registration certificate, if you hold one
- 06Digital Signature Certificate of the authorised signatory, for companies and LLPs
- 07List of all employees with date of joining, wage and designation
For ESI specifically
- 01Individual employee details for ESI enrolment — name, date of birth, wage and family details, for those within the current wage ceiling (₹21,000 per month (₹25,000 for an employee with a disability))
- 02Copy of your Shops and Establishments registration, where the business is covered by it rather than being a factory
Voluntary EPF registration additionally needs a signed record of employee consent — it cannot be initiated by the employer alone, and once approved it cannot be backdated to an earlier date the employer wishes it had started.
5 steps, start to finish
Where the work actually goes, and what we need from you at each stage.
Applicability check
We confirm which Act, or Acts, actually apply, and the exact date liability began against your real headcount.
Confirm with us
Document collection
Employer and employee documents assembled and checked, including UAN details for anyone bringing EPF history from a previous job.
Confirm with us
Common application filed
The registration application is filed on the Shram Suvidha portal, covering both EPFO and ESIC in one submission.
On document completion
Establishment codes issued
EPFO and ESIC issue your establishment code and portal access once the application is processed.
On approval
Payroll setup handed over
Contribution rates configured and the ongoing filing calendar handed to you, or to whoever runs your payroll.
Ongoing, monthly
What to expect, and what it costs
Timelines are indicative and depend on departmental processing and how quickly documents come back to us. Message us on WhatsApp for a written quote.
Enquire on WhatsApp- Applicability check
- Confirm with us
- Document collection
- Confirm with us
- EPF registration trigger
- 20 or more employees
- ESI registration trigger
- 10 or more employees
- Registration window once liable
- 30 days from crossing the threshold (EPF) · 15 days from reaching the threshold (ESI)
Professional fees
On request
Common questions
The questions we are actually asked about PF & ESI Registration. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Once you employ 20 or more employees, counted across your whole establishment regardless of what each person earns. You then have 30 days from crossing the threshold to register — the clock starts the day the threshold is crossed, not the following month.
Once you employ 10 or more employees, and in Tamil Nadu this applies well beyond factories — shops, hotels, restaurants and similar establishments are covered. You then have 15 days from reaching the threshold to register.
No. Only employees drawing up to ₹15,000 per month (basic wages plus dearness allowance) are compulsorily covered under EPF, and up to ₹21,000 per month (₹25,000 for an employee with a disability) under ESI. Someone earning above either ceiling can still be enrolled voluntarily, with the employer's agreement, but is not required to be.
Yes — voluntary coverage available below the 20-employee threshold, with the mutual consent of the employer and a majority of employees, granted by the Central PF Commissioner. Once granted, coverage is permanent, so you cannot drop back out later simply because headcount falls.
EPF's Section 14 exposes you to imprisonment up to 1 year, a fine up to ₹5,000, or both, and ESI's Section 85 carries imprisonment up to 3 years (minimum 1 year for specified defaults) and a fine up to ₹10,000. Either way you also owe the contributions and interest for the whole unregistered period, which is usually the larger number.
EPF contributions are filed through the Electronic Challan-cum-Return, due by 15th of the following month. ESI contributions follow the same monthly rhythm, due by 15th of the following month, with a further half-yearly return on top.
Not any more — a single "Registration for EPFO-ESIC" application on the Unified Shram Suvidha Portal covers both, and both departments recognise the same Labour Identification Number for the establishment afterward, so you are not maintaining two unrelated department relationships.
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