The government has launched the EPFO Employee Enrollment Scheme 2025, effective November 1, 2025, to encourage employers to voluntarily enroll eligible employees under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The scheme, announced by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, aims to enhance workforce formalization and promote ease of doing business.

Key Highlights of the Scheme

• Eligibility: The scheme applies to employees who joined an organization between July 1, 2017, and October 31, 2025, and are still employed on the date of declaration by the employer.
• Voluntary Enrollment: The scheme encourages employers to voluntarily declare and enroll eligible employees who were previously not registered under the EPF Scheme.
• Reduced Penalties: Employers will not be required to remit the employee's share of contribution if it was not deducted earlier. Only nominal penal damages of ₹100 will apply. This penalty is applicable per establishment across all three EPF schemes.
• Special Window: A six-month window, from November 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026, is available for employers to regularize EPF compliance for previously excluded workers.
• No Suo-Motu Action: The EPFO will not initiate any suo-motu compliance action during this period.
• EPFO 3.0 Platform: The EPFO is enhancing its digital platform, EPFO 3.0, for greater efficiency and accessibility.

Benefits for Employers and Employees

The Employee Enrollment Scheme 2025 offers several benefits:

• Simplified Enrollment: Reduces barriers for employers to enroll employees in the EPF.
• Financial Incentives: Waives the employee contribution for past periods if not deducted, and applies only a nominal penalty.
• Formalization of Workforce: Encourages the formalization of the workforce by providing a simplified process for employers to register previously unregistered employees.
• Social Security: Broadens the reach of social security under the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.

How to Enroll

Employers can enroll eligible employees through the EPFO portal. They need to declare previously unregistered employees and remit their share of contribution, interest, administrative charges, and a nominal penalty of ₹100. The employee's share will be waived if it was not deducted earlier. All eligible employees will declare online via the EPFO portal, and the declaration will be linked to the corresponding Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR).

Statements

During the launch, Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya emphasized that efficiency, transparency, and empathy must remain the driving forces of EPFO's transformation. He added that every reform must reach workers in clear and simple terms so that the impact of change is felt directly in their lives. EPFO Commissioner Ramesh Krishnamurthi reaffirmed EPFO's commitment to efficiency, transparency, and reform.

Looking Ahead

The Employee Enrollment Scheme 2025 is expected to strengthen EPFO's mission of expanding formal employment, aligning with the Prime Minister's Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana and India's broader goal of achieving inclusive economic growth by 2047. Following the six-month enrollment window, the EPFO is expected to introduce robust, technology-driven enforcement mechanisms to ensure continuous, universal compliance by employers.