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Sanjeev Govila | Answer |Ask -Follow

Financial Planner - Answered on Sep 20, 2023

Colonel Sanjeev Govila (retd) is the founder of Hum Fauji Initiatives, a financial planning company dedicated to the armed forces personnel and their families.
He has over 12 years of experience in financial planning and is a SEBI certified registered investment advisor; he is also accredited with AMFI and IRDA.... more

Asked by Anonymous - Sep 08, 2023Hindi

Hi, I have an issue with my EPF account and the issue is related to my name. Just to keep my name anonymous for this post I am using a sudo name that is Jack Jones Harry. I have an EPF account in the name of Jack Jones Harry. I tried to log in and I was asked to contact my employer to link my Aadhaar card to my EPF account. I contacted my Ex employer and they said the issue was that my EPF is under the name of Jack Jones Harry and my Aadhaar have the name Jack J Harry. Due to this, it shows a mismatch. I have clearly informed that its the same and in my Aadhaar card the Jack J Harry the J stands for Jones. They said they cant do anything and they have asked me to fill up a joint declaration form which is a requisite for a name change. I was not comfortable using this form as they have a column asking me the "wrong" name and corresponding correct name. Since my name Jack Jones Harry is not a "wrong" name, its Just that my aadhaar card has J mentioned instead of Jones. I was not comfortable filling out this declaration. I decided to go to the EPF office myself to check on this. However, they also provided me with the same format for name change. I am guessing I have two options one is change my Aadhaar card or submit the form for name change requisition. The issues is some bank accounts and property have my name as Jack Jones Harry and some property and bank details and mutual funds have my name as Jack Js Harry. I just wanted to run it by you and wanted to check is this a common issue and which is a better option. I really want to get it done as this has been pending since long.

Ans: I understand your situation. It's common to face issues with name variations in official documents. You can cater to this issue with 2 options- 1st is that you can change your Aadhaar card or you can submit requisition form to EPF office.

1. Aadhaar Card: If you want to align all your official documents with the name "Jack Jones Harry," you have to update your Aadhaar card to reflect the full name "Jack Jones Harry" to match your EPF account. You must visit an Aadhaar enrolment centre and providing the necessary documents for the name change.

2. Name Change Requisition Form: If you prefer not to change your Aadhaar card, you can go ahead and submit the joint declaration form for a name change requisition as requested by the EPF office. In this form, you can explain the discrepancy between your EPF account name and your Aadhaar card name as you've described which will require some additional documents and processing time.
The choice between these options depends on your personal preference and the hassle involved in changing your Aadhaar card. Ensure that you update your name consistently across all your official documents to avoid future issues.

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