PAN Card Validator
Validate Indian Permanent Account Number (PAN) format against Income Tax Department rules. Checks 10-character structure, decodes the holder type (Individual, Company, HUF, Firm, Trust, and more). Single or bulk validation — runs entirely in your browser.
10 characters — auto uppercased
PAN holder types (4th character)
PAN format: AAAAA9999A
A PAN is a 10-character alphanumeric identifier issued by India's Income Tax Department. The 4th character denotes taxpayer type, the 5th is the first letter of surname (individuals) or entity name. Characters 6–9 are a serial number and character 10 is an alphabetic check digit.
PAN number structure (10 characters)
Format: AAAAA0000A — 5 uppercase letters, 4 digits, 1 uppercase letter. The 4th character encodes the holder type (P, C, H, F, A, T, B, L, J, G).
PAN holder types (4th character)
| Code | Holder type |
|---|---|
| P | Individual / Person |
| C | Private / Public Limited Company |
| H | Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) |
| F | Partnership Firm |
| A | Association of Persons (AOP) |
| T | Trust |
| B | Body of Individuals (BOI) |
| L | Local Authority |
| J | Artificial Juridical Person |
| G | Government |
Frequently asked questions
What transactions require a PAN card?
PAN is mandatory for: filing income tax returns, cash transactions above ₹50,000, opening a bank or demat account, purchasing immovable property above ₹10 lakh, purchasing mutual funds or shares above ₹1 lakh, applying for a credit card, and many other financial activities regulated by SEBI and RBI.
What is the 5th character in a PAN for individuals?
For individuals (holder type P), the 5th character is the first letter of the holder's surname. For example, if the surname is Sharma, the 5th character would be S. For entities (companies, firms, trusts), the 5th character is the first letter of the entity's registered name.
Why does my PAN say "Invalid format" even though it looks correct?
Common issues: lowercase letters (PAN must be all uppercase), spaces or hyphens in the number (PAN has no spaces — it's 10 continuous characters), an incorrect 4th character (must be one of the 10 valid holder type codes), or a number that's not exactly 10 characters. Check all these before reporting an error.
Is PAN linked to GST registration?
Yes. The GSTIN (GST Identification Number) embeds the business's PAN at characters 3–12. The entity type in the GSTIN is also derived from the 4th character of the embedded PAN. This means a valid GSTIN must contain a structurally valid PAN, and the PAN Validator and GST Validator complement each other.