Just like a
credit card or a cheque leaf, the numbers and alphabets on a PAN card too have
a significance. Through this article, we’ll understand the meaning of these
alphabets and numbers found on a PAN card.
Meaning of Numbers
on a Pan Card
Here is how a
PAN card looks like:
Unlike credit
cards or cheque leafs, which have only numbers, a PAN Card consists of a 10
digit alphanumeric sequence. Let’s understand what each character of this
sequence stands for.
First 3 Characters
The first 3
characters on a PAN card represent an alphabetic series running from AAA to
ZZZ.
4th Character
The 4th
character represents the status of the PAN holder, which can be one of the
following:
1. C
– Company
2. P
– Person
3. H
— HUF (Hindu Undivided Family)
4. F
— Firm
5. A
— Association of Persons (AOP)
6. T
— AOP (Trust)
7. B
— Body of Individuals (BOI)
8. L
— Local Authority
9. J
— Artificial Juridical Person
10. G —
Government
So, an
individual will have the 4th character as P.
5th Character
The fifth
character of the PAN is the first letter of:
11. the
surname in the case the status is “P”, or,
12. the
name of the Entity, Trust, Society, Organization, HUF, etc. in all other cases
For e.g., an
individual with the name Vivek Kumar Shukla will have S as the fifth character.
If you change
your surname after marriage or due to any other reason, your PAN card number
will remain unchanged.
6th to 9th
Characters
The next four
numbers are sequential numbers running from 0001 to 9999.
10th Character
The last digit
is an alphabetic check digit which is generated by applying a formula to the
preceding nine letters and numbers.
Below is a
pictorial representation of the above information to easily explain the meaning
of numbers on a PAN card:
Don’t forget
to share this interesting piece of information with your friends.
