PAN Validator

1. Type or paste the PAN in the box. Lower-case letters and spaces are fine; the tool tidies them up.
2. The result updates as you type. You'll see either Valid PAN format or a list of what's wrong (wrong length, a digit where a letter should be, an unknown 4th character).
3. Read the breakdown table to see what each part means, including the type of holder from the 4th character.
4. To confirm the PAN actually exists and is active, use Verify Your PAN on the Income Tax e-filing portal. This tool only checks the format.
5. Press Clear when you're done. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.

What this PAN checker does

A Permanent Account Number (PAN) is the 10-character ID the Income Tax Department issues to individuals, companies, firms, trusts and other taxpayers. Every PAN follows a fixed pattern, so a typing mistake (an O instead of a 0, a missing letter, swapped characters) can often be caught before you submit a form, an invoice or a KYC document. This PAN validator checks that pattern and explains what each part means.

It only checks the format. It does not connect to the Income Tax Department or any other database, so it cannot tell you whether a PAN has been issued, whose name it is in, whether it is active, or whether it is linked to Aadhaar. A made-up number can pass a format check. The check runs entirely in your browser: the PAN isn't sent to us, isn't put in the page address and isn't stored.

The structure of a PAN

So a valid PAN is always five letters, four digits, one letter. The 5th character is the first letter of an individual's surname, or of the name of a company, firm, trust or other entity. It reflects the name at the time the PAN was allotted, which is why the tool says it's "usually" the surname or entity initial.

4th character: type of holder

Source: the Income Tax Department's explanation of how a PAN is formed (incometaxindia.gov.in), checked October 2026.

Worked example

Take the sample format AAAPZ1234C. AAA is the series; P means the holder is an individual; Z is the first letter of the holder's surname; 1234 is the running number; C is the check letter. The tool marks it as a valid format. If you typed AAAPZ12E4C (letter E in place of a digit), it would tell you that character 8 should be a digit. Change the 4th letter to D and it tells you D isn't a holder type.

What this tool can't check

• The check letter. The 10th character is a check character, but the Income Tax Department hasn't published how it is calculated, so no outside tool can verify it reliably.
• Whether the PAN exists or is active. Use Verify Your PAN on the e-filing portal. It shows whether the PAN is active and whether the name and date of birth you entered match.
• PAN–Aadhaar linking. Check this with the "Link Aadhaar Status" service on the same portal.
• Who the PAN belongs to. Don't treat a valid-looking PAN as proof of identity.

Tips

• The most common typos are 0 ↔ O, 1 ↔ I and 5 ↔ S. Positions 6–9 are always digits, and all the others are always letters.
• Share your PAN only where it is actually required (income tax, bank KYC, investments, high-value purchases), and never post a photo of your PAN card publicly.
• For a business, the 4th letter should match its constitution: a private limited company's PAN has C, a partnership firm's has F. A mismatch is worth questioning.