PAN Card Decoder

Decode the structure of any PAN number and validate its format. No data sent to any server.

Format: 5 letters · 4 digits · 1 letter (e.g. ABCDE1234F)

PAN number structure explained

A PAN (Permanent Account Number) is a 10-character alphanumeric identifier issued by the Income Tax Department. Each character position carries specific meaning.

1–3
Alphabetic series (AAA–ZZZ). Represents the Income Tax office that issued the PAN.
4
Entity type: P = Individual, C = Company, H = HUF, F = Firm, A = AOP, T = Trust, B = BOI, L = LLP, J = AJP, G = Government
5
First letter of surname (individuals) or first letter of entity name (companies, firms, etc.)
6–9
Running sequence number (0001–9999) assigned sequentially by the issuing office.
10
Alphabetic check digit, computed by the Income Tax Department.

Frequently asked questions

Does PAN contain any personal information?

A PAN reveals your entity type (individual, company, HUF, etc.) and the first letter of your surname. It does not encode your date of birth, gender, state, or any other personal details.

What does the 4th character tell us?

The 4th character indicates the type of taxpayer: P = Individual person, C = Company, H = Hindu Undivided Family, F = Firm/partnership, A = Association of Persons, T = Trust, B = Body of Individuals, L = LLP, J = Artificial Juridical Person, G = Government entity.

Can I verify that a PAN is genuine?

Format validation (done here) checks that the PAN follows the correct structure. To verify that a PAN is actually registered with the Income Tax Department, use the official Know Your PAN service at incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.

Why do some PANs look invalid but are real?

Old PANs issued before the current structured format was standardised in 2004–2007 may not follow the current pattern strictly. If your PAN was issued many years ago, it could be valid but fail a strict regex check.

Is it safe to enter my PAN here?

Yes — this tool runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to any server. However, exercise caution about sharing your PAN with third parties, as it is a sensitive financial identifier.