Permanent Account Number (PAN) Decoder Online

 PAN is a ten-digit unique alphanumeric number issued by the Income Tax Department. PAN is issued in the form of a laminated plastic card as given below (commonly known as PAN card) 

Now we shall discuss on the structure of the ten characters of PAN. For this purpose we shall take an illustrative PAN as given below 

Permanent Account Number (PAN)  Decoder Online

Decode this demi PAN Number : AAAPE1234D

AAA  All PAN numbers are a combination of ten alpha-numeric characters. The first three characters represent a series starting from AAA to ZZZ.

P The fourth character represents the status of the PAN holder. C stands for Company, P for Person, H for HUF (Hindu Undivided Family), F for Firm, A for Association of Persons (AOP), T for AOP (Trust), B for Body of Individuals (BOI), L for Local Authority, J for Artificial Juridical Person and G for Government.

E The fifth character is either the surname (in case of a person) or the name of the entity (in all other cases).

1234 The sixth to ninth characters are sequential numbers running from 0001 to 9999.

D The last character is an alphabetic check digit which is generated by applying a formula to the preceding nine letters and numbers.

PAN card number format

The first three digits of the permanent account number are English Alphabets. It can be any letter from AAA to ZZZ. It is decided according to the latest running series. This number is decided by the department on its own.

The fourth and fifth digit of the PAN card number is also English alphabets but, the fourth digit tells about the status of the cardholder while the fifth digit is the first letter of the surname of the card holder.

These can be the fourth digit of your permanent account number:

"P" stands for Individual

"C" stands for Company

"H" stands for Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)

"A" stands for Association of Persons (AOP)

"B" stands for Body of Individuals (BOI)

"G" stands for Government Agency

"J" stands for Artificial Juridical Person

"L" stands for Local Authority

"F" stands for Firm/ Limited Liability Partnership

"T" stands for Trust

It can be noted that only the last name of the holder is seen in the permanent account number. 

After this there are 4 numbers in the PAN card. These numbers can be anything from 0001 to 9999. These numbers of your PAN card show the series that is currently running in the Income Tax Department. 

Its last digit is an alphabetic check digit, which can be any letter.