How To Check PAN Card Active Or Inactive?

The PAN active status indicates if your Permanent Account Number is operative or inoperative due to reasons like non-linking with Aadhaar or duplication. Individuals can check their PAN status online using their PAN number and registered mobile number. To verify whether your PAN is valid for financial transactions, you must check the PAN card active status on the Income Tax e-filing portal. 

This guide explains the step-by-step process to check PAN status, consequences of inoperative PAN, and how to reactivate it.

Prerequisites to check PAN card status

Individuals will require the following to check their PAN card status:

• PAN number
• Valid mobile number linked to your PAN for OTP verification

Steps to check PAN card status

Below are the steps to verify your PAN Card or check if your PAN card is active or inactive:

Step 1: Go to the Income Tax e-filing website.

Step 2: Click the ‘Verify PAN Status’ option under the ‘Quick Links’ heading on the homepage. 

Step 3: Enter your PAN number, name, date of birth and mobile number and click the ‘Continue’ button.

Step 4: Next, enter the OTP sent to your mobile number and click the ‘Validate’ button.

Step 5: Your PAN card status will be displayed.

Consequences of when PAN card is inoperative

If your PAN card is inoperative, you cannot do the following financial transactions:

• Opening an account (except a time deposit and a basic savings bank deposit account) with a banking company or a cooperative bank
• Applying for the issue of a credit and debit card
• Opening a demat account with a participant, depository or custodian of securities
• Payment in cash exceeding Rs. 50,000 for the following purposes:
  • to a restaurant or hotel against a bill
  • for travel to a foreign country or payment for purchasing a foreign currency
  • to a mutual fund for the purchase of its units
  • to a company or an institution for acquiring bonds or debentures issued by them
  • to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for acquiring bonds  
• Deposits of cash of more than Rs.50,000 in one day with a banking company or a cooperative bank
• Payment in cash exceeding Rs.50,000 in any one day for the purchase of bank drafts,  banker’s cheques, or pay orders from a banking company or a cooperative bank
• Opening a time deposit exceeding Rs.50,000 or aggregating to more than Rs.5 lakh during a financial year with a bank company, post office, a co-operative bank, NBFC or a Nidhi registered under the Companies Act, 2013
• Payment in cash, bank draft, pay order or banker’s cheque of an amount aggregating to more than Rs.50,000 in a financial year for one or more prepaid payment instruments to a banking company, a co-operative bank or to another institution or company
• Payment of an amount aggregating to more than Rs.50,000 in a financial year as a life insurance premium to an insurer
• The sale or purchase of securities (other than shares) exceeding Rs.1 lakh per transaction
• The sale or purchase of shares of a company not listed in any recognised stock exchange exceeding Rs.1 lakh per transaction
• Restrictions on financial transactions such as opening bank accounts, cash deposits, securities, property sale
• Cannot submit Forms 15G/15H

A higher tax will be deducted for the following financial transactions when the PAN is inoperative:

• Purchase or sale of a motor vehicle or vehicle other than a two-wheeled vehicle
• Purchase or sale of immovable property exceeding Rs.10 lakh or valued by a stamp valuation authority where the amount exceeds Rs.10 lakh
• Purchase or sale of goods or services for an amount exceeding Rs.2 lakh per transaction

Reasons for PAN Card Deactivation

Your PAN card may be marked as inoperative or deactivated by the Income Tax Department for the following reasons:

Non-Linking of PAN with Aadhaar

As per the latest notification by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), it is mandatory to link PAN with Aadhaar by 31 December 2025. Failure to do so will result in the PAN being rendered inoperative until the linking is completed and validated.

Possession of Multiple PAN Cards

Holding more than one PAN card is prohibited under Section 139A of the Income Tax Act. If the Income Tax Department detects multiple PANs against a single individual, the duplicate or improperly issued PAN(s) will be deactivated.

Issuance Based on False or Duplicate Identity

PAN cards issued using forged documents, invalid personal details, or created for non-existent persons (fake identities) will be classified as invalid and subsequently deactivated.

Mismatch of Personal Information

If there are discrepancies between PAN and Aadhaar details—such as mismatched name, date of birth, or gender—that remain unresolved, the PAN may be flagged during Aadhaar validation and marked inoperative.

What to do when PAN card is deactivated?

If your PAN card is deactivated by the Income Tax Department due to some reason other than non-linking your PAN with your Aadhaar card, you need to draft a letter requesting to activate your PAN card and send it to your jurisdictional Assessing Officer (AO) in the Income Tax Department. Remember to send the following documents along with the letter:

• Copy of the PAN used to file your Income Tax Returns 
• Indemnity Bond in favour of the Income Tax Department 
• Copy of Income Tax Returns filed in the previous three years from the deactivated PAN number

Once the AO receives your request letter and the AO is satisfied with the genuineness of your letter, the department will activate your PAN card in 15-30 days.

How to link PAN-Aadhaar? 

If your PAN is inoperative due to non-linking of PAN and Aadhaar, you can make it operative again by applying to link PAN-Aadhaar after paying the penalty of Rs.1,000. However, the PAN will be operative after 30 days of applying for PAN-Aadhaar linking. Below are the steps to link PAN with Aadhaar:

Step 1: Go to the Income Tax e-filing website.

Step 2: Click the ‘e-Pay Tax’ option under the ‘Quick Links’ heading on the homepage.

Step 3: Enter the ‘PAN’ number, mobile number and click the ‘Continue’ button.

Step 4: Enter the OTP and click the ‘Continue’ button.

Step 5: Next, click the ‘Proceed’ button under the ‘Income Tax’ tab.

Step 6: Select the assessment year as ‘2025-26’, type of payment (minor head) as ‘Other Receipts (500)’ and click the ‘Continue’ button to pay the penalty.

Step 7: After paying the penalty, go to the homepage and click the ‘Link Aadhaar’ option under the ‘Quick Links’ heading.

Step 8: Enter the PAN and Aadhaar number and click ‘Validate’. Enter the name, mobile number and click the ‘Link Aadhaar’ button.

Step 9: Enter the OTP and click the ‘Validate’ button. The request for PAN-Aadhaar linking will be sent to the UIDAI.

How to check PAN-Aadhaar linking status?

You can check if your PAN is linked with Aadhaar by following the below steps:

Step 1: Go to the Income Tax e-filing website.

Step 2: Click the ‘Link Aadhaar Status’ option under the ‘Quick Links’ heading on the homepage.

Step 3: Enter your PAN and Aadhaar card number and click the ‘View Link Aadhaar Status’ option.

Step 4: The PAN-Aadhaar link status will be displayed on the screen.

The PAN card can be inoperative due to various reasons. You can check the PAN card status on the Income Tax e-filing website to check if your PAN card is active. 

If your PAN is inactive or inoperative due to non-linking PAN and Aadhaar card, you must send the request to link your PAN-Aadhaar after paying the penalty amount. It will be 30 days for the PAN card to be operative again. However, if your PAN card is inoperative due to any other reason, contact your jurisdictional AO in the Income Tax Department and request them to activate your PAN card.

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