Instantly check if your PAN number follows the correct CBDT format and see what entity type it represents. 100% free and private.
Free PAN card format checker that validates whether your 10-character PAN follows the official CBDT structure (5 letters + 4 digits + 1 letter), flags exactly what's wrong, and identifies the entity type from the 4th character. Runs entirely client-side in your browser — nothing is uploaded, stored, or logged.
Instantly verify your PAN format and identify entity type according to CBDT guidelines
Entity Type Codes (Character 4)
The 4th character in your PAN identifies your entity type
Validate more details or calculate your taxes — free, no login required.
Pan Card Validator:Enter your PAN and this tool tells you, instantly, whether it follows the official CBDT structure. If it doesn't, you'll see exactly what's wrong and what entity type the number is supposed to represent.
It's useful before filing a return, sorting out KYC, or just double-checking a number before you hand it to a bank. The check happens entirely in your browser using the same rules the Income Tax Department applies when it builds a valid PAN. Nothing gets uploaded, and there's no login.
It confirms your PAN is exactly 10 characters (5 letters, 4 numbers, 1 letter), reads the 4th character to identify the entity type, checks that letters and numbers sit where they should, and cross-references the entity code against the official Income Tax Department list. All of that runs on your device, so your PAN never leaves your browser.
What it can't do: look anything up in a government database, confirm the PAN actually exists, verify who owns it, or replace official verification. It won't give you tax, financial, or legal advice either.
This is a format check, nothing more. For anything tied to loan approvals, KYC, or legal paperwork, go through the Income Tax Department's own portal at incometax.gov.in or visit your nearest IT office.
The sections below get into PAN structure, entity types, the format rules, and how the checker works under the hood.
PAN (Permanent Account Number) is a 10-character alphanumeric ID that India's Income Tax Department, through the CBDT, issues to individuals, companies, firms, trusts, and just about every other kind of taxpayer. It's less a tax document and more the ID number sitting quietly behind almost every financial move you make in India.
Opened a bank account? Filed a return? Bought a mutual fund? You used your PAN.
It doesn't expire, and you'll need it for bank accounts, investments, tax returns, credit cards, loans, and any business transaction above ₹50,000.
A few quick facts:
Once your PAN is sorted, you'll probably run into it again through our salary income tax calculator or when comparing the old vs new tax regime, since PAN is the identifier tied to both.
Every valid PAN follows the same layout, no exceptions. Once you know what each slot is for, spotting a typo takes about two seconds.
Characters 1-3: Name or entity prefix. Always letters. For an individual these usually come from their surname or given name; for a company or other entity, from its registered name.
Character 4: Entity type code. This is the one the validator cares about most. It has to be one of exactly nine letters: P (Individual), C (Company), H (HUF), F (Firm), A (Association), T (Trust), B (Body of Individuals), L (Local Authority), or J (Artificial Juridical Person). Anything else here and the PAN is invalid, full stop.
Character 5: Last letter of the name prefix. Another letter. For individuals it's typically the first letter of the first name or surname; for entities, part of the coded name.
Characters 6-9: Registration number. Four digits, always numbers. This is a sequential code assigned when the PAN was issued, and it doesn't decode into anything meaningful about the holder. It's just a running count.
Character 10: Check digit. A single letter, worked out algorithmically from the first nine characters by the IT Department's own system. You can't calculate this one by hand, and the validator only confirms it's a letter rather than re-running the algorithm itself.
Take AAAGP5055K. The first three characters, AAA, are the name prefix. G sits in position 4, and G isn't a valid entity code, so this PAN fails right there. A correctly structured Individual PAN would use P in that slot instead, giving you AAAP5055K, with 5055 as the registration number and K as the check digit both fine as they stand. This is exactly the kind of error that trips people up on a rushed ITR filing or bank form, and it's usually the first thing the checker flags.
Most people never notice that one letter in their PAN says what kind of taxpayer it belongs to. That's character 4, and it has to be one of nine codes. Anything outside that list breaks the format, no matter how clean the rest of the number looks.
Any other letter in that spot (D, E, G, I, K, M, N, O, Q, R, S, U, V, W, X, Y, Z) makes the whole PAN structurally invalid, even if every other character is letter-perfect. This single mistake accounts for a surprising share of the format errors this tool catches.
Running a business? Our MSME classification calculator covers registration questions worth checking alongside your PAN.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes lays out strict rules for what counts as a valid PAN. This tool runs all six at once and gives you the result instantly, with no server round-trip involved.
If you're building PAN validation into your own app, the regex [A-Z]{5}[0-9]{4}[A-Z]{1} covers the basic shape, but it won't catch an invalid entity code on its own. You'll need to check that 4th character against the nine valid letters separately.
This is probably the most misunderstood part of using any PAN validator. People assume a format checker confirms the PAN is real, and it can't. It's worth understanding why that distinction matters.
Format checking is genuinely useful before you submit a form, or when you're catching a typo, or checking a number someone shared with you. For loan processing, bank or NBFC KYC, legal paperwork, or a tax filing dispute, though, you need the official route through incometax.gov.in.
Once your PAN checks out, you might also want to run the standard deduction calculator to see how it affects your overall filing.
A format checker sounds like a niche tool, but it turns up in a lot of everyday workflows:
You might land here if you've just received a new PAN card and want to confirm the printed number is right, you're mid-form and want to catch an error before hitting submit, or someone (a client or an employee) shared their PAN with you and you want to check it's at least structurally sound. Or maybe you're building an app and need to understand PAN validation logic yourself, or you just want to know what the characters in your own PAN actually mean.
Related tools worth a look: the UPI ID format checker, the vehicle number format checker, and the MICR code decoder. All free, all client-side.
Typing a PAN into a random website should feel risky, honestly, and usually it is. That's why this checker doesn't touch a server at all.
Everything runs client-side, in your browser's JavaScript engine. Clicking "Validate" doesn't trigger a network request; open DevTools and check for yourself. Nothing gets stored: no localStorage, sessionStorage, cookies, or database writes. There's no tracking, no analytics pixel logging what you type, and no account or sign-up required.
The page itself is served over HTTPS, and your PAN never gets passed to another service. When you click validate, a JavaScript function runs locally, not unlike a basic calculator. The format rules are hardcoded into the page, so nothing needs to leave your browser. Close the tab and there's nothing left behind, the same as writing something on paper and tearing it up.
You can read more about how we approach tool design and accuracy limits on our about page.
For official PAN verification, including loan approvals, KYC compliance, legal documentation, or tax disputes, always go through official channels: the Income Tax Department portal (incometax.gov.in), NSDL PAN Verification Service, or UTIITSL PAN Services. Don't rely on any format validator, including this one, for decisions that matter.
A free tool that checks whether a 10-character PAN follows the official CBDT format (5 letters, 4 numbers, 1 letter) and identifies the entity type from the 4th character. It runs entirely in your browser and doesn't confirm whether the PAN actually exists.
PAN is a unique 10-character alphanumeric ID issued by the Income Tax Department for tax identification and financial tracking. You need it for bank accounts, tax returns, investments, credit cards, loans, and most high-value transactions in India.
Exactly 10 characters, uppercase: 5 letters, 4 numbers, 1 letter. Example: ABCDP1234Z. Characters 1-5 are letters (the 4th being the entity code), 6-9 are digits, and 10 is the check digit. No spaces or special characters.
It's the entity type code: P (Individual), C (Company), H (HUF), F (Firm), A (Association), T (Trust), B (Body of Individuals), L (Local Authority), or J (Artificial Juridical Person). Anything else makes the format invalid.
Enter your 10-character PAN and hit "Validate." The tool checks length, character types by position, the entity code, uppercase formatting, and the absence of special characters, then tells you whether it's structurally valid and what entity type it maps to.
Yes. Everything runs locally in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is sent to a server, stored, logged, or cached. You could disconnect from the internet after the page loads and it would still work.
No. It checks format only and has no access to Income Tax Department, NSDL, or UTIITSL databases. A PAN can pass format validation without existing anywhere official. For that, use incometax.gov.in or the NSDL/UTIITSL portals.
Usually it's one of: wrong length, an invalid entity code, lowercase letters, a digit in a letter position (or vice versa), or a stray space or special character. The error message tells you which rule failed. If you're confident the PAN is right anyway, cross-check it against your physical card.
The basic shape is [A-Z]{5}[0-9]{4}[A-Z]{1}, but that alone won't enforce a valid entity code. A more complete pattern is [A-Z]{3}[PCHFATBLJ]{1}[A-Z]{1}[0-9]{4}[A-Z]{1}, which is what this tool uses under the hood.
No. Nothing is saved, stored, or transmitted. Close the tab and there's no trace, because nothing was ever recorded to begin with.
It's a good pre-check to catch typos before official submission, but for actual KYC, loan approvals, or legal documentation, you need the Income Tax Department portal, NSDL PAN verification, or UTIITSL.
A format checker like this one validates structure locally and works instantly, even offline. Official verification queries the Income Tax Department's live database to confirm the PAN actually exists and is active, which requires internet access and sometimes authentication.
The core 10-character structure has stayed the same for years. Occasional guideline updates happen, so check incometax.gov.in for current rules if you're relying on this for anything official.
For informational purposes only. Results are estimates based on the inputs you provide and the rules in effect for the period shown, and are not tax, legal or financial advice. Verify figures against the relevant official source and consult a qualified professional before acting on them. Accuracy & limitations
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