PAN Validator

What this tool does

PAN Validator checks an Indian Permanent Account Number against its fixed structural format (5 letters, 4 digits, 1 letter) and decodes the entity type, individual, company, trust, firm and more, from its 4th character. PAN has no checksum digit, so this confirms structural validity only.

An Indian PAN (Permanent Account Number) follows a fixed, simple structure, 5 letters, 4 digits, 1 letter, with the 4th letter specifically encoding the type of entity the PAN belongs to: an individual, a company, a trust, and so on.

This validator confirms a PAN matches that structural format and decodes the entity type from its 4th character. Unlike GSTIN or Aadhaar, PAN carries no checksum digit at all, so this checks structural correctness only, not mathematical self-consistency or actual issuance.

How to use PAN Validator

1. Enter the PAN (10 characters).
2. Review the Format result.
3. Check the decoded Entity type from the 4th character.
4. Note the 5th character as a sanity check against the holder’s name.

Tips for better results

• Unlike most other identifier checksums in this category, PAN has no verification digit at all; "valid format" here means only that the structure is correct, not that the specific PAN was ever actually issued.
• The 4th character is the most informative part structurally: P for an individual, C for a company, H for a Hindu Undivided Family, F for a firm or LLP, T for a trust, and several others.
• The 5th character is conventionally the first letter of an individual’s surname, or of a company/entity’s name, though this isn’t independently verifiable from the PAN alone.
• For a related, India-specific business identifier with an actual checksum, see the GSTIN Validator, since every GSTIN embeds a PAN as part of its own structure.

Common use cases

• Checking a PAN was typed correctly, in terms of structure, before using it on a form or document.
• Quickly identifying what type of entity (individual vs. company vs. trust) a PAN belongs to.
• Validating PAN input format in a KYC or onboarding form.
• Understanding PAN’s structure as a reference when working with Indian tax identifiers.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming "valid format" means the PAN is confirmed real and issued; since PAN has no checksum digit, this tool can only confirm the structure is correct, never that the specific number actually exists in Income Tax Department records.
• Misreading the entity type character; it’s always the 4th character specifically, not the first or last letter of the PAN.
• Confusing PAN (an individual/entity tax identifier) with GSTIN (a GST registration identifier that embeds a PAN within its own longer structure).