PAN Card Number Meaning: What Those 10-Alphanumeric Digit Really Mean

Last Updated:May 12, 2025, 14:03 IST

PAN Card: PAN is a unique identifier linking all financial transactions and proceedings.

PAN Card Number Meaning: PAN (Permanent Account Number) is the quintessential document for every taxpayer in the country. One needs it whenever one files income tax return for a given year, buys property, makes high-value transactions, and does investments in mutual funds, shares, etc. Most of us still don’t know much about this identifier and multipurpose document.

Let’s understand what is PAN, what the 10-character alphanumeric signifies and types of PAN holders.

What Is PAN Card? 

PAN is a unique identifier linking all financial transactions and proceedings. It has a 10-character alphanumeric identifier issued by the Income Tax Department of India to persons (individuals), companies, and other entities).

One can use PAN to file income tax returns, buy property, does high-value transactions, and make investments in mutual funds, shares, etc.

Understand PAN Number Meaning

Let’s understand with an illustration. 

PAN Structure – Let’s say there is the following PAN Number ‘ABCDE1234F’

The first three characters signifies the alphabetic series from AAA to ZZZ.

The fourth character shows the type of PAN holder, which can be: Individual, Company, HUF, AOP, BOI, Government Agency, Artificial Juridical Person, Local Authority, Firm, and Trust.

The fifth character in the alphanumeric identifier tells the first letter of the holder’s last name or entity name.

The four numbers after the character shows the number from 0001 to 9999.

The last character tells the alphabetic check digit.

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