PAN Card Validator
Online Indian Permanent Account Number (PAN) validator. Excellent for QA.
How does PAN validation work?
PAN validation checks if the string has exactly 10 characters and matches the strict mask: 5 initial letters, 4 central digits, and 1 final control letter.
The validator also checks if the 4th letter represents a valid Indian tax registration category (such as P, C, H, F, A, T, B, G, J, L).
Anatomy & Structure of the PAN (Permanent Account Number)
The Indian PAN consists of 10 alphanumeric characters structured in 5 parts:
| Position | Field | Length | Meaning & Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | Alphabetic Series | 3 letters | Sequential alphabetic series from AAA to ZZZ | AAP |
| 4 | Entity Type | 1 letter | P=Individual, C=Company, H=HUF, F=Firm, T=Trust, G=Gov | P |
| 5 | Surname Initial | 1 letter | First letter of holder's surname or entity legal name | K |
| 6 to 9 | Sequential Number | 4 digits | Sequential number issued by Income Tax Dept (0001 to 9999) | 1234 |
| 10 | Alphabetic Check Character | 1 letter | System-generated alphabetic check letter | F |
Structural Validation of PAN (Income Tax Act, 1961)
Syntactic compliance rules mandated by CBDT:
^[A-Z]{5}[0-9]{4}[A-Z]$
- 1. Check exact length of 10 alphanumeric characters.
- 2. First 3 characters must be uppercase letters.
- 3. 4th character must be a valid entity type code (P, C, H, F, A, T, B, L, J, G).
- 4. 5th character must be an uppercase letter representing surname initial.
- 5. Positions 6 to 9 must be 4 numeric digits (0001 to 9999).
- 6. 10th position must be a single alphabetic check character.