Structure of PAN
- First three characters: Alphabetic characters running from AAA to ZZZ, representing a sequence.
- Fourth character: Denotes the status of the PAN holder. It can represent:
- P: Individual
- C: Company
- H: Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)
- A: Association of Persons (AOP)
- B: Body of Individuals (BOI)
- G: Government Agency
- T: Trust
- F: Firm
- L: Local Authority
- J: Artificial Judicial Person
- Fifth character: In the case of an individual, this is the first character of their surname or last name. For entities, it’s the first character of the entity's name.
- Next four characters: Sequential numbers ranging from 0001 to 9999.
- Last character: An alphabetic check digit, used for validation.
The structure of PAN not only provides a unique identification but also encapsulates specific information about the holder.