The ESI Pehchan card is the identity card of an insured person under ESI. It carries the person’s 10-digit insurance (IP) number and family details, and it is what you show at an ESI dispensary or hospital to get treated.

How the card comes about

The card is not applied for by the employee. After the employer has registered the establishment (see ESI registration), HR logs in to the ESIC portal and registers each covered employee with name, date of birth, date of joining, wages, bank details and family and nominee details. Registering generates the IP number straight away, so there is a number to use before any plastic card exists.

1. The employee gets a temporary identity certificate or a printable e-Pehchan card, which can be used at the dispensary immediately.
2. The employee completes a biometric capture of photo, signature and fingerprints at an ESIC branch or designated centre.
3. The permanent card is posted to the address on record, which sources put at a few weeks.

The e-Pehchan card can be viewed and printed again from the portal, so a lost card is mostly an inconvenience. Employees who have the IP number can download it themselves from the insured person portal, but a stamped printout from the employer is still commonly asked for.

What it is used for

The card, with the IP number, identifies you and listed dependants at ESI facilities. Medical care is available from the day coverage starts, while cash benefits such as sickness or maternity depend on contributions paid. That is why correct, timely entries matter. A wrong date of birth or a missing family member is the usual cause of trouble at the hospital counter, and correcting it later needs an employer request.

Coverage ends when wages cross the limit at the end of a contribution period, as explained under ESI wage ceiling; the IP number itself stays with the person for life, so a returning employee should reuse it. Giving a second number to someone who already has one splits the contribution history.

For HR, collecting family details and an Aadhaar-matched birth date during onboarding avoids most rework.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Pehchan card the same as the IP number?

No. The IP number is the 10-digit identifier; the Pehchan card is the card that displays it along with your photo and family details.

Do dependants get their own card?

Family members are listed on the insured person’s record and can be shown on printed e-Pehchan cards, as the portal supports. Details are kept with the employee’s employee master data record in many HR systems.

Who issues it?

The ESIC, through its portal and branch network, not the employer.

Check how much ESI is deducted from a salary with the ESI Calculator.