Pattern · India 🇮🇳

Regex for PRAN (NPS account)

12-digit Permanent Retirement Account Number for NPS.

The PRAN (NPS account) regex is ^\d{12}$ — copy it below, or open it in the explainer for a token-by-token breakdown.

The pattern

^\d{12}$

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What it matches

110012345678
500098765432

What it doesn't match

11001234567
1100123456789
ABC012345678

Notes & gotchas

PRAN is the unique 12-digit identifier issued to every subscriber of the National Pension System (NPS) by NSDL/CRA. It remains the same across employers and is used for all NPS contributions and withdrawals. Format mirrors Aadhaar length but is distinct.

Code in your language

Use the explainer's Code tab to generate ready-to-paste snippets in JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go, Ruby, and PHP for this pattern.

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Token-by-token breakdown

Every part of the pattern, left to right:

Token	Meaning
`^`	start of string (or line in multiline mode)
`\d{12}`	exactly 12 times: digit (0–9)
`$`	end of string (or line in multiline mode)

About this pattern

India-specific identifiers are governed by various authorities (UIDAI for Aadhaar, Income Tax Dept for PAN, RBI for IFSC, GSTN for GSTIN, etc.). Regex confirms format; for definitive validation, integrate with the issuing authority's verification API.

Quick usage in different languages

This exact pattern — with the correct escaping and idioms for each language:

JavaScript: /^\d{12}$/.test(value)
Python: re.match(r"^\d{12}$", value)
Java: Pattern.compile("^\\d{12}$").matcher(value).matches()
C# / .NET: Regex.IsMatch(value, @"^\d{12}$")
Go: regexp.MustCompile(`^\d{12}$`).MatchString(value)
Ruby: /^\d{12}$/.match?(value)
PHP: preg_match('~^\d{12}$~', $value)

The explainer’s Code tab regenerates these for any pattern you paste, and the downloadable cheat sheet bundles the breakdown, all seven snippets, and the pitfalls below onto one printable page.

Common pitfalls

Anchored to the whole string. This pattern uses ^ and $, so it requires the entire input to match. To find it inside a longer text, drop the anchors and use the global (g) flag.
Escape it correctly per language. In Java and JavaScript strings each backslash must be doubled (\\d); in Python, Go, and C# use raw/verbatim strings so the backslashes survive.
Validate beyond format. Matching the format doesn't guarantee the value is real. Confirm the pran (nps account) against a source of truth (database, API, or checksum) where it matters.

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