The period of digitization of work books is coming to an end in Ukraine. A five-year transitional period is expiring, during which data from paper work books must be entered into the Register of Insured Persons. This is necessary to maintain electronic accounting of labor activity and simplify the procedure for assigning pensions.
The electronic work book was introduced in Ukraine in 2021. In accordance with current legislation, the transitional period for transferring information from paper work books to the Register of Insured Persons ends on June 10, 2026. The register stores digital data on hiring, transfer, dismissal and other changes related to the employee’s work activity.
The Pension Fund explains that digitizing work activity will further enable automatic pension assignment. After entering the data into the electronic system, the paper work book is returned to the employee for signature for further storage. The employer is not obliged to keep it after that.
Scanned copies of the work book can be submitted by both the employer and the employee. This can be done through the Pension Fund of Ukraine’s electronic services web portal. Documents are also accepted in person at PFU service centers. You can also submit a work book for digitization from abroad through the Pension Fund’s electronic services web portal — portal.pfu.gov.ua.
Scanned copies must be made in color from the original documents. Images must be clear, with fully scanned pages and all text, details, including the name, series and number, date of issue, seals, signatures, last name, first name and patronymic of the owner.
Files must be saved in JPG or PDF formats. The size of each file must not exceed 1 MB. The recommended scanning quality is 300 dpi to ensure sufficient detail of the documents.
You need to scan all pages of the work book, as well as documents confirming the length of service. This is especially important for confirming periods of insurance service before January 1, 2004, because before this date, the length of service was confirmed by paper documents. Along with the work book, it is recommended to submit documents about education, military ID, certificates and other papers that can confirm the length of service.
There are no penalties for an undigitized work book. At the same time, the lack of digital data may complicate confirmation of the length of service and the issuance of a pension in the future. If the work book is lost, damaged, or contains errors, additional documents or an appeal to archival institutions may be required to confirm the length of service.
The Pension Fund emphasizes that if the work book is not digitized by June 10, 2026, the insurance length of service will not disappear. However, paper documents may be needed to confirm individual periods of work, primarily those that occurred before January 1, 2004.
If the employer or employee did not have time to digitize the paper work book, for example, because the person has not worked for the last five years or for other valid reasons could not contact the PFU or submit documents independently, this can be done later. Paper documents may be scanned at any time convenient for the person or when applying to the Pension Fund for the assignment of a pension.
