Work record book lost or left in temporarily occupied territory: how to confirm work experience and not lose your pension
Citizens who have lost their work record book, damaged it, or do not have access to the document due to temporary occupation of the territory can confirm their work experience by other means. This especially applies to work experience acquired before January 1, 2004, which is not automatically reflected in the electronic work record book.
As experts note, ideally you should contact the employers you worked for. A duplicate can be made based on extracts from orders, personal accounts and salary payment data, employment contracts, etc.
If the enterprise has been liquidated, you need to find out to which archive the documents were transferred and submit an application there. Later, you will receive an archival certificate of employment — it has the same legal force for the Pension Fund of Ukraine as an entry in a paper document.
For internally displaced persons and residents of combat zones, the rules are somewhat simplified. You need to contact the Pension Fund of Ukraine, where your situation will be reviewed individually.
Currently, paper work record books are gradually becoming a thing of the past. When being employed in 2026, an employee can provide the employer with an electronic extract of work activity, which has the same legal force.
At the same time, only information about work experience acquired after January 1, 2004, has been automatically entered into the electronic work record book. To reflect earlier periods of work, it is necessary to digitize the paper work record book and upload its scanned copies through the web portal of the Pension Fund of Ukraine.
The official deadline for digitizing work record books expires on June 10, 2026. However, after this date, employees will still be able to upload scanned copies of documents to the Pension Fund portal.
Experts also emphasize that you cannot correct errors in the work record book on your own. Such corrections can only be made by the employer who made the mistake when issuing the document.
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