Last Updated on July 29, 2024 by Rajith Suvarna
Hello, PF Members when we work under any organization having EPF Benefits provided by EPFO. It means that every month 12% of the Employee’s basic salary plus DA will be deducted and credited to the employee’s EPF account as an Employee’s Share. Also, the employer will make a monthly PF contribution of 3.67% towards the employee’s PF as an employer share.
The EPF withdrawal can be made by the employee based on various purposes. The maximum or minimum PF amount can be withdrawn by the employee depending on the reason such as medical, construction of the house, COVID etc.
The EPF withdrawal process is much easier than it looks. The step-by-step procedure for EPF withdrawal online has been explained in the post below.
What is EPF Form 31?
In simple words, EPF Form 31 is a form that is used to make advance EPF withdrawals online or offline.
For offline filling Form-31 Download EPF-31.
In today’s digital world, it is easy to fill out Form 31 online and claim our PF balance.
Eligibility required for claiming EPF Withdrawal
| Reason for advance pf withdrawal | Minimum Service | Purpose | Maximum PF Share Withdrawable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 7 years | Education for their children after 10th class. | 50% of Employee PF Share + Interest only. |
| Marriage | 7 years | Own marriage, their children, brother or sister. | 50% of Employee PF Share + Interest only. |
| Medical Emergency / Illness | – | For employee’s medical treatment or his family members | Employee’s 6 months’ basic salary +DA. Or Employees PF Share + Interest (whichever is lesser) |
| Covid-19 Outbreak | – | If the employee or area is affected by epidemic or pandemic | Employee’s 3 month’s basic salary + DA Or 75 % of EPF Balance (EE share, ER Share, and interest. |
| Non-receipt of wages | – | Employees have not received a salary of more than 2 months continuously | Employee share with Interest. |
| Unemployment (No Job) | – | No job for a continuous period of not less than a month | Maximum up to 75% of EPF balance (EE, ER share and interest). And remaining 25% EPF share can be withdrawn if no job is found even after two months. |
| Purchase of house or construction of the house | 5 years | The site is only owned by the employee or jointly with a spouse (husband or wife) | 90% of Total PF Share (Employer + Employee) |
| House Renovation | 5 years | The house should be registered under the employee’s name or jointly with the spouse (husband or wife) | Employee's 12 month’s salary of basic wages and DA |
| Retirement | After reaching 54 years of age and within the employee’s retirement period. | Any Purpose whatsoever | 90% of EPF Balance (EE + ER Balance |
| Home Loan Repayment | 3 years | Home Loan taken can be paid with some portion of your PF Balance | 90% of EPF Balance (EE + ER Balance |
Documents needed for claiming EPF Withdrawal Online
- You only need a scanned image copy of the bank passbook or checkbook to upload to the EPFO Member website.
- The image uploaded should be clear and readable or else your online Form-31 may get rejected. So take extra caution while uploading the image to the EPFO Member website.
Points to remember for EPF Withdraw Online
- Universal Account Number i.e. UAN should be activated.
- Aadhaar number must be linked with your active mobile number against UAN.
- Correct Bank Account No must be linked with UAN.
- KYC must be verified with UAN.
- The date of birth should be updated correctly in case of retirement in the EPF account.
How to apply for EPF Withdrawal Online (Form 31)
Here are some easy step-by-step procedures to claim your partial EPF Withdrawal.
a) Login into Employee’s EPFO official website
- Click here to access the Unified Member Portal
- Now Enter your Universal Account Number (UAN), Password, and Captcha code to sign in
- After success sign in and close the Alert window
b) Member Profile (KYC Verification)
- First, check whether your basic information like name, mobile no, etc provided is correct.
- Second, see to it that your aadhaar, pan, and bank account no are verified. If you see verified next to aadhaar in green colour then your KYC is successfully verified.
c) Online Services (CLAIM FORM-31)
- Click on the Online Services menu and select CLAIM(FORM-31, 19, 10C & 10D).
d) Bank Account No Verification
- Enter your full bank account no or the last 4 digits linked with your current working company’s UAN No.
- If the bank account no is ticked in green, next click on the Proceed For Online Claim button.
- Agree and click on Yes to the terms and conditions.
e) EPF Withdrawal Online Step-by-Step (Form-31)
Step 1: Select the claim option as PF ADVANCE (FORM-31)
Step 2: Select the service as your Member ID of the current working company.
Step 3: Select the Purpose for which advance is required as Illness.
The partial EPF withdrawal limit for Illness purposes is calculated as follows:
- (Basic Pay + DA) * 6 months or
- (Total Employee Share PF Balance) < ((Basic Pay + DA) * 6 months))
To make it easy. let’s understand with the below example.
| Employee A | Employee B |
| Total PF Balance (EE) = 50,000 Rs | Total PF Balance (EE) = 1,00,000 Rs |
| Basic Pay + DA = 10,000 Rs | Basic Pay + DA = 10,000 Rs |
| For 6 months: 10,000 * 6 = 60,000 Rs | For 6 months: 10,000 * 6 = 60,000 Rs |
| Eligible Partial EPF Withdrawal: 50,000 Rs | Eligible Partial EPF Withdrawal: 60,000 RS |
| Because the Employee’s Total EPF Share Amount is less than Basic Pay + DA of 6 months. (100% EE withdrawal) | Because the Employee’s Total EPF Share Amount is more than Basic Pay + DA of 6 months. (60% EE withdrawal) |
Note: This example is only for Illness purposes and any other purposes may vary. Also, the final eligible partial EPF withdrawal amount is only from the Employee’s PF share (EE) and not from the Employer’s PF share. (ER)
Step 4: Enter the Amount of Advance (advance pf withdrawal)
- Enter the advance amount by looking at the above example (Employee A & Employee B)
- You can enter only Employee EPF share and according to the above calculation)
- In my case, I’ve entered 20,500 Rs which is lesser than my ((Basic + DA) * 6 months)
Note: To keep a watch on your EPF Balance click on EPFO Passbook (login with same UAN No and Password).
Step 5: Enter the Employee’s Address
- Refer full address on your bank account passbook.
- Select you’re State, District, City, and 6-digit PIN code.
Step 6: Upload Bank Pass Book or Cheque Book
- Click on the choose file and upload your clear and visible scanned copy of the bank passbook or chequebook.
- Only scanned image copy in jpeg format is allowed of a minimum of 100 kb up to 500 kb in size.
- In case an unclear scanned image is uploaded, your advance pf claim may get rejected.
- If you have scanned bank passbook or chequebook in pdf format then convert it to.jpeg format by using the online website pdf2jpg
Step 7: Aadhaar OTP Verification
- Click on the Get Aadhaar OTP button.
- Now, enter the OTP received from your registered mobile not linked with your Aadhaar.
- Click the blue button to Validate OTP and Submit the Claim Form.
- Finally, guys OTP is verified, EKYC updated, and EPF Withdrawal online Form 31 is submitted on Unified Portal.
So finally, we are done with filling out EPF Withdrawal Online Form 31. Now let’s see how to track the online status of filled Form-31.
f) Track Claim Status
- Click on Online Services -> TRACK CLAIM STATUS
- After submitting Online Form-31, you can check the online status of your advance epf withdrawal Form-31.
- You can also view your Form-31 form online by clicking on the VIEW PDF icon.
- Another option to check your claim status is to log in to EPFO PassBook -> Select Member Id -> View Claim Status.
How much time does PF Withdrawal take online?
- Normally, it would take 3 to 7 days to credit epf withdrawal amount to the bank account. In some cases may take up to 15 days.
- Your claim status will be seen as Settled as it’s a confirmation that your pf amount will soon be credited to the bank account.
- Once the claim is settled you will receive an SMS saying that “Claim Form-31 for your member id is settled for pf amount and will be credited within 3 working days in bank A/c ending with the last 4 digits of your bank account no”.
Conclusion
- There is no maximum limit if you use illness as the purpose of making EPF Withdrawals Online.
- But don’t try frequently to do so, because you will miss the EPF interest rate which is credited in your EPF Balance and may be useful for future purposes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1) How much time does PF Withdrawal take online?
Ans: It will take a minimum of 3 days to a maximum of 15 days.
Q2) How to check pf withdrawal status?
Ans: Login to the UAN Member portal and click on TRACK CLAIM STATUS or log in to EPF PassBook and click on the claim status.
Q3) How to view my Passbook?
Ans: Login to the UAN Member portal and click on View -> PASSBOOK or click on this link.
Q4) How many times we can withdraw pf advance for illness?
Ans: No limit set for illness purposes. Can be withdrawn any number of times seeking emergency purposes.
Q5) Is PF withdrawal taxable?
Ans: If you wish to withdraw your EPF Balance after 5 years of continuous service in the same company. then pf withdrawal is taxable.
Q6) How much do employees and employers contribute towards EPF?
Ans: Employee contributes 12% of basic salary to his Employee Share Balance (EE) share and Employer contributes 12% of employee’s basic salary out of which 8.33% share goes to Employer Share Balance (EE) for employee and 3.67 towards the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS).
Q7) When does an employee become eligible for the avail pension scheme?
Ans: Employee has to complete a membership of 10 years.
Q8) When can an employee avail of the benefits of the EPF scheme?
Ans: An employee can avail of EPF pension benefits after completing 58 years of service.
Q9) How many times can we withdraw PF advance?
Ans: We can withdraw PF advance for illness purposes any number of times but for other purposes mostly one time.
Q10) Can I withdraw 100% of the PF amount?
Ans: It is possible only if any employee is unemployed for 2 months after leaving the job.
Q11) Why am I getting the error “Locality in address can contain alphabets, digits, spaces or special characters(&'(),-./)”?
Ans: This error occurs when a special character like “:” is entered in the Locality field while filling any online form for PF withdrawal and finally clicking on the Validate OTP and Submit Claim Form button.