How to withdraw PF Online? Step-by-Step Detailed Guide

An employee provident fund (EPF) also known as the provident fund (PF) is a mandatory saving or retirement scheme for employees of a particular organization. EPF is optional for those employees who earn less than ₹15000 per month; it is mandatory for those who earn more than ₹15000 per month.

Employees often withdraw money or do not transfer their PF from their previous employer to a recent one for tax savings while switching jobs. They may continue the same PF account and withdraw the entire amount at the time of retirement.

As per the EPF policy, employees will contribute 12.5% of their basic pay every month to this fund and the employer contributes the same amount to it. A specific interest is credited to Employee provident fund accounts on an annual basis.

In this blog, we are sharing the definition of the Employee Provident Fund and the timing, and process for EPF withdrawal online and offline.

What Time is Beneficial for EPF Withdrawal?

Before applying for EPF withdrawal, employees should understand how much they can withdraw and under what conditions, since the EPFO’s 2026 reforms have changed both.

The amount an employee can withdraw depends on their employment status:

• Active Employees: Can withdraw up to 75% of their eligible balance. A minimum of 25% must remain in the account while they are still employed.
• Unemployed for 1-12 months: Can withdraw up to 75% of the eligible balance.
• Unemployed for more than 12 months: Can withdraw 100% of the balance.

The 25% minimum retention amount continues to earn annual interest (8.25% for FY 2024–25) and can only be withdrawn in full at retirement (after 55 years), on permanent disability, on retrenchment, or on permanently leaving India.

All withdrawal categories now share a single eligibility baseline: 12 months of total service, replacing the older tiered requirements of 5, 7, or 10 years that used to vary by withdrawal reason.

The 3 New PF Withdrawal Categories

EPFO has merged 13 overlapping withdrawal provisions into 3 categories. This was done specifically to eliminate the ambiguity that used to cause automatic claim rejections when an employee’s stated reason did not map clearly to the old rulebook.

Category I: Essential Social Security Needs

Category 1 covers illness, education, and marriage. It replaces the older para 68J and 68K provisions:

• Illness (Self or Family): Withdraw up to 100% of the eligible balance for treatment of self, spouse, children, or dependent parents. Permitted up to 3 times per financial year. A certificate signed by the employer and the attending doctor is required.
• Education (Self or Children): Withdraw up to 100% for post-matriculation education expenses. Permitted up to 10 times over the entire membership period. This is a major expansion from the earlier framework, where education and marriage shared a combined cap of just 3 withdrawals.
• Marriage (Self, Siblings, or Children): Withdraw up to 100% for marriage expenses. Permitted up to 5 times during total EPF membership. The service requirement has dropped from 7 years to 12 months.

Category II: Housing-Related Needs

Category 2 consolidates the older para 68B(1)(a), 68B(1)(b), 68B(1)(c), 68BB, 68BC, and 68BD provisions into one simplified structure.

Employees can withdraw up to 100% of their eligible balance for:

• Purchase of a flat, house, or plot for construction.
• Repayment of an ongoing home loan.
• Additions, alterations, renovations, or property improvements.

Category 2 can be used up to 5 times during the entire membership period, and importantly, these limits are counted afresh under the new rules, not carried forward from prior withdrawals under the old system.

Category III: Special Circumstances (No Reason Required)

Category 3 is new. Instead of para 68H, 68HH, 68L, 68M, 68N, 68NN, and 68NNN, employees can now withdraw up to 100% of their eligible balance without specifying any reason at all, up to 2 times per financial year.

EPFO introduced this specifically because mismatched withdrawal reasons were the single largest cause of claim rejections under the old system. HR teams should flag this option to employees, since most are unaware it exists.

Here is a handy table for your reference:

Conditions for EPF Withdrawal

The following conditions apply for EPF withdrawal:

• Full withdrawal of the EPF corpus is permitted only after retirement (age 55+), permanent disability, retrenchment, or on permanently leaving India.
• Partial withdrawal is permitted under 3 categories:
• Essential Social Security Needs (illness, education, marriage)
• Housing-Related Needs
• Special Circumstances (no reason required).
• The minimum service requirement across all withdrawal categories is now a uniform 12 months, down from the earlier 5-to-10-year range that varied by reason.
• Active employees can withdraw up to 75% of their eligible balance; a 25% minimum must remain in the account while employed.
• Employees unemployed for 12 months or more can withdraw 100% of their balance.
• The Composite Claim Form still applies, but EPFO’s auto-settlement now processes up to 95% of partial claims automatically when UAN, Aadhaar, PAN, and bank details are fully linked, with no employer approval step required.
• Category 3 allows withdrawal without stating a reason, up to twice per financial year.

Documents Required for PF Withdrawal

With auto-settlement now covering the majority of partial claims, the documentation burden has shifted. Here is what is still required:

1. UAN activated and linked to Aadhaar.
2. PAN linked to UAN.
3. Bank account and IFSC code seeded with UAN, with a cancelled cheque or passbook copy for verification.
4. KYC fully completed.
5. For illness claims specifically: a certificate signed by both the employer and the attending doctor.
6. Composite Claim Form, still required for offline submissions or claims that fall outside auto-settlement eligibility.

How to Withdraw PF Online: Step-by-Step Process

Before starting, confirm the aforementioned prerequisites are in place.

Once you have verified the documentation, you can proceed:

Step 1

Log in to the UAN Member Portal: Visit the EPFO Unified Member Portal and log in with your UAN, password, and the captcha code.

Step 2

Verify your KYC status: Go to Manage > KYC. Confirm that Aadhaar, PAN, and bank account all show as verified. If anything is pending or mismatched, resolve it.

Step 3

Go to Online Services: Select ‘Claim’ > Click ‘Online Services’, then ‘Claim (Form 31, 19, 10C & 10D)’.

Step 4

Verify your Bank Account: Enter the last 4 digits of your bank account number to confirm it matches your KYC record, then click ‘Proceed for Online Claim’.

Step 5

Select the type of Claim: Choose from the dropdown menu based on what you are eligible for, which includes full EPF settlement, partial withdrawal (advance), or pension withdrawal.

Step 6

Fill in the Required Details: Provide your reason for withdrawal, residential address, and choose your payment method. Upload your scanned cheque or passbook copy if prompted.

Step 7

Upload Form 121 (Form 15G/15H Replacement): If your service is under 5 years and the withdrawal exceeds ₹50,000, you will need to submit a declaration to avoid TDS deduction.

Step 8

Confirm and Authenticate: Tick the declaration checkbox, enter the OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile number, and submit.

Step 9

Track your Claim: You will receive an SMS with your claim status. You can also track it using:

• UAN Website: Online Services > Track Claim Status
• UMANG App: Under EPFO Services > Track Claim.
• SMS: SMS to 7738299899 in the format: EPFOHO UAN [your 12-digit UAN].

How to Withdraw PF Offline: Step-by-Step Process

Offline withdrawal still exists for employees who prefer physical submission, face technical barriers with the online system, or fall into categories EPFO has deliberately kept manual. To start the process, employees fill out the Composite Claim Form, either the Aadhaar or Non-Aadhaar version, and submit it to the EPFO office with jurisdiction over their PF account:

• Composite Claim Form (Aadhaar): No employer signature required. Submitted directly to the EPFO office.
• Composite Claim Form (Non-Aadhaar): Requires the employer’s signature before submission to the jurisdictional EPFO office.
• Cheque-based claims: Requires a ₹1 revenue stamp on the advance stamped receipt.

Offline claims also remain the required path for specific situations EPFO has not automated, including closed establishments where no one can approve an online request, and cases involving pre-2017 accounts that were never linked to a UAN or Aadhaar.