What is PF withdrawal?
PF withdrawal is a claim you make to EPFO to pay out part or all of your provident fund balance to your bank account. You file it online with your Universal Account Number (UAN), and EPFO pays to the bank account seeded against that UAN.
Your PF balance has three parts: your own contributions, your employer's share that goes to the provident fund, and the interest credited on both. A separate part of the employer's contribution goes to the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS). That pension money is claimed through different forms and follows different rules.
There are two kinds of claim:
- Part withdrawal (advance) while you are still a member, for illness, education, marriage, housing or special circumstances.
- Final settlement when you retire, leave employment, move abroad permanently or meet another exit condition.
What changed in 2026: the EPF Scheme, 2026
Since 29 June 2026, PF withdrawals follow the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 2026, which replaced the EPF Scheme, 1952. It was framed under the Code on Social Security, 2020, which took effect with the other Labour Codes on 21 November 2025.
The changes that matter for a withdrawal:
| Rule | Under the EPF Scheme, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Minimum membership for a part withdrawal | 12 months |
| Minimum balance | At least 25% of your eligible balance must stay in the account |
| Purposes | Grouped into three categories: essential needs (illness, education, marriage), housing, and special circumstances |
| Education withdrawals | Up to 10 times during membership |
| Marriage withdrawals | Up to 5 times during membership |
| Housing withdrawals | Up to 5 times during membership |
| Claim settlement | EPFO to settle a complete claim within 20 days of receipt |
Pension withdrawals now sit under the Employees' Pension Scheme, 2026, notified the same day. The portal forms (19, 31, 10C and 10D) are still the ones members select online.
The EPF wage ceiling was raised from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month from 17 September 2026. The ceiling affects how much goes into your account each month, not your right to withdraw what is already there.
PF withdrawal forms: which claim do you need?
Pick the form by what you want to take out and why. Using the wrong one is a common reason for a returned claim.
| Form | Use it for | Who can file |
|---|---|---|
| Form 31 | Part withdrawal (advance) while still a member | Members with 12 months of membership, for a permitted purpose |
| Form 19 | Final settlement of the PF balance | Members who have retired, left employment and met the waiting period, moved abroad permanently or meet another exit condition |
| Form 10C | Withdrawal benefit or scheme certificate from the pension (EPS) account | Members who leave before completing 10 years of pensionable service |
| Form 10D | Monthly pension | Members with 10 or more years of pensionable service who reach pension age |
| Form 13 | Transfer of PF from an old employer's account to the new one | Anyone who changes jobs and wants to keep the money invested |
On the member portal these sit under Online Services › Claim (Form-31, 19, 10C & 10D). The portal only shows the options your service record allows.
How much PF can you withdraw while still employed?
After 12 months of membership you can withdraw from your eligible balance, as long as 25% of it stays in the account. The eligible balance includes your contributions, your employer's contributions and interest.
Example (illustrative figures). Your PF balance is ₹4,00,000. The 25% floor is ₹1,00,000, so the most you can take out across the permitted purposes is ₹3,00,000, subject to the limits for your purpose. After the claim, you rebuild the balance through future contributions.
The three categories and how often you can use them
- Essential needs. Illness of yourself or a family member; education (up to 10 times in your membership); marriage of yourself or a family member (up to 5 times).
- Housing. Buying a house, flat or plot, building a house, repaying a home loan, or repairs. Up to 5 times.
- Special circumstances. Situations that do not fit the other two categories. EPFO decides the conditions and limits; we check them against your case before filing.
Keep proof ready even when the portal does not ask for an upload. A hospital estimate, admission letter, marriage invitation or sale agreement helps if EPFO queries the claim.
Withdrawing PF after leaving a job or retiring
You can withdraw your whole PF balance on retirement after age 55, on permanent disability, on retrenchment or when you move abroad permanently. If you leave a job and stay unemployed, part of the balance can be withdrawn after a waiting period and the rest later.
Reports on the waiting periods under the 2026 Scheme are not consistent, so we do not publish a fixed number of months here. Before we file a Form 19, we check the current EPFO rule for your date of exit and tell you what can be claimed now and what must wait.
Your last employer must record your date of exit on the EPFO portal. Without it, Form 19 and Form 10C will not open.
Transfer or withdraw?
If you are moving to a new job, transferring is usually better than withdrawing. A transfer (Form 13, or automatic transfer on joining) keeps your service continuous, which matters for the 5-year tax rule and for pension.
Withdrawing and restarting resets that clock. It can also turn a tax-free receipt into a taxable one.
Pension (EPS) withdrawal: Form 10C and Form 10D
Your pension account is separate from your PF balance. The employer contributes 8.33% of your wages to it, calculated on wages up to the EPF wage ceiling.
- Less than 10 years of service: you can take a withdrawal benefit in Form 10C, or ask for a scheme certificate that carries your service forward to the next job. Reports on the 2026 pension scheme say a full pension withdrawal after leaving employment now needs a longer wait; we confirm the current rule before filing.
- 10 years or more: you cannot take the pension money as a lump sum. You claim a monthly pension in Form 10D when you reach pension age.
If you expect to work in a covered job again, a scheme certificate often serves you better than cashing out.
Before you file: KYC checklist
Most claims that fail do so because of KYC, not eligibility. Check these on the member portal under Manage › KYC before you start.
| Check | What it should show |
|---|---|
| UAN | Activated, with a working password and your Aadhaar-linked mobile |
| Aadhaar | Seeded and verified |
| PAN | Seeded and verified (needed to avoid a higher TDS rate) |
| Bank account | Account number and IFSC seeded, approved by the employer and verified |
| Name, date of birth, gender | Same in EPFO records as in Aadhaar |
| Date of exit | Recorded by the last employer (for Form 19 and Form 10C) |
| Service history | All past member IDs linked to the same UAN |
If any row fails, fix it first. A correction to name or date of birth goes through a joint declaration with your employer, and it can take time for EPFO to approve.
How to withdraw PF online, step by step
You can file on the EPFO Unified Member Portal or through the UMANG app. The steps below are for the portal.
- Log in at unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in with your UAN, password and captcha.
- Open Manage › KYC and confirm Aadhaar, PAN and bank are verified.
- Go to Online Services › Claim (Form-31, 19, 10C & 10D).
- Enter the last digits of your bank account and verify it; accept the undertaking.
- Choose the claim: PF advance (Form 31), PF final settlement (Form 19) or pension withdrawal (Form 10C).
- For an advance, select the purpose and enter the amount within the limit shown.
- Upload any document the screen asks for, and your Form 121 declaration if you qualify for no TDS.
- Generate the Aadhaar OTP, enter it and submit. Note the claim reference number.
- Track progress under Online Services › Track Claim Status, and watch for SMS updates.
Is PF withdrawal taxable? TDS and Form 121
PF withdrawn after 5 years of continuous service is not taxed. Before 5 years, the withdrawal can be taxable, and EPFO deducts TDS if the amount is ₹50,000 or more.
Withdrawals up to 31 March 2026 (Income-tax Act, 1961)
For FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27), TDS applied under s.192A at 10% where PAN was furnished and the withdrawal was ₹50,000 or more with less than 5 years of service. The exemption after 5 years of continuous service came from s.10(12).
Withdrawals from 1 April 2026 (Income-tax Act, 2025)
Withdrawals made from 1 April 2026 fall in Tax Year 2026-27 under the Income-tax Act, 2025. The TDS rule for PF withdrawals now sits in s.392(7): 10% with PAN, a higher rate without PAN, on withdrawals of ₹50,000 or more before 5 years of service.
If your total income is below the taxable limit, you can give a declaration so that no TDS is deducted. From 1 April 2026 that declaration is Form 121, which replaced Forms 15G and 15H. Any TDS deducted shows in your Form 26AS (Form 168 from Tax Year 2026-27) and is claimed in your return.
Service with previous employers counts towards the 5 years if the PF was transferred, not withdrawn. We check the tax position before you file, and we can file your return through ITR for salaried employees.
Why PF claims get rejected, and how to fix them
EPFO returns or rejects a claim with a remark in the claim status. Most remarks trace back to a handful of causes.
| Reason | Fix |
|---|---|
| Name, date of birth or gender mismatch with Aadhaar | Joint declaration with the employer; refile after EPFO updates the record |
| Bank account not verified or closed | Seed an active account, get employer approval, then refile |
| Date of exit missing | Ask the last employer to update it; escalate on EPFiGMS if they do not |
| Wrong form or purpose chosen | Refile under the correct form or category |
| Previous service not linked | Transfer old member IDs into the current UAN first |
| Cheque or passbook image unclear | Upload a clear image showing name, account number and IFSC |
| Pending earlier claim | Wait for it to settle or be rejected before filing again |
If a complete claim sits without action beyond the settlement period, a grievance on EPFiGMS is the usual next step. We draft it with the claim reference and the documents EPFO needs.
How long does PF settlement take?
The EPF Scheme, 2026 requires EPFO to settle a complete claim within 20 days of receiving it. Many advance claims are settled faster through auto-settlement.
EPFO raised the auto-settlement limit for advance claims from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh in June 2025. Claims within the limit, with clean KYC, are processed without manual handling. Claims with KYC gaps, a missing date of exit or a correction in progress take longer.
Our PF withdrawal fee
We charge a fixed professional fee per claim. EPFO charges nothing to file.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Professional fee: PF withdrawal claim (Form 19, Form 31 or Form 10C) | From ₹1,499 per claim |
| Government fee | No government fee |
| TDS, if it applies | Deducted by EPFO from the payout and credited against your income tax; not a fee |
Professional fees exclude GST at 18%. Government fees, where they apply, are paid at actuals to the department and are shown separately. Fees verified on 21 September 2026.
The fee covers the eligibility and KYC check, form selection, filing with you on the portal, and follow-up until EPFO settles or returns the claim. If KYC corrections, a joint declaration or an EPFiGMS grievance are needed, we confirm the scope and fee in writing before starting.
How Regikart handles your claim
We work through your claim in five steps, with you on the call for the OTP. We never ask you to share your portal password by message.
- Eligibility check. Membership period, purpose, date of exit and service history.
- KYC review. Aadhaar, PAN, bank and personal details; corrections started where needed.
- Tax check. Years of continuous service, TDS exposure and whether Form 121 applies.
- Filing. The right form and amount, submitted with your Aadhaar OTP.
- Follow-up. Status tracking, employer follow-up for the date of exit, and EPFiGMS grievances where a claim is delayed.
What we need from you
- UAN and access to the Aadhaar-linked mobile number for OTPs
- PAN and Aadhaar
- Bank passbook or cancelled cheque for the seeded account
- Last employer's name and your date of leaving
- Purpose proof for an advance (hospital estimate, admission letter, marriage invitation, sale agreement or loan statement)
- Details of previous employers if their PF is not yet linked to your UAN
A note for employers
If your employees keep asking HR about PF claims, the cause is usually KYC approval or a missing date of exit on the employer side. Approve KYC requests promptly and mark exits in the month an employee leaves.
We handle monthly ECR filing through EPF return filing and new establishment codes through PF registration. For a full payroll compliance setup, see payroll services.