Withdrawing or transferring your EPF is done entirely online through the EPFO Member e-Sewa portal, and it costs nothing. Which form you use depends on what you want. Form 13 moves your balance to a new employer, Form 31 takes a partial withdrawal, and Form 19 with Form 10C settles the account fully. The whole process runs on your Universal Account Number and Aadhaar based verification.
What you need before you start
Your UAN must be activated and Aadhaar verified. Your Aadhaar, PAN and bank account with IFSC must be seeded in your KYC, and the bank account must be in your own name. The mobile number linked to your Aadhaar must be working, because the claim is authorised by an Aadhaar based OTP. For a final settlement, the date of exit must be recorded against your previous employment. Sorting all this out before you file is the difference between a claim that settles in days and one that is rejected.
Step by step
- Activate your UAN and complete Aadhaar, PAN and bank KYC on the member portal.
- Check that your date of exit is recorded for the previous employment.
- Log in to Member e-Sewa with your UAN and password and open Online Services.
- For a job change, file the Form 13 transfer claim. Employer approval has been removed in the majority of cases, and transfer to the destination office is instant once the source office approves.
- For a partial withdrawal, file Claim Form 31 and select the purpose.
- For a full exit, file Form 19 for the provident fund and Form 10C for the pension withdrawal benefit.
- Enter the amount and bank details, and verify with the Aadhaar based OTP.
- Submit, note the reference number, and follow it under Track Claim Status.
Fees and timelines
Filing is free. Advance claims within the auto settlement limit of one lakh rupees, covering illness, hospitalisation, housing, education and marriage, are settled within three days, and roughly 60 percent of advance claims are processed in auto mode. Under the reformed withdrawal framework, a uniform minimum service of 12 months applies across all withdrawal categories, up to 75 percent of the eligible amount can be withdrawn including the employer share and interest, and 25 percent must be retained until final settlement. The waiting period for a premature final settlement is 12 months, and the pension withdrawal waiting period is 36 months.
What to do if it goes wrong
Rejections almost always come from records rather than eligibility. Check that your bank account is seeded and in your own name, that the date of exit is present, and that your name and date of birth match Aadhaar exactly. Members with Aadhaar verified UANs can now correct most of these details themselves without EPFO intervention, and around 96 percent of corrections are being done that way.
If two UANs have been created for you, or an account has been linked to the wrong UAN, use the de-linking facility, which EPFO opened in January 2025 and which has already helped over 55,000 members. If the claim is still stuck after the expected settlement period, raise a grievance through the EPFO grievance management system with your claim reference number, and follow it with the field office that holds your account.