How to check PF balance and claim withdrawal — complete 2026 guide

EPFO settles around 5 crore claims a year (Annual Report 2024-25); roughly 1 in 7 gets stuck or rejected the first time. Most rejections are silent — meaning you only see “rejected”, never the reason. This guide tells you the full process from balance check to withdrawal, and exactly what to do when the system goes quiet.

The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is governed by the EPF & MP Act 1952. Section 6 mandates the contribution (12% of basic from employee + 12% from employer, of which 8.33% goes to pension under §6A). The corpus and interest belong to you, the member, and you can:

• Check balance any time, free
• Withdraw partial (advance) under Para 68B-N of the EPF Scheme 1952 for housing, marriage, education, medical, COVID, natural calamity, etc.
• Withdraw full (settlement) under Para 69 — on retirement (age 55), permanent disability, leaving India, or 2 months of unemployment after resignation
• Withdraw pension under Form 10C (service < 10 years) or take monthly pension under Form 10D (service ≥ 10 years)

Two months of unemployment is the default trigger for full settlement. If you join a new job before 2 months are over, you're expected to transfer the PF, not withdraw — but technically you can still withdraw if KYC permits.

Your UAN (Universal Account Number) is the master ID. Get it from your salary slip, employer's HR, or by entering your member ID at https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in → “Know Your UAN”.

To activate:

1. Go to https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in
2. Click “Activate UAN”
3. Enter UAN, member ID, name, DOB, mobile, Aadhaar, captcha
4. OTP on mobile → set password
5. Login

In the Member Portal → “Manage” → “KYC”, add:

• Aadhaar (must be e-KYC verified by UIDAI — usually instant)
• PAN (must validate against Income Tax records)
• Bank account (with IFSC; name on bank must exactly match EPF name)

Each KYC item must show “Approved by Employer” before it's usable. Your ex-employer's HR has a portal login for this — if they're slow, follow up by email and CC the Regional PF Office (more on this in the stuck section).

Four methods:

1. EPFO Passbook portal: https://passbook.epfindia.gov.in → login with UAN + password → see contribution-wise statement
2. UMANG app: download → “EPFO” service → “Employee Centric Services” → “View Passbook”
3. Missed call: dial 9966044425 from your UAN-registered mobile → SMS reply with last contribution + total balance
4. SMS: send “EPFOHO UAN ENG” (or HIN, MAR, TEL, etc. for language) to 7738299899

The portal lags by 1-2 months because employers report contributions monthly with a delay.

• Form 31 — Advance (partial withdrawal): choose this for housing (Para 68B), marriage (68K), education (68K), medical (68J), COVID-19 (68L). Limits vary by purpose. No 2-month waiting required for most heads.
• Form 19 — Full PF settlement: only after 2 months of unemployment post-resignation, or on retirement at 55+, or permanent disability, or leaving India for good. Wipes out the PF account.
• Form 10C — Pension withdrawal benefit: if your service was less than 10 years, you can withdraw the pension portion as a lump sum (using a “Table D” formula). Filed alongside Form 19 usually.
• Form 10D — Monthly pension: only if service was 10 years or more. Starts after age 58 (or earlier with reduced amount from age 50).

1. Login to Member Portal
2. Go to “Online Services” → “Claim (Form 31, 19, 10C, 10D)”
3. Verify the last 4 digits of your bank account
4. Choose “Proceed for Online Claim”
5. Pick the form (e.g., “Only PF Withdrawal — Form 19”)
6. Fill the address, choose reason
7. Upload scanned cheque leaf showing your name (only if asked — most cases now skipped)
8. Aadhaar OTP for e-sign
9. Submit

You get a claim reference number instantly. Note it.

If all KYC is “Approved by Employer” and your Date of Exit (DOE) is updated, the claim goes directly to EPFO — no employer attestation. If DOE is missing (very common), the claim is stuck waiting on employer. You can:

• Login → “Manage” → “Mark Exit” → enter DOE yourself (since 2021 employees can do this)
• Or chase ex-employer's HR

The Regional Provident Fund Commissioner (RPFC) office where your last employer is registered processes the claim. Auto-validation runs:

1. UAN + name + DOB + Aadhaar match
2. Bank account active and name match
3. PAN seeded (else 34.6% TDS on the taxable portion)
4. Service period > 5 years? → no TDS. Less than 5 years? → 10% TDS if claim > ₹50,000 and PAN seeded; 34.6% if PAN missing.
5. DOE marked, NCP (non-contributory period) days reasonable
6. No “stop payment” markers from previous transfer

If all green: claim is approved by the Section Officer → forwarded to Accounts → bank transfer initiated.

• Aadhaar-validated, no employer involvement: 7-15 working days
• Employer attestation pending: 30-90 days
• Pension component (Form 10C): usually clears separately, can take an extra 7-14 days

You'll get an SMS when the claim is “Settled” and another when payment is initiated. The credit shows in your bank with narration like “EPFO TRF NEFT/UTR XXXXX”.

Service                              Cost (₹)        Where
----------------------------------------------------------
UAN activation                          0            unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in
Balance check (passbook)                0            passbook.epfindia.gov.in
Balance via SMS                         0            send to 7738299899
Balance via missed call                 0            dial 9966044425
KYC update (PAN/Aadhaar/bank)           0            Member Portal
PAN correction at NSDL (if mismatch)   110           tin-nsdl.com
Aadhaar update (name correction)        50           UIDAI / Aadhaar Seva Kendra
Bank name update (rare)                 0-300        your bank
Form 19 — PF withdrawal                 0            Member Portal online
Form 10C — pension withdrawal           0            Member Portal online
Form 31 — advance                       0            Member Portal online
Form 10D — monthly pension              0            Member Portal online
EPFiGMS grievance                       0            epfigms.gov.in
RTI to RPFC                            10            Indian Postal Order
First Appeal RTI                        0            free
----------------------------------------------------------
TDS on early withdrawal (< 5 yrs):
  PAN seeded:                           10% if claim > ₹50,000
  PAN not seeded:                      34.6% (max marginal)
  Form 15G submitted:                   0% (if income below threshold)
----------------------------------------------------------

1. Aadhaar-bank-PAN seeding incomplete (most common — 40% of stuck claims). Even one mismatch (initial, surname, DOB) silently rejects. Fix: get the mismatch corrected at the source (UIDAI / NSDL / bank), then refile.
2. Employer hasn't updated DOE. Fix: mark exit yourself in Member Portal under “Manage → Mark Exit” (allowed since 2021).
3. KYC pending employer attestation. Fix: email HR with subject “URGENT: PF KYC pending approval — UAN [number]”; CC the RPFC office.
4. Service period < 5 years: 10% TDS auto-deducted if claim > ₹50,000. Avoid by submitting Form 15G during claim filing (if your annual income is below the basic exemption limit).
5. Previous PF transfer pending. If you joined a new employer and triggered a transfer that didn't complete, the new claim sits behind it. Fix: complete transfer first, or cancel it and restart.
6. Non-contributory period (NCP) days flagged. Long unpaid leaves or breaks make EPFO recompute. Fix: get employer to certify the NCP days in writing; submit at RPFC.
7. Multiple UANs (different employers). EPFO consolidates but sometimes claims fail until you raise a “UAN merger” request via Member Portal.
8. Bank account dormant or closed. The credit bounces. Fix: update bank in KYC, refile.
9. Name mismatch between PAN and Aadhaar (Anita's case). Fix: align both at the source.
10. EPFO server downtime / bulk processing freeze (last week of fiscal year). Fix: refile after 5-7 days.

EPFO's central helpline: 14470 (toll-free), or 011-22901406. Hours: 9:15 AM to 5:45 PM, Mon-Fri. Have your UAN and claim reference ready. The agent can see your claim status but cannot override technical rejections — they'll usually direct you to EPFiGMS.

File at https://epfigms.gov.in. SLA: 30 days. Choose category “Claim Settlement → Form 19/10C/31”. Attach screenshots of your claim status. Realistically, 50-60% of EPFiGMS tickets get a substantive resolution; the rest get marked “resolved” with a generic reply (like Anita's case).

App → EPFO → Grievance. Same backend as EPFiGMS but with mobile-friendly tracking.

If your claim has been pending more than 45 days, walk in to the RPFC office where your employer is registered. Ask for the dealing assistant for your account number. A polite in-person follow-up with your acknowledgement often unblocks files.

RTI works here when: your claim has been “Under Process” or rejected silently for more than 30 days, EPFiGMS has marked tickets resolved without giving you a substantive reason, or you need to know exactly which document/correction is blocking so you can fix it. The PIO must reply in writing within 30 days under §7(1) of the RTI Act.

RTI does NOT directly help when: your employer has stopped depositing PF altogether (different problem — see RTI for EPF employer not depositing), or you simply have not completed Aadhaar-PAN-bank seeding (the RTI will tell you to do that first).

For the full template (with copy-ready text, the ₹10 IPO instructions, and what the RTI reply usually looks like), see RTI for stuck PF withdrawal — already published, comprehensive.

For employer-side issues like non-deposit of contributions, see RTI for EPF employer not depositing.

Q. Can I withdraw my entire PF the day I resign?
No. For full Form 19 settlement you must wait 2 months from your last working day (this is to confirm you remain unemployed). For Form 31 advance (housing/medical/marriage/education), no waiting period.

Q. I'm joining a new job — should I withdraw or transfer?
Transfer is strongly recommended. Continuous service builds your pension (Form 10D eligibility at 10 years) and avoids TDS. Transfer is one-click on Member Portal once KYC is complete.

Q. What if my employer never updates Date of Exit?
Login → Manage → “Mark Exit” → enter DOE yourself. This has been allowed since 2021 and works without employer involvement.

Q. The portal shows “Settled” but money isn't in my bank.
Check the IFSC and account number in your KYC. If bank account is dormant or closed, the credit bounces back to EPFO and the claim status changes to “Settled — Bounced”. You'll need to update bank KYC and refile a new claim.

Q. Can I withdraw PF if I'm relocating abroad permanently?
Yes — under Para 69(1)(b) of the EPF Scheme. No 2-month wait. You'll need to attach a copy of your visa/work-permit + bank a/c (Indian or NRO).

Q. How much TDS will be cut from my claim?
If your service is 5 years or more — zero TDS on PF withdrawal (no income tax). If less than 5 years and claim is above ₹50,000 — 10% TDS (with PAN), 34.6% (without PAN). Form 15G/15H submitted at filing makes it zero if you're below the basic exemption limit.

Q. I forgot my UAN password — how do I reset?
Member Portal → “Forgot Password” → enter UAN + Aadhaar-linked mobile → OTP → set new password.

• RTI for a stuck PF withdrawal — full guide
• RTI for EPF employer not depositing
• RTI in 12 simple steps
• All helplines — central & state
• RTI forms + fees by state

Last reviewed: 26 April 2026.