EPF Form 31 – Download, How To Fill & Check Claim Status

What is EPF Form 31, How to Download Form 31, Procedure to Fill Form 31, Withdrawal Rules for Claim Form 31 and Check Form 31 Claim Status

EPF of Employees Provident Fund is a government-backed savings scheme to facilitate salaried individuals to build a corpus for their financial needs post-retirement. In the EPF, employees are required to contribute 12% of their Basic Pay, and employees need to match the same amount to the fund. Both amounts pooled together earn interest and generate a good amount when the employee retires from his services.

Employees can also withdraw funds from EPF in case of any emergency or to fulfill various requirements during the employment period. Members can fill out EPF Form 31 to withdraw a partial amount from the Employees Provident Fund. EPF Form 31 can be filled out both online and offline. While applying offline, the employee has to fill his/her complete information in the Claim Form 31 and needs to certify the form through the Employer. But when applying online, most of the details are prefilled. In this article, we will learn about the various conditions to fulfill to withdraw funds using EPF Form 31, Filing Procedure & How to download Form 31.

EPF Claim Form 31

EPF Claim Form 31 is used to withdraw a certain amount of funds from your EPF account. The withdrawal of funds from a PF account before retirement is allowed only in certain conditions, such as marriage, children’s education, medical emergency, repayment of home loan, renovation or construction of the house, etc.

The EPF Form 31 must be filled with utmost care, and all the details filled in the form must be correct and updated otherwise, there are chances the form can be rejected. Some fields in FORM 31 are to be filled by the Employer.

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Also Read: How to Fill Form 15G For PF Withdrawal

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EPF Withdrawal Rules For Form 31?

Any EPF account holder can use EPF Form 31 to withdraw full or partial EPF funds under certain conditions, which are as follows:

1.PF Withdrawal for Purchase, Construction, or Renovation of a House

• In the above case, withdrawal is allowed only once during the service period.
• The completion of 5 yers o service is mandatory in this case.
• Withdrawal of 24 months of salary is allowed in case of purchasing the plot and 15 monts of salary is allowed in case of purchase of house/flat/construction or total cost, whichever is less

2. PF Withdrawal Loan Repayment

• Only if the employee completes 10 years of service.
• Certification is required from the lending agency stating principal and interest.
• An employee can withdraw at least 36 months’ salary, or the aggregate of the employee’s and the employer’s/company’s total principal amount, together with interest thereon, or interest payable thereon, whichever is less.

3. Grant of Advance PF in Special Cases

• If the company is closed for more than 15 days, and the employee doesn’t get compensation during the period.
• If the employee hasn’t received the salary for more than 2 months due to any reason(Strike not included)
• In case the employee is discharged from the service and he is challenging the same in the court(50% PF amount can be withdrawn)
• If the company has closed its operations for more than 6 months and the employee is unemployed during the period.

4. Advance PF Withdrawal In Case of Illness (Self or Any Family Member)

• There is no service limit for PF withdrawal in case of illness.
• An employee can withdraw his share of PF along with 6 months’ salary or interest, whichever is less
• Submission of the certificate by the Employer or Doctor is compulsory in this case.

5. Withdraw PF For Marriage(Self/Brother/Sister/ Son/Daughter or For son / daughter’s post-matriculation education

• Withdrawal of PF in this case is allowed only after 7 years of service.
• An employee can withdraw maximum of 50% of interest along with employee’s share
• A member can withdraw three times during the service period.

6. Advances to physically handicapped members for purchasing equipment to reduce hardship

• Least of 6 months salary or employee’s share with interest or withdrawal equal to the cost of equipment is allowed
• Second withdrawal is allowed after 3 years of first withdrawal

7. Withdraw PF within one year before retirement

• In this case withdrawals of PF amount is allowed after the employee attains 54 years of age and within 1 year of retirement, whichever is later
• A maximum of 90% of PF amount can be withdrawn from the member’s EPF account.

How To Withdraw Provident Fund using EPF Form 31?

1. Open the UAN Members Portal using your UAN Members ID and Password
2. Navigate to Online Services Menu and Click Claim
3. A new page opens that has all the details like Employee Name, Date of birth, Aadhaar Number, PAN Number, Members ID, Employement details etc. already filled. Enter the bank account number which is linked to the EPFO and click verify. An OTP will be received on your mobile number. Enter the OTP and Click Proceed.
4. In the next page choose “PF Advance(Claim Form 31)”
5. Now choose the reason to avail advance PF
6. Tick the disclosure and click “Get My Aadhaar OTP”
7. Enter the OTP received on your mobile number and click “Validate OTP and Submit Claim Form”

Check EPF Form 31 Claim Status

To check Form 31 claim status one must follow the instructions mentioned below:

• Open the UAm Members Portal and Login using Members ID and Password.
• Select Online Services from menu bar.
• Click “Track Claim Status” from the drop down menu.
• Status of all the claims done by the employee can be sees here, Click on the claim which you want to check.

Download EPF Form 31