Employees can apply for EPF advances online through the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation. Form 31 is required for claiming an EPF advance. Once the employee logs in to the UAN Portal, the form is accessible. However, in order to apply for an EPF advance online, the employee’s bank details, Aadhaar card details, and PAN card details must be up to date on the portal.
What are the documents required for filing an EPF Form?
| The Purpose of EPF Fund Withdrawal | Documents Required |
| When Purchasing a Home | Property registration and declaration certificates are necessary. |
| In Case of Medical Ailment | Employer and doctor both demand an attested certificate |
| For persons who are physically challenged | A doctor’s certificate is required. |
| Withdrawal prior to retirement | The member’s declaration certificate |
| For Marriage Purposes | The member must sign a declaration certificate in Form 31. |
Filing Procedure for EPF Form 31
An individual can select between two options to withdraw cash from their EPF corpus account, depending on their eligibility and convenience.
- Individuals can submit a physical application by downloading Form 31 from the Internet and manually filling it out after receiving a hardcopy of it.
- Individuals can also fill out and submit the EPF withdrawal form 31 online.
Method 1: Apply Offline
An individual must download Form 31 from the government’s official website. After downloading, fill out the form accurately and without errors, and then submit it to the jurisdictional EPFO office only after it has been examined and attested by their current employer.
An employer must fill out the following details for offline submission of the form:
- Employer’s name and signature
- They must include “enclosures” in their description.
- Complete the certification form.
For offline EPF form submissions, the EPF commissioner must provide the following information:
- Mention the amount to be repaid.
- Mention the mode of transfer – how they will transfer money to the EPF member
- The signature of the EPF commissioner is necessary
Method 2: Apply Online
The introduction of an online medium for the filing of forms has simplified the procedure of claiming withdrawal money.
Members must meet the following criteria in order to apply for and claim money withdrawals through the EPF portal:
- EPF Members’ Universal Account Numbers must be active, and the registered mobile phone number associated with the PF account must be operational.
- The Universal Account Number (UAN) should be properly linked to the KYC papers, PAN card, Aadhaar card, and so on.
Following compliance with the aforementioned prerequisites, EPF members must complete the actions outlined below in order to submit their EPF withdrawal form 31 online:
- Sign in to the UAN Portal using the official government website.
- Examine whether the KYC information is correct and up to date.
- After the KYC information has been verified, go to the online service tab and select EPF claim form 31.
- Fill in the needed details, such as service details and KYC, and then finish the verification procedure on the claim screen.
- To proceed, select the accept option for the undertaking certificate.
- Then, proceed to make an online claim by clicking on the PF withdrawal form.
- Now, select the ‘PF Advance Form’ option and fill out the necessary information such as the reason of the withdrawal, the amount requested, and other details.
- Finally, to apply, select the submit button.
Wait for the employer to authorise your claim request after you have properly applied.
How to download EPF Form 31?
For EPF form 31 download, follow the instructions given below:
- First and foremost, go to the EPFO’s official website.
- To sign in to the web portal, enter your UAN number, followed by your exact details such as password and UAN.
- Then, go to the services area and select the option claim.
- You will be led to a new page where you may enter your PAN Card, birth date, Aadhaar Card number, name, mobile number, and company joining date.
- Then, select the option to proceed with an online claim.
- Click on the Provident Fund Advance Form 31 option on next screen which you’ll be redirected to from that dropdown list.
