EPF Form 31 – What It Is, Eligibility, Filing Procedure, and Instructions
Updated on: May 28th, 2025
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5 min read
EPF Form 31, also known as EPF Advance, is an application form filed by employees to partially withdraw funds from their EPF account. The Employee Provident Fund Scheme allows its members to withdraw funds from the PF account before maturity under certain conditions, such as unemployment, medical illness, marriage, purchase or construction of a new house, etc.
Conditions of Partial Withdrawal from EPF Account
The employee can withdraw the entire PF amount only under certain conditions:
- Upon retirement at 58 years of age
- Unemployed for more than 2 months
- Death of an EPFO member
- Employee with permanent and total disability to work
- Migration abroad
Except for the following conditions, the EPF member cannot withdraw the entire EPF amount. However, there are certain conditions under which partial withdrawal from the EPF account is allowed to employees. These conditions are described below:
Purpose of Withdrawal | Withdrawal Limit | Minimum Service Required | Other Conditions |
Education | 50% of the employee's contribution to the EPF with interest | 7 years | Expenses incurred for the education of children post-matriculation |
Marriage | 50% of the employee share with interest | 7 years | Marriage of self/ son/ daughter/brother/sister |
Land Purchase or Purchase/ construction of a new house | For land purchase, 24 times the monthly basic wages and dearness allowance, the total employee and employer share with interest, or total cost, whichever is least.
For the Purchase/ construction of a new house, 36 times the monthly basic wages and dearness allowance, or total cost whichever is lower | 5 years | Land or house to be purchased should be under the name of the member, spouse, or owned jointly with the spouse |
Home renovation | 12 times of a member’s monthly wages with dearness allowance, or the employee’s share with interest, or cost, whichever is least | 5 years | The home to be renovated should be registered under the member’s name, spouse’s name, or jointly held with the spouse. The facility can be availed twice:
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Loan repayment | 36 times the monthly wages with dearness allowance, or the total employee and employer share with interest, or the total outstanding principal and the interest of the loan, whichever is least | 10 years |
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Before retirement | 90% of the accumulated corpus with interest | After an individual reaches 54 year of age and within one year of retirement/ superannuation whichever is later | To cover their financial expenses |
Special cases: Closure of the establishment for over 15 days and employees are unemployed without compensation The employee has not received a salary for more than 2 months continuously | 100% employee share with interest | N/ A | The reason for not receiving compensation can be anything other than a strike. |
Declaration in Form 31
Form 31 can be considered as proof that the reason for partial withdrawal is well within the specified criteria. The form must be signed by the employee before submission. There are a few fields to be filled in by the employer and the EPF Commissioner. You must make sure to fill in the latest and factual information in the form. Also, attach the required documents with the form while submitting.
Form 31 requires you to fill in the following information:
- Member name, father/husband’s name
- Factory/establishment name and address
- PF account number
- Basic wage and dearness allowance
- Full postal address of the member
- Mode of remittance –
- Account payee cheque (mandatory for site/house flat purchase or construction through agency, or repayment of housing loan)
- Electronic mode
- Money order only in the case of a withdrawal amount less than Rs.2,000
- Signature of the member and the employer
- Advance stamped receipt (Re.1 stamp)
- A section of the page to be filled in by the employer
- A section for use in the PF Commissioner’s office
Documents Required to Submit Form 31
Purpose of Form 31 Submission | Documents Required |
Medical reasons |
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Purchasing a house |
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Loan repayment | Certificate from the agency stating the outstanding principal and interest |
Marriage | Declaration within Form 31 |
Grant advances in special cases | Certificate from the employer |
Physically handicapped | Certificate from the doctor |
Withdrawal before retirement | Declaration from the member |
How to Download Form 31?
Form 31 is available on the EPFO’s official website. Or, you can download it from here.
How to Submit Form 31 Offline?
Step 1: Download Form 31 as specified above.
Step 2: Fill up the relevant details in the form.
Step 3: Upon filling, contact your employer and get a certification validating your employment with them. Ask them to fill in the designation, date, and signature fields in the form. Do not miss to get the enclosures attested.
Step 4: Submit the duly filled form to the respective jurisdictional EPFO office.
How to Submit Form 31 Online?
Step 1: Visit the official website of EPFO https://unifiedportal-mem.epfindia.gov.in/memberinterface/.
Step 2: Log in to your account by entering the UAN, password, and captcha, and clicking on ‘Sign in’.
Step 3: Select the option ‘Form-31, 19, 10C & 10D’ under the ‘Online Services’ menu item.
Step 4: An auto-filled form will be displayed. Enter the last four digits of your bank account number and verify it.
Step 5: Click on ‘Yes’ when the ‘Certificate of Undertaking’ pop-up window asks you to agree to the terms and conditions.
Step 6: Select the ‘Proceed for Online Claim’ option and choose the ‘PF Withdrawal’ option from the dropdown menu as shown in the image below.
Step 7: Choose the ‘PF Advance Form’ and enter the details such as the purpose of withdrawal, withdrawal amount, and other relevant details.
Step 8: Click ‘Submit’ to complete the online application process.
How does Form 31 Look?
Form 31 is a 4-page document that look like this:
What Should you Remember while Submitting Form 31?
- You have to attach a cancelled cheque with the form as a mandatory step for verifying your bank account details.
- In the case of offline application, certification from the last employer is mandatory.
- Online application is possible only if the member has linked his bank account, Aadhaar, and PAN with UAN.
- It takes about a couple of weeks’ time to process the application and transfer funds.
Frequently Asked Questions
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