With more than 4.5 crore PF subscribers in India, it use to take about 3-6 months for settlement of EPF claim from EPF office. But gone are those days as now, with EPFO working towards bring this down to 3 days.
To claim your EPF account, you need to fill Form 19 and wait for the settlement for your life time earnings. In case of delays, now, you do not need to visit EPFO office several times. Rather, it is as easy as a click on your computer with EPFO offering online tracking of your claim status.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) provides the online facility for tracking your claim status. All you need to do is to visit their website (www.epfindia.com) and click on “know your claim status”
On the webpage for claim status, you need to select your regional provident fund office where your employer maintains their PF accounts. Then enter your EPF account number after which, your status of claim will be shown on the screen. You may also register your grievance on Grievance link in case if you are waiting for your PF for a long time.
You may also avail the benefit of Mobile alerts by providing your mobile number while submitting the EPF form. SMS will be sent on the day when the claim request is received by the EPFO. Almost all EPF offices across the country facilitates the settlement of withdrawal claims online to making it faster and effective way.
Do not forget to download your EPF passbook to check your balance online before initiating the claim.
Update Oct 2014: Now you can link all your previous EPF accounts through Universal Account Number. However you need to activate this UAN after getting it from your employer.
