How to Fill Out and Submit the Vanguard IRA Distribution Form

The Vanguard IRA distribution form, officially Form RRDFT inside the IRA Distribution Kit, is the paper request you use to withdraw money from a traditional, SEP, or Roth IRA held at Vanguard. You fill out six numbered sections covering your account, the reason for the withdrawal, the dollar amount, how you want to be paid, and your tax withholding choices, then sign and submit. The fastest way to get it back to Vanguard is uploading a scan through the secure message center after logging in. By mail, send it to Vanguard, P.O. Box 982901, El Paso, TX 79998-2901, or for overnight delivery, Vanguard, 5951 Luckett Court, Suite A1, El Paso, TX 79932-1882.¹

Do You Actually Need the Paper Form?

Most routine withdrawals can be done entirely online. Log in, go to your IRA, and look for the option to take a distribution. The web workflow asks the same questions the paper form does — amount, payment method, withholding — and finishes with a confirmation you should save. It handles lump-sum and partial withdrawals sent to a bank account already linked to your Vanguard profile.

The paper form is needed when the online system can’t carry the request. That includes checks payable to a third party, checks sent to another institution (such as a rollover into an employer plan), qualified charitable distributions, and any case where Vanguard requires a Medallion Signature Guarantee. If you’re not sure which bucket you’re in, start the online process; it will stop you and tell you if a written form is required.

What to Gather Before You Start

Have these items in front of you:

Your eight-digit Vanguard brokerage account number, from a statement or your online dashboard.
Your Social Security number. The distribution form itself asks only for the last four digits, but the full number is needed on the accompanying Form W-4R if you’re electing a custom withholding rate.
Bank routing (nine digits) and account numbers if you want proceeds sent electronically.²
The receiving institution’s name and your account number there, if the money is going to an employer plan or another IRA custodian.
The charity’s name and address for a qualified charitable distribution.

Non-resident aliens who want to claim tax treaty benefits should also have a completed Form W-8BEN ready to certify foreign status with Vanguard.³

Filling Out the Six Sections

Here is what each numbered section asks for and the spots people most often get wrong.¹

Section 1: Account Owner Information

Enter your eight-digit account number, full name, the last four digits of your Social Security number, and your ZIP code. Check one box for the account type: traditional/SEP or Roth. If you want to take money from both a traditional and a Roth IRA, you need a separate form for each.

Section 2: Reason for Distribution

This is the choice that tells Vanguard how to report the withdrawal to the IRS on your year-end Form 1099-R. For a traditional or SEP-IRA, the options are normal distribution (age 59½ or older), early distribution (under 59½), or inherited IRA distribution. Roth account owners see the same age-based choices plus an option for rolling over to an employer plan.

Vanguard uses your selection to assign the distribution code on the 1099-R. A normal distribution gets Code 7, an early distribution Code 1.⁴ If you’re under 59½ but qualify for a penalty exception (disability, medical expenses, first-time home purchase, and others), you still check the “under age 59½” box. The exception is claimed on your tax return using Form 5329, not on this form.

Section 3: Distribution Amount

Pick either a total distribution (liquidating everything in your settlement fund) or a partial amount with the dollar figure written in. The number you enter is the gross amount, before any tax is withheld. If you need exactly $10,000 to hit your bank account and you’re having taxes withheld, ask for more than $10,000 so the net arrives at the figure you need.

Section 4: How You Want the Proceeds

Five payment options cover almost every situation:

Option A, direct bank transfer. Sends proceeds electronically to a bank account, either one already on file with Vanguard or new bank details you add on the form.
Option B, check to you, mailed to the address Vanguard has on file.
Option C, check to someone else. You write in the payee name and mailing address. Used for third-party payments and indirect rollovers to another IRA custodian.
Option D, check to an employer plan, for rolling IRA funds into a 401(k) or similar plan. Provide the plan or institution name and your account number there.
Option E, qualified charitable distribution. The check goes directly to the charity you name. You must be 70½ or older to use this option.

Section 5: Tax Withholding

Federal withholding defaults to 10% of the taxable portion of your distribution unless you say otherwise.⁵ To elect any rate from 0% to 100%, attach a completed Form W-4R, which is included in the distribution kit. Skip this section with no W-4R attached and Vanguard withholds the 10%.

State withholding has its own set of checkboxes: no withholding, your state’s minimum required amount, or a custom percentage or dollar figure. Some states require withholding on retirement distributions and won’t let you elect zero; the form’s instructions identify which. Getting withholding right matters, because too little withheld through the year can lead to an underpayment penalty when you file.⁶

Section 6: Signature and Authorization

Sign and date the form. If your distribution requires a Medallion Signature Guarantee, the stamp goes in the dedicated box in this section.

When a Medallion Signature Guarantee Is Required

A Medallion Signature Guarantee is a special stamp from a bank or brokerage that verifies your identity and your authority to make the transaction. It is not a notarization, and a notary public cannot provide one.⁷ The institution that stamps it accepts financial liability if the signature turns out to be fraudulent.

Vanguard may require the guarantee when a check is made out to a third party, when the account name doesn’t match the payee, or for certain high-value transactions. The distribution kit’s instructions spell out when yours needs one. Most commercial banks and credit unions with a STAMP, SEMP, or MSP program can provide the guarantee; call ahead to confirm they participate and bring a government-issued photo ID.

How to Submit the Form

You have three ways to deliver the completed form to Vanguard:

Upload through the secure message center. Scan or photograph every page, make sure it’s legible, and upload the file after logging in. This is the fastest paper-form route and creates an immediate electronic record.
Regular mail to Vanguard, P.O. Box 982901, El Paso, TX 79998-2901.
Overnight delivery to Vanguard, 5951 Luckett Court, Suite A1, El Paso, TX 79932-1882.¹

If you mail physical paper, use a trackable service. The form carries your account number and part of your Social Security number, and a lost envelope is a problem you don’t want to chase down.

What Happens After You Submit

Electronic bank transfers typically arrive two to three business days after Vanguard processes the request.¹ Mailed checks take longer and depend on postal service speed. You can track progress in the Activity or Transaction History area of your online account; the request moves from Pending to Completed. If Vanguard spots a problem — a missing signature, unclear instructions, a Medallion Guarantee you didn’t include — it will flag the request, so check back within a few days of submitting.

Keep the receiving bank account open and active until the transfer lands. An ACH payment sent to a closed account bounces back, and you have to start over.

If You Change Your Mind: The 60-Day Rollover Window

If you take the distribution and then decide you want the money back in a retirement account, you have 60 days from the date you receive the funds to redeposit the full amount into the same or another IRA. Make the deadline and the distribution isn’t taxed.⁸ Miss it and the whole amount becomes taxable income for the year, plus the 10% early withdrawal penalty if you’re under 59½.

Two limits are easy to trip over. You get only one indirect (60-day) rollover across all your IRAs in any 12-month period; direct trustee-to-trustee transfers don’t count against that limit. And if federal tax was withheld from the distribution, you have to make up the withheld amount from other funds to roll over the full gross figure. Any shortfall is treated as a taxable distribution.⁹

If you miss the 60-day deadline because of a bank error, postal delay, serious illness, or similar circumstance, the IRS has a self-certification process. You can also apply directly for a waiver through a private letter ruling, which carries a fee and no guarantee of approval.

Using the Form for a Charitable Distribution at 70½ or Older

If you’re 70½ or older, Option E on the form lets you send money directly from a traditional IRA to a qualifying charity as a qualified charitable distribution. The 2026 annual limit is $111,000, adjusted for inflation.¹ The check goes straight to the charity, the money never passes through your bank account, and the amount is excluded from your gross income. QCDs can also count toward your required minimum distribution for the year. The charity has to be a 501(c)(3); donor-advised funds and private foundations don’t qualify. Both spouses can each make QCDs up to the annual limit from their own IRAs.

1
Vanguard. IRA Distribution Kit
2
Vanguard. Electronic Bank Transfer Form
3
Vanguard. Vanguard Tax Form Schedule
4
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498
5
Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Form W-4R
6
Internal Revenue Service. Pensions and Annuity Withholding
7
Vanguard. What Is a Medallion Signature Guarantee
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
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Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 413, Rollovers From Retirement Plans