How validator withdrawals work

If you have exited your validator and are waiting for your ETH, this guide explains what happens next, how long it can take, and how to confirm progress on beaconcha.in.

TL;DR

• There are two kinds of withdrawals:

  • Partial withdrawals: automatically skim any balance above your validator’s effective balance (typically 32 ETH unless you opted for a higher cap after Pectra; see below) to your withdrawal address.

  • Full withdrawals: after you exit and become withdrawable, the protocol pays out your validator’s full effective balance to your withdrawal address.

• You must have 0x01 or 0x02 withdrawal credentials (execution address) to receive either partial or full withdrawals.

• Payouts are processed by the protocol in the background, at a limited rate per slot. This can take from minutes to multiple days depending on global queues.

• You can verify status and payouts on beaconcha.in: use your validator page (status, epochs) and your withdrawal address page → Withdrawals tab.

The withdrawal lifecycle

1. Active → Exiting

   • You (or an authorized party) submit a voluntary exit for your validator.

   • Your validator stays active until the exit is processed by the consensus layer (subject to churn limits).

2. Exited → Withdrawable

   • After the exit is finalized, the validator becomes withdrawable at a specific epoch (withdrawable_epoch).

3. Withdrawable → Paid

   • The consensus layer includes your validator in the withdrawal queue.

   • The execution layer credits your withdrawal address in the block/slot where your withdrawal is processed.

   • Credits appear as “Withdrawals” in the block, not as normal transactions.

Credential requirements (critical)

• 0x01 or 0x02 withdrawal credentials (to an execution address) are required for both partial and full withdrawals to be paid.

• If you still have 0x00 (BLS) credentials, you must perform a credential update to 0x01 first. Until then, the protocol cannot pay out to your execution address.

Partial vs full withdrawals

• Partial withdrawals

  • Trigger: Your validator’s actual balance exceeds its effective balance.

  • Amount: Only the excess above effective balance is skimmed to your withdrawal address.

  • Timing: Processed automatically and continuously by the protocol when eligible; batched at a limited rate per slot.

• Full withdrawals

  • Trigger: Your validator is exited, and has reached its withdrawable epoch.

  • Amount: Your entire effective balance is paid to your withdrawal address in a withdrawal entry when processed; if a block hits its withdrawal limit, your entry is included in a later block.

  • Timing: Subject to the same per-slot processing limits; can take up to several days.

How long will my payout take after exit?

Timing depends on:

• Exit churn: How many validators are exiting around the same time (there is a limit per epoch).

• Withdrawal throughput: The protocol processes only a limited number of withdrawals each slot.

• Your place in the queue.

FAQ

• I exited but don’t see my ETH yet. What’s happening?

  • Check your validator page: are you withdrawable yet? If yes, the payout is waiting for its turn in the withdrawal queue.

• Will partial withdrawals continue after I exit?

  • After you exit and become withdrawable, your full withdrawal is paid. Partial withdrawals are a mechanism for active validators; once fully withdrawn, the validator no longer receives partial skims.

• Do withdrawals cost gas or require me to send a transaction?

  • No. Withdrawals are protocol-driven credits included in blocks as part of the consensus process.

• I still have 0x00 credentials—can I get paid?

  • Not until you update to 0x01 credentials. Perform the credential change first; then partial/full withdrawals can be processed to your execution address.

Troubleshooting

• My validator shows “exited” but not “withdrawable”

  • Wait for finality and the withdrawable epoch. Large exit waves can add delay due to churn limits.

• beaconcha.in shows a withdrawal to my address, but my wallet balance looks unchanged

  • Some wallets cache balances—refresh and wait a few confirmations. Confirm the credit in the address’s Withdrawals tab and on the slot page.

Related resources

• Deposit Process: ./deposit-process.md

• Why validator withdrawals don’t show up as wallet transactions: ./validator-withdrawals-execution-layer.md

• Rewards and Penalties: ../beaconcha.in-explorer/rewards-and-penalties.md

• Attestation: ../beaconcha.in-explorer/attestation.md

• beaconcha.in explorer: https://beaconcha.in/

Tip: Keep your withdrawal address secure. Anyone with control of that address controls the withdrawn ETH.