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By Jason Heath, CFP on August 25, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

By Jason Heath, CFP on August 25, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Many Canadian families save for their kids’ post-secondary education with an RESP account. How do RESP withdrawals work?

For years, you’ve saved up for your child’s college or university education with a registered education savings plan (RESP). Now, your kid is getting ready to start classes.

As the RESP’s subscriber (the person who opened and contributed to the account), you may have questions about how to withdraw RESP funds and what the beneficiary (the student) can use them for. Most of the RESP commentary talks only notionally about the withdrawal process. Here are the specifics.

When you’re ready to make a withdrawal, one of the first things the RESP promoter (the financial organization that offers the RESP) will ask for is proof of enrollment in eligible post-secondary studies. The processing time for this proof could vary, and the withdrawal may not be available immediately, so plan accordingly.

To check if your child’s school is eligible, see the list of designated educational institutions on the Government of Canada’s website.

The RESP promoter will ask if you want the funds to be sent by cheque or electronically to you, to the beneficiary child, or directly to a post-secondary institution. Most........

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