Found Old Share Certificates? Claim Your ₹ in 5 Steps
If you found physical share certificates or bonds of a deceased family member, you must dematerialise them and get them transferred to legal heirs. Here's exactly how to do it without losing the money.
Some forgotten physical shares are worth more than a year's salary — but only if you act fast.
Physical share certificates are worthless unless dematerialised before transfer to heirs
Key Takeaways
Open a demat account with a SEBI-registered depository participant (DP) such as CDSL or NSDL if you don't already have one.
Submit a Transmission Request Form (TRF) to the company's Registrar and Transfer Agent (RTA) along with the death certificate, legal heir affidavit, and self-attested PAN and Aadhaar copies.
Check whether any shares or dividends are stuck with IEPF by visiting iepf.gov.in — file Form IEPF-5 online to reclaim them before they are permanently forfeited.
If you found physical share certificates or bonds of a deceased family member, you must dematerialise them and get them transferred to legal heirs. Here's exactly how to do it without losing the money.
Here's what happened: SEBI has mandated that physical shares cannot be traded or transferred unless they are first converted to demat (dematerialised) form.. Legal heirs of a deceased shareholder must submit a transmission request along with a death certificate, legal heir proof, and PAN to the company's registrar.. If shares are lodged with IEPF (Investor Education and Protection Fund) due to 7+ years of unclaimed dividends, a separate claim process is required..
What you should do: Open a demat account with a SEBI-registered depository participant (DP) such as CDSL or NSDL if you don't already have one.. Submit a Transmission Request Form (TRF) to the company's Registrar and Transfer Agent (RTA) along with the death certificate, legal heir affidavit, and self-attested PAN and Aadhaar copies.. Check whether any shares or dividends are stuck with IEPF by visiting iepf.gov.in — file Form IEPF-5 online to reclaim them before they are permanently forfeited..
If the company's RTA rejects your request citing outdated KYC, write directly to SEBI's SCORES portal (scores.sebi.gov.in) — most RTAs resolve complaints within 30 days under SEBI oversight.
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- [1]“How to dematerialise and transfer physical share certificates to legal heirs?” Wealth-Economic Times · 9 Jun 2026
This article is reported by GoCredit's Editorial Team based on the source above. GoCredit synthesises, contextualises, and adds India-borrower-relevant analysis. We are not the original publisher.