How to Check If Your Shares Were Transferred to IEPF

Many people only learn that shares exist when sorting through a parent's papers: a dividend warrant from the 1990s, a share certificate in an old file, a letter from a registrar nobody answered. The first question is always the same. Are the shares still with the company, or have they gone to the IEPF?

Why shares end up with IEPF

Under Section 124(6) of the Companies Act, 2013, when dividends on shares go unclaimed for seven consecutive years, the company must transfer those shares to the Investor Education and Protection Fund. The unclaimed dividends go with them. Ownership is not lost: the shares can be claimed back. Our article on why shares and dividends move to IEPF explains the rule in more depth.

Search the IEPF Authority's records

The IEPF Authority's website, iepf.gov.in, has a search for unclaimed and unpaid amounts. You can search using:

• Name: the investor's name, together with the father's or husband's name where it was recorded
• Folio number: if you have a certificate, dividend warrant or company letter
• DP ID and client ID: for holdings that were already in demat form

The results show the company and the amounts or shares recorded against that investor.

When the search finds nothing

A blank result does not always mean there is nothing to find. Records from decades ago were entered by hand, and a small difference is enough to miss a match.

• Try variations of the name: initials instead of full names, older spellings, or a name used before marriage
• Search other family members: shares were often bought in a parent's or grandparent's name, or held jointly
• Search by folio number: if you have any document from the company
• Check the company's website: companies publish details of the shares they have transferred to IEPF, usually in the investor section

If the shares are not with IEPF

If a dividend was claimed at some point in the last seven years, the shares may still be with the company. Contact the company's registrar and transfer agent with the folio number. Physical shares still with the company can be converted to demat, and, if the holder has died, transferred to the legal heirs. See our physical shares to demat page.

Once you find a holding

Note down what the search shows, then gather:

• Proof of ownership: share certificates, dividend warrants or company letters, if you have them
• Identity and KYC: PAN, Aadhaar and address proof
• A demat account: in the claimant's name, because shares come back from IEPF in demat form
• Heirship documents: , if the original holder has died

The claim itself is made on Form IEPF-5. Our IEPF Form 5 claim process walks through it, and our note on why IEPF claims get rejected covers the mistakes to avoid.

Doing it yourself, or getting help

Searching the IEPF records and filing Form IEPF-5 are both free, and many people do both themselves. Help is most useful when old records have to be matched to the claimant: names that have changed, holdings spread across several companies, or a shareholder who has passed away.

If you would like us to run the search for you, the first assessment is free. There is no advance professional fee, and statutory costs such as stamp duty and notary charges are paid by you at actuals. Call +91-92666-64409 or message us on WhatsApp.