Getting a Duplicate Share Certificate Under ISR-4
If your share certificate is lost, the replacement process runs through Form ISR-4. It differs in one fundamental respect from the process most websites still describe: you do not get a new piece of paper.
Duplicate certificate work is a core part of what we do at ClaimMyFunds, and the requirements vary enough by Registrar and holding value that guessing is expensive.
In short
A duplicate is applied for on Form ISR-4. Securities are issued in dematerialised form and credited to your demat account, so an active demat account in the holder's own name is required before the request can complete.
When This Applies to You
- Your share certificate is lost, stolen or destroyed
- The certificate is torn, defaced or illegible
- You have the folio number from old records but no certificate
- You inherited a holding and the certificate cannot be found
- A previous duplicate application was returned or rejected
Step by Step
Establish the holding first
Confirm with the RTA that the folio exists and how many shares it holds. There is no point building a file around a holding you cannot evidence.
Open a demat account if you do not have one
This is not optional. Duplicate securities are issued in demat form only, and the account must be in the holder's own name.
Ask the RTA what their value threshold requires
Requirements such as a newspaper advertisement and a police complaint are commonly applied above a value threshold. Ask before spending on either.
Prepare the indemnity bond and affidavit
On non-judicial stamp paper of the value your state requires, properly notarised. Getting the stamp value wrong is a very common reason files are returned.
Complete Form ISR-4
Tick the duplicate issuance box, and give the circumstances of the loss factually and briefly.
Resolve any name or signature mismatch first
If the certificate name differs from your PAN, or your signature has changed, fix that in the same submission rather than waiting for a query.
Submit and follow up
Registered post with tracking, then follow up every three to four weeks.
What to Attach
- Completed Form ISR-4
- Indemnity bond on stamp paper, notarised
- Affidavit setting out the circumstances of the loss
- Police complaint or FIR copy, where the RTA requires it
- Newspaper advertisement copy, where the value threshold requires it
- Self-attested PAN and address proof of every holder
- Demat account statement showing DP ID and Client ID
- Form ISR-2 where there is a signature mismatch
Where to Send It
Send to the company's RTA. Requirements scale with the value of the holding, so establish what your case actually needs before incurring costs on advertisements or affidavits.
Stuck on this?
Certificate lost? Before you buy stamp paper or book a newspaper notice, let us confirm what your case actually requires.
Free first assessment — we tell you what is recoverable before any fee is discussed.
Why These Get Rejected
Across the files we handle at ClaimMyFunds, almost every returned form fails for one of these reasons.
How Long It Takes
Indicative timings from cases we have handled. The variable that matters most is whether the file is complete when it arrives.
| Stage | Typical | What affects it |
|---|---|---|
| Confirm the holding with the RTA | 1-2 weeks | Establish the folio and share count first. |
| Open a demat account if needed | 1 week | Mandatory, since the duplicate is issued electronically. |
| Prepare bond, affidavit and any required notice | 2-4 weeks | Ask about the value threshold before spending on a newspaper notice. |
| RTA scrutiny and credit to demat | 1-3 months total | Longer where a query or a value-threshold requirement applies. |
What It Actually Costs
Indicative only. Stamp duty, notary rates and RTA service charges vary by state and by registrar, so treat these as what to budget for rather than a price list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I get a paper certificate back?
No. Securities are issued in dematerialised form and credited to your demat account. This trips up most applicants, because a great deal of published guidance still describes the older paper-replacement process.
Do I still need an FIR and a newspaper advertisement?
Sometimes. These requirements are commonly applied above a value threshold rather than to every case. Confirm with your RTA before spending money on either.
How long does the process take?
Straightforward cases commonly run one to three months. Where a newspaper notice, a bond query or a signature mismatch is involved, considerably longer.
What if the shareholder has died and the certificate is also lost?
The duplicate and the transmission must be handled together as one case rather than in sequence. Tell the RTA at the outset — pursuing them separately is the single most common way these files lose months.
Can I sell the shares once the duplicate is issued?
Yes. Once credited to your demat account they are ordinary dematerialised shares and can be sold normally, subject to any lock-in the RTA applies after duplicate issuance.
Can ClaimMyFunds obtain a duplicate certificate for me?
Yes. We confirm the holding with the Registrar, establish which value-threshold requirements genuinely apply to your case, prepare the indemnity bond on the correct stamp paper for your state, and follow the file through to credit in your demat account.
About ClaimMyFunds
You have just read a detailed walkthrough of a SEBI investor form. We publish these because the same handful of mistakes cost investors months, and most of them are avoidable.
We are a share recovery practice based in Ahmedabad, working with investors, legal heirs and NRIs across India. We have resolved more than 2,500 cases covering IEPF claims, unclaimed dividends, duplicate certificates, transmission and physical-to-demat conversion. We handle the paperwork end to end, and we tell you at the outset whether a case is worth pursuing.
Want Us to Handle the Paperwork?
We at ClaimMyFunds prepare the correct forms, tell you exactly what to get notarised or attested locally, and follow the file through with the Registrar. The first assessment is free.
B/512, The Grace Business Park, Science City Road, Sola, Ahmedabad 380060