Understanding paper share certificates and how investors can convert them into demat form.
Before dematerialization, companies issued share certificates in paper form known as physical shares. These certificates represented ownership of a company's stock.
Many investors in India still hold physical share certificates issued before the demat system became mandatory. These shares must now be converted into electronic form to trade or transfer them.
Investors need to open a demat account with a depository participant (DP) such as a bank or brokerage firm.
After opening the account, submit the physical certificates along with a Dematerialization Request Form (DRF). The registrar verifies the documents and converts shares into electronic form.
Many investors discover physical shares after many years, especially in inheritance cases. Professional assistance can help recover lost shares, apply for duplicate certificates, or file IEPF claims.
Yes, they can be claimed — but not sold as paper. Since April 2019, SEBI does not permit transfer or sale of shares in physical form. The route is: first transfer ownership through transmission (death certificate plus nominee KYC, or a legal heir/succession certificate if there was no nominee), then convert the shares to demat — and only then can they be sold. If dividends went unclaimed for 7+ years, the shares may have moved to IEPF, in which case an IEPF-5 claim recovers them. There is no deadline, so even certificates from the 1970s–90s remain claimable.
Yes. ClaimMyFunds works as an investor-side physical share agent and consultant — tracing the holdings, preparing transmission or duplicate-certificate documents, filing IEPF-5 where needed, and following up until the shares are credited to your own demat account. Call +91 90818 47140 for a free case review.
Our experts assist investors with physical share recovery, IEPF claims, and transmission cases.
