IEPF Recovery
Where dividends went unclaimed for long enough, the shares are moved to a government fund. They are not lost — the claim simply goes somewhere else.
In short
When dividends on a holding stay unclaimed for seven consecutive years, the shares themselves are transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund. This is automatic and it is not a penalty — the holding still belongs to the shareholder or their heirs.
Claiming it back is a different process from a normal share claim. It runs through the company's nodal officer and the IEPF Authority rather than the registrar alone, and it is more document-heavy. We establish whether a transfer has actually happened, and run the claim if it has.
Does this describe you?
If one of these sounds familiar, this is the right page.
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Dividends stopped years ago and were never chased The most common route into an IEPF transfer.
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A company has told you the shares went to IEPF Sometimes discovered only when someone finally asks.
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You are claiming on behalf of someone who has died Transmission and IEPF recovery often have to happen together.
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A previous IEPF claim was rejected or stalled Rejections are usually documentation issues rather than entitlement issues.
What we do
Our side of the work, in the order it happens. You are not asked to chase any of it.
- We confirm whether a transfer actually occurred Not every dormant holding has gone to the IEPF, and claiming the wrong route wastes months.
- We establish entitlement Who is entitled to claim, and on what basis — this differs when the original holder has died.
- We assemble the documentation The IEPF claim requires more supporting material than a standard transfer.
- We file the claim and coordinate the verification The company's nodal officer has to verify before the authority acts. We manage both sides.
- We pursue it through to resolution Including responding to queries, which are common and are not a sign the claim has failed.
What you may need
Indicative, not a checklist to complete before contacting us. Missing paperwork is normal and is part of what we sort out.
- Proof of the original holding — Certificate, folio number, or the company's own confirmation.
- Identity and PAN of the claimant
- Death certificate and proof of entitlement — Where claiming as an heir.
- Demat account details — IEPF shares are released in electronic form.
Where this usually gets stuck
Knowing these in advance is most of the reason cases move faster with help.
- IEPF claims are routinely queried before they are settled. A query is part of the process, not a rejection — but an unanswered one will leave a claim sitting indefinitely.
- The claim depends on the company's nodal officer verifying it. Where a company is slow, unresponsive, or has changed hands, this is usually where the delay sits.
Questions people ask
Does the government keep the shares?
No. The fund holds them until a valid claim is made. Entitlement does not lapse.
What if the shareholder has died?
The claim can be made by the legal heirs, but entitlement has to be established first. In practice this is handled alongside the transmission.
My claim was rejected once. Can it be refiled?
Yes. Rejections are usually about documentation or mismatched details rather than the right to claim, and those are fixable.
Free check
- We work out whether this is the right route before anything else.
- You will get the route, what it needs and what it costs before you decide anything.
- We never ask for payment to run a check.
You don’t have to work this out alone.
Tell us what you know about the holding, and we’ll come back with the specific next step.