How to claim shares and dividends from IEPF (Form IEPF-5, step by step)

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Last updated: 19 October 2026 · Based on the IEPF Authority refund rules (as amended in 2024) and the Form IEPF-5 changes of October 2025

Quick answer: If a company’s dividend goes unpaid for seven years in a row, the company must move that dividend, and the shares it was paid on, to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF). Nothing is lost. Search on iepf.gov.in, file Form IEPF-5 online on the MCA portal, and send the signed documents to the company. The company has 30 days to verify your claim, and the IEPF Authority must then decide within 60 days. Shares come back to your demat account and money to your bank account.

In this guide (tap to jump to a section)
  1. What goes to IEPF?
  2. Check first: is it still with the company?
  3. Who this guide is for
  4. Before you start: keep these ready
  5. Step-by-step: how to claim from IEPF
  6. If the shareholder has died
  7. Common problems and how to fix them
  8. Watch out for scams
  9. Frequently asked questions
  10. Official links
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What goes to IEPF?

  • Dividends unpaid or unclaimed for seven consecutive years
  • The shares on which those dividends were not claimed
  • Matured company deposits and debentures, and interest on them, unclaimed for seven years

Dividends declared on the shares while they sit in IEPF are also held there, and can be claimed back along with the shares.

Check first: is it still with the company?

If the unpaid dividend is less than seven years old, it has not gone to IEPF yet. It is still in the company’s unpaid dividend account, and you can claim it directly from the company’s registrar (RTA) without any IEPF form.

Companies list unpaid dividends in the Investors section of their websites. The company’s annual report also names its registrar.

Who this guide is for

  • Investors who held shares in physical certificates, or forgot an old folio
  • People who changed address or bank account and stopped receiving dividends
  • Nominees and legal heirs of a shareholder who has died

Before you start: keep these ready

  • A demat account in the claimant’s name. Shares are returned only to a demat account, so open one first if you hold paper certificates.
  • Your full 16-digit demat account number (DP ID plus client ID) and a recent client master list from your broker or depository participant
  • PAN and Aadhaar (NRIs: passport, OCI or PIO card)
  • A bank account and a cancelled cheque
  • The company name, and the folio number or old demat details if you have them
  • Original share certificates, if the shares were in physical form
  • Any entitlement letter the company sent you about the transfer to IEPF

Step-by-step: how to claim from IEPF

  1. Search. On iepf.gov.in, search by the investor’s first and last name, and narrow by company or folio. Note the company, the number of shares, the amount and the year.
  2. Log in to the MCA portal. Register (free) or log in at mca.gov.in, then open Form IEPF-5 under MCA Services, Investor Services. Read the instruction kit shown with the form.
  3. Fill in the form. Choose what you are claiming: shares, amount, or both. Since October 2025 you can choose ‘Shares’ alone. Enter the complete 16-digit demat number: giving only the 8-digit client ID is a common reason for rejection.
  4. Verify and submit. Confirm your mobile number and email with OTPs and submit. Note the SRN (service request number). You will need it to track the claim.
  5. Download and sign. Download the filled form, the acknowledgement and the indemnity bond. Sign them, and get the indemnity bond stamped or notarised as the form instructs.
  6. Send the documents to the company. Courier them to the company’s Nodal Officer (IEPF) at its registered office, with the envelope marked ‘Claim for refund from IEPF Authority’. Include the signed form and acknowledgement, the original indemnity bond, self-attested PAN and Aadhaar, the cancelled cheque, the client master list, original share certificates if any, and anything else the form lists.
  7. The company verifies. It must file an online verification report with the IEPF Authority within 30 days of receiving your claim.
  8. The IEPF Authority decides. It must dispose of the claim within 60 days of receiving the company’s report. If something is missing, you are told by email and usually get 15 days to respond. Once approved, the shares are credited to your demat account and the money to your bank account.

Tip: Before you courier anything, email or call the company’s nodal officer (details are on the company’s website) and ask for their checklist. Requirements differ for lost certificates, name mismatches and legal heir claims, and asking first saves a rejection.

If the shareholder has died

A nominee or legal heir files Form IEPF-5 as the claimant, with the death certificate and proof of their right to the shares.

  • Nominee: the death certificate and the company’s nomination record are usually enough.
  • No nominee: a legal heir certificate (issued by a revenue officer not below the rank of Tahsildar), a succession certificate or probate (court approval of a will), plus no-objection letters from the other heirs and a notarised indemnity bond.

For smaller holdings the rules accept simpler documents in place of a succession certificate, and those limits were raised in 2024. The nodal officer will tell you which set applies to your case. See our documents checklist for the core papers.

Common problems and how to fix them

Share certificates are lost

Expect to give an affidavit and indemnity bond, a copy of a police complaint, and in many cases a notice in a widely circulated newspaper. The company will confirm what it needs.

The name or address doesn’t match the company’s records

Send proof that links the old details to you, such as an old passport, a marriage certificate or a gazette notification of name change.

The company has merged or changed its name

Search IEPF using the old company name too. The claim goes to the nodal officer of the company that exists today.

The claim was sent back for corrections

Log in to the MCA portal with your SRN, correct the form and resubmit. Reply to any email from the IEPF Authority within the time it gives you, or the claim can be rejected.

Watch out for scams

You do not need an agent. Many firms offer to ‘recover’ IEPF shares for a percentage of their value. You can file Form IEPF-5 yourself; your costs are mainly stamp paper, notarisation and courier. Never pay anyone claiming to be an ‘IEPF officer’, and never share OTPs or your demat login. If you are targeted, report it at cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930.

What to do next

Frequently asked questions

Is there a deadline to claim from IEPF?

No. Shares and dividends stay with the IEPF Authority until the investor or their heirs claim them.

Does it cost anything?

You can file yourself. Your costs are mainly stamp paper and notarisation for the indemnity bond, and courier charges. Paying an agent is optional.

How long does it take?

On paper, up to 30 days for the company’s verification and 60 days for the Authority’s decision, counted from when the company receives your documents. Claims with missing documents take longer, so send everything the first time.

I hold physical share certificates. Can I get them back as paper?

No. Shares are returned only to a demat account, so open one before you file.

Last updated: 19 October 2026. Rules and portals change. If something here no longer matches the portal, please tell us.

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About this guide: Written by the Unclaimed Now Editorial Team from the IEPF Authority (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules, 2016, as amended, and official IEPF and MCA guidance. Unclaimed Now is an independent guide, not a government website. This is general information, not legal or financial advice. How we write our guides.