What is IEPF?
The Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) is a statutory fund created by the Government of India under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). It’s governed by the Companies Act (initially Section 205C of the 1956 Act and now Section 125 of the Companies Act, 2013) and managed by the IEPF Authority
Shares and dividends are transferred to the IEPF
Shares and dividends are transferred to the IEPF if they remain unclaimed for a continuous period of 7 years.
📌 Transfer Timeline:
Unclaimed Dividends:
If dividends declared by a company are not claimed for 7 consecutive years, the amount is transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF).Related Shares:
If the dividend on any shares has remained unclaimed for 7 years, those shares themselves are also transferred to the IEPF — even if the shareholder never sold them.
What is the process of claim shares from IEPF?
To claim shares from the IEPF, the claimant must first complete Form IEPF-5 online at www.iepf.gov.in. After submitting the form, a printout along with the required supporting documents must be sent to the company’s Nodal Officer at its registered office for verification. The Nodal Officer reviews the documents, verifies the claim online, and forwards it to the IEPF Authority (IEPFA). Upon successful verification of the submitted documents, the IEPFA approves the claim, and the shares are credited to the claimant’s Demat account.
Documents Required for Fill Form IEPF-5
✅ Mandatory Documents:
- Acknowledgment of Form IEPF-5 (generated after online submission)
- Indemnity Bond (original, on non-judicial stamp paper as per the claimant’s state laws)
- Advance Stamped Receipt (with signature of claimant and witness)
- Copy of Aadhaar Card (or any valid government-issued photo ID)
- PAN Card Copy
- Client Master List (CML) from the claimant’s Demat account (self-attested)
- Cancelled cheque or passbook copy for verifying bank account
- Entitlement letter from the company or its RTA (if available)
- Original share certificates (if the shares were in physical form)
🧾 Additional Documents (if applicable):
- Death Certificate of the original shareholder (in case of legal heir/nominee claims)
- Succession Certificate / Legal Heir Certificate / Probate of Will
- Affidavit (for multiple legal heirs or dispute resolution)
- Notarized Power of Attorney (if the claimant is not acting on their own behalf)