You can only open a partnership account offline, unlike resident individual accounts that you can open online. The documents required depend on the KYC status of the partnership firm and its partners. All documents must be within their validity periods when submitting your application. If any expire before you complete the account opening process, you'll need to obtain new copies.
If KYC of partnership firm and partners is NOT registered
Application form
Equity application form (PDF).
The Demat Debit and Pledge Instruction (DDPI) attached to the demat application form allows a broker to debit securities from the client’s demat account and deliver them to the exchange. Once the DDPI is submitted, the client does not have to enter the CDSL T-PIN and OTP to sell shares. However, DDPI is optional. If clients do not wish to submit the DDPI, the CDSL T-PIN can be used for authorisation.
FATCA Declaration
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) declaration (PDF).
Account opening annexures
The annexures should be on the partnership firm letterhead.
Supporting documents
- A PAN copy of the partnership firm with the seal and signature of the authorised signatory or partners.
- Address proof in the partnership firm name with the seal and signature of the authorised signatory or partners. Address proof can be any one of the following: The latest month's transaction copy of bank statement, utility bill, lease or rent agreement or registration certificate.
- Self-attested individual PAN copies of all the authorised signatories or partners.
- Self-attested individual address proof of all the authorised signatories or partners, such as passport, Aadhaar, driving license, etc. If an Aadhaar is being submitted as proof, ensure that a masked Aadhaar is submitted.
- The individual KYC form (PDF) must be filled out and signed by the authorised signatory or partners. The partners must sign without the stamp on the individual KYCs and supporting documents.
- Additional copy of the PAN and address proof of the authorised signatories with the partnership firm seal and signature
- A copy of the partnership deed with the investment clause included and attested by a public notary. The first 3 pages of the partnership deed (on all pages, if less than three) should have the seal and signature of the authorised signatory.
- A copy of the certificate of registration if the partnership is registered.
- A copy of the balance sheet of the latest two financial years with the seal and signature of the authorised signatory or partner. The balance sheet must be attested by a Chartered Accountant (CA) and have the CA's name, CA company name, member registration number (M. NO), UDIN, date and city. Refer to the sample balance sheet (PDF). The balance sheet has to be submitted every financial year after the account is opened.
- If the partnership firm is newly incorporated, a net-worth certificate from a CA with the UDIN number specified and an income tax declaration (PDF) on the partnership firm letterhead with the authorised signatory or partner seal and signature.
- A bank account proof of the partnership firm for linking with the Zerodha account. The bank proof can be one of the following: A personalised cancelled cheque with the partnership firm name printed on it, a bank statement or bank passbook copy with the bank account number, MICR, and IFSC code clearly visible.
- Any one of the following income proofs to activate the F&O and Commodity segment:
- Latest six months' bank statement or passbook of the partnership firm account.
- Latest year audited Profit and Loss statements.
- Latest year ITR (Income tax return) Acknowledgement.
- Net-worth Certificate from the CA with the UDIN number specified.
- DP Holding statement of the entity.
If a partner is a foreign national or an NRI, then the individual KYC page (PDF) is required. A copy of documents such as PAN, passport, VISA, OCI or PIO or resident permit card, Indian and overseas address proof have to be notarised by authorised officials of overseas branches of scheduled commercial banks registered in India, public notaries, court magistrate, judge, or the Indian embassy or consulate general in the country where they reside.
Sample copy and signature guidelines
Check the filled sample equity form (PDF) , sample FATCA form (PDF) , sample UBO annexure (PDF) and sample annexures (PDF) for reference.
Refer to the signature guidelines (PDF) to learn how to sign all the forms.
In-person Verification (IPV)
As part of the mandatory IPV requirement for all brokers, the authorised person must complete the verification. In-Person Verification (IPV) can be done online or offline. To do it offline, the authorised person must visit a Zerodha branch office, or a representative of Zerodha would be required to visit the client's offices or residences to complete the IPV procedure.
Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)
An individual is identified as an ultimate beneficiary if they have shareholding, capital or profits of 15% or more in the company. They are required to submit the UBO annexure (PDF).
In case no individual is identified, the senior managing official may be considered as the UBO, and the following documents are to be submitted:
- A copy of the UBO annexure (PDF) with the UBO signature and the authorised person's seal and signature on the 3rd page if an individual holds 15% or more.
- A copy of the PAN and address proof with self-attestation of those holding 15% or more.
If an entity has more than 15% of the shareholding, capital or profits in the firm. In that case, the entity should identify as an ultimate beneficiary, and the following documents are to be submitted:
- A copy of the UBO annexure (PDF) with the authorised person's seal and signature and signature of all the shareholders of such an entity holding 15% or more on the 3rd page.
- A copy of the PAN and address proof with self-attestation of all the shareholders of such an entity holding 15% or more.
Latest shareholding pattern (PDF) of an entity holding 15% or more, with the signature of the whole-time director or individual promoters.
Additional documents are to be provided for opening a partnership account in case another private limited or public limited company is a partner in this firm:
In case the company is KYC registered, a board resolution is required to verify the authorised signatories.
In case the company is not KYC registered, the following documents and annexures should be signed by the authorised directors with the company's stamp:
- KYC (PDF) of the company and the promoters or directors of the company.
- PAN copy and address proof of the company with seal and signature of the authorised signatory or director.
- PAN copy and address proof of the directors with self-attested without the company seal.
- Memorandum Of Association (MOA) and Articles Of Association (AOA) of the company. The company's MOA should authorise the company to be a partner in the partnership firm and have the seal and signature of the authorised signatory or director.
- A copy of the balance sheet of the latest two financial years with the seal and signature of the authorised signatory or director. The balance sheet must be attested by a Chartered Accountant (CA) and have the CA's name, CA company name, member registration number (M. NO), UDIN, date and city. Refer to the sample balance sheet (PDF). The balance sheet has to be submitted every financial year after the account is opened.
- If the company is newly incorporated, then a net worth certificate from CA and the ITR Declaration annexure (PDF) is required.
- Board Resolution, the latest shareholding pattern (PDF), list of directors Annexure (PDF) , Annexure-A (PDF) with specimen signature and photograph. These annexures and board resolutions must be provided on the company letterhead.
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Certificate of incorporation with authorised signatory or director seal and signature.
If KYC of partnership firm and partners IS registered
Application form
Equity application (PDF).
Demat Debit and Pledge Instruction (DDPI) attached to the demat application form is a document that allows a broker to debit the securities from the client’s demat account and deliver them to the exchange. The client does not have to enter the CDSL T-PIN and OTP to sell shares once the DDPI is submitted. However, DDPI is optional. If clients do not wish to submit the DDPI, CDSL T-PIN can be used for authorisation.
FATCA Declaration
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) declaration (PDF)
Supporting documents
- A copy of the balance sheet of the latest two financial years with the seal and signature of the authorised signatory or director. The balance sheet must be attested by a Chartered Accountant (CA) and have the CA's name, CA company name, member registration number (M. NO), UDIN, date and city. Refer to the sample balance sheet (PDF). The balance sheet has to be submitted every financial year after the account is opened.
- If the partnership firm is newly incorporated, then a net-worth certificate from the chartered accountant with the UDIN number specified and income tax declaration (PDF) on the partnership firm letterhead with authorised signatory or partner seal and signature.
- A bank account proof of the partnership firm for linking with Zerodha. The proof can be any one of the following: A personalized cancelled cheque with the partnership firm name printed on it, a bank statement, a bank passbook copy with the bank account number, MICR, and IFSC code clearly visible.
- Any one of the following income proof to activate the F&O and commodity segment:
- Latest six months' bank statement or passbook of the partnership firm account.
- Latest year audited profit and loss statement.
- Latest year Income Tax Return (ITR) acknowledgement.
- Net-worth certificate from the chartered accountant with UDIN number specified.
- DP holding statement of the entity.
Account opening annexures
The annexures should be on the partnership firm letterhead.
Need help? Call 080 4680 5727 or create a ticket.
Once all the documents are ready, email the soft copy of all the forms to [email protected]. The forms will be reviewed in case any corrections are required. After the forms are reviewed, courier the documents and a cheque in favour of Zerodha Broking Limited for the following amount:
- ₹500 towards Equity and Commodity trading account opening charges.
Courier all the documents to the following address:
Zerodha Customer Support Centre
192A 4th Floor,
Kalyani Vista, 3rd Main Road,
JP Nagar 4th Phase,
Bengaluru, 560076
Processing time: Up to 72 working hours
To learn the charges applicable to a partnership account, see What are the account opening, brokerage and other transactional charges applicable to a Partnership account at Zerodha?
Did you know?
- According to the Partnership Act 1932, a HUF, any person below the age of 18, an artificial body by law, a mentally ill individual, or a person declared bankrupt cannot be admitted as a partner in a partnership firm.
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Partnership firms can open trading accounts in their name, but demat accounts will be opened in the names of at least two authorised partners. Both the trading and demat accounts will be registered under the firm's PAN number as
per CDSL operating guidelines.