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Account Opening

What documents are required to open an account for a trust at Zerodha?

A trust account can only be opened offline, unlike resident individual accounts that can be opened online.

The documents required to open a trust account depend on the trust's and the trustees's KYC status. To learn how to check the KYC status, see What is Know Your Customer (KYC), and how can the KYC status be checked?

Table of contents

KYC of the trust and the trustees are not registered

The table below shows the documents required if the KYC of the trust and the trustees are not registered:

Type of document Requirements
Application form
  • Equity application form (PDF). Sample equity form (PDF).
  • Segment addition form (PDF) to trade in commodities.
  • Refer to the signature guidelines (PDF) to learn how to sign all the forms.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) declaration
Account opening annexures
PAN
  • A PAN copy of the trust with the seal and signature of the authorised signatory or trustee.
  • Self-attested individual PAN copies of all the authorised signatories or trustees.
  • Additional PAN copy of the authorised signatories with trust seal and signature.
Address proof
  • Address proof in the trust’s name with the seal and signature of the authorised signatory or trustee. The proof can be any of the following:
    • The latest month's bank statement
    • Utility bill
    • Registration certificate
    • Lease or rent agreement.
  • Self-attested individual address proof of all the authorised signatories or trustees. If an Aadhaar is being submitted as proof, ensure that a masked Aadhaar is submitted. To learn how to get the masked Aadhaar, see How to download masked Aadhaar?
  • Additional address proof copy of the authorised signatories with trust seal and signature.
Individual KYC form
  • Each trustee must sign an individual KYC form (PDF) without the trust stamp.
Trust deed
  • A copy of the trust deed with the investment clause included and attested by a public notary. The first 3 pages of the deed (on all pages, if less than three) should have the seal and signature of the authorised signatory.
Registration certificate
  • 12-AA Registration certificate for public registered trust.
Balance sheet
  • The latest two financial years' balance sheet copy with the seal and signature of the authorised signatory or trustee. 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. The balance sheet has to be submitted every financial year after the account is opened. Sample balance sheet (PDF).
Net-worth certificate
  • A net-worth certificate from a Chartered Accountant (CA) if the trust is newly incorporated. It must have the UDIN- number. Income tax declaration (PDF) on the partnership letterhead with authorised signatory or director seal and signature.
Bank account proof
  • A bank account proof of the trust for linking with Zerodha. The proof can be any one of the following:
    • Personalised cancelled cheque with the trust name printed on it.
    • A bank statement or bank passbook copy with the bank account number, MICR, and IFSC code clearly visible.
Income proof
  • Any of the following income proof to activate the F&O and commodity segment:
    • The latest six months' bank statement or passbook of the trust account.
    • Latest year audited profit and loss statement.
    • Latest year Income Tax Return (ITR) acknowledgement.
    • Net-worth certificate from the chartered accountant with the UDIN number specified.
    • DP holding statement of the entity.

KYC of the trust and the trustees are registered

The table below shows the documents required if the KYC of the trust and the trustees are registered:

Type of document Requirements
Application form
  • Equity application form (PDF). Sample equity form (PDF).
  • Segment addition form (PDF) to trade in commodities.
  • Refer to the signature guidelines (PDF) to learn how to sign all the forms.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) declaration
Account opening annexures
Balance sheet
  • The latest two financial years' balance sheet copy with the seal and signature of the authorised signatory or trustee. 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. The balance sheet has to be submitted every financial year after the account is opened. Sample balance sheet (PDF).
Net-worth certificate
  • A net-worth certificate from a Chartered Accountant (CA) if the trust is newly incorporated. It must have the UDIN- number. Income tax declaration (PDF) on the partnership letterhead with authorised signatory or director seal and signature.
Bank account proof
  • A bank account proof of the trust for linking with Zerodha. The proof can be any one of the following:
    • Personalised cancelled cheque with the trust name printed on it.
    • A bank statement or bank passbook copy with the bank account number, MICR, and IFSC code clearly visible.
Income proof
  • Any of the following income proof to activate the F&O and commodity segment:
    • The latest six months' bank statement or passbook of the trust account.
    • Latest year audited profit and loss statement.
    • Latest year Income Tax Return (ITR) acknowledgement.
    • Net-worth certificate from the chartered accountant with the UDIN number specified.
    • DP holding statement of the entity.

Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)

An individual is identified as an ultimate beneficiary if they have shareholding, capital or profits of 10% or more in the trust. 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:

  • If an individual holds 10% or more, a copy of the UBO annexure (PDF) with the UBO signature and the authorised person's seal and signature on the third page is required.
  • A self-attested copy of the PAN and address proof of those holding 10% or more.

If an entity has more than 10% of the shareholding, capital or profits in the trust. The entity should identify as an ultimate beneficiary and is required to submit the following documents:

  • 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 10% 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 10% or more.
  • The latest shareholding pattern (PDF) (on the entity letterhead) of such an entity holding 10% or more, with the whole-time director's or individual promoters' signature.

Sample UBO annexure (PDF).

In-Person Verification (IPV)

In-Person verification (IPV) is the process of verifying that the person opening the account and the documents submitted are of the same person. As part of the mandatory IPV requirement for all brokers, the authorised person must complete the verification.

To complete the IPV online, visit signup.zerodha.com/ipv. A 4-digit OTP is generated and shown on the screen. Clients are required to enable the camera and show the OTP while being clearly visible. To learn how to enable the camera. See, How can the camera be enabled for an in person verification (IPV)?

To complete the IPV offline, the authorised person must visit a Zerodha branch office or a representative of Zerodha would be required to visit the offices or residences of the client to complete the IPV procedure.

The account opening charge is ₹500 for equity trading, demat and commodity accounts. Once all documents are prepared, email soft copies of the forms to [email protected]. The forms will undergo review for any necessary corrections. Upon completing the review process, courier the documents and a cheque of ₹500 in favour of Zerodha Broking Limited to:

Zerodha Customer Support Centre,
680, Fortuna 1, 15th Cross Road,
8th Main Road, 2nd Phase, J. P. Nagar,
Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560078

It can take upto 72 working hours to open the account. To learn about the applicable charges, see What are the account opening, brokerage and other transactional charges applicable to a Trust account at Zerodha? For further assistance, call 080 4680 5727 or create a ticket.

Did you know? As per the CDSL guidelines (PDF), the nomination facility is available only for individual demat accounts. Therefore, non-individual account holders cannot add a nominee.

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