Shares can be transferred from other brokers to Zerodha in two ways:

Closure cum transfer

If the existing account is to be closed after transferring shares to Zerodha, follow the closure cum transfer process. To initiate the process, obtain the closure cum transfer forms from the existing broker and submit it to them along with a physically or digitally signed and sealed Zerodha Client Master Report (CMR). To learn how to get a copy of the Zerodha CMR, see What is Client Master Report (CMR), and how to get it?

The closure cum transfer process is used for self-transfers and not to transfer securities to a different person. If the shares are transferred between joint accounts, the sequence of the primary and the secondary account in the existing account and the Zerodha account must be the same. For example, Mr A is the primary holder, and Mr B is the secondary holder of the existing demat account. To transfer shares to their Zerodha joint demat account, Mr A must be the primary and Mr B the secondary holder of the account, not vice versa.

Securities can be transferred only within the same Beneficiary Owner (BO) status,
i.e., they can be transferred only from an individual account to an individual account and not from an individual account to a joint, NRI, or HUF account and vice versa. The BO status can be found on the CMR copy, as shown below:

If the securities are under a lock-in period, they cannot be transferred from CDSL to NSDL or vice versa using the closure cum transfer. They can, however, be transferred within the same depositories (CDSL to CDSL or NSDL to NSDL). See What does Lock-in period mean?

Off-market transfer

If the securities are to be transferred to Zerodha without closing the existing account, follow the off-market transfer process. To initiate the process, obtain the Delivery Instruction Slip (DIS) from the existing broker, fill out the details of the Zerodha demat account as required and submit it to them.

Securities can be transferred between any Beneficiary Owner (BO) status, i.e., they can be transferred from an individual account to an individual account and from an individual account to a joint, NRI, or HUF account and vice versa.

If the existing broker’s depository is NSDL, use inter-depository slips, if it is CDSL use intra-depository slips. The existing broker provides both slips.

Some brokers allow online transfer of shares. Contact the other broker to learn their process for transferring shares.

Did you know?

• • The trade dates and acquisition prices for all the securities transferred to Zerodha can be manually updated for effective portfolio tracking. The buy average price for securities transferred will show as N/A until the price is updated. To learn how to update the buy average price, see Why is the buy average for some shares shown as N/A?
  • The transferred shares will be visible under holdings on Kite and Console.
  • There are no charges for closure cum transfer across all brokers.
  • For off-market transfer charges, contact the existing broker.
  • Shares from an NRO or resident account cannot be transferred to an NRE account. To learn how NRIs can transfer shares from their existing demat account to an NRI Zerodha account, see How can NRIs transfer shares from their existing demat account to an NRI Zerodha account?