IEPF Search by Folio Number: Where It Works and What the Result Means

You cannot search the IEPF website by folio number. The IEPF Authority’s search at iepfa.gov.in works on the shareholder’s name, plus a state or district. The folio number is what it shows you in the result, not what it asks for. To search by folio number, use the company’s own IEPF page or its registrar’s online enquiry: pick the company, and type the folio number exactly as it is printed on the certificate.

This trips up a lot of people. Many guides still say “enter your folio number on the IEPF website”. People try it, find no box for it, and give up. But the folio number on an old share certificate or dividend warrant is still the quickest way to find those shares. You just have to use it in the right place.

Have a company name and a folio number? Put them into Find Your Shares and we will check where the shares stand, free →

Can you search IEPF shares by folio number?

Not on the IEPF Authority’s own website. Its search facility is a name search. The Authority’s own FAQ says each search runs on a name, and you must also pick a state or district, up to four at a time. The folio number, or the demat account number for demat shares, then appears in the result.

What you need before you can search on the IEPF website

• Your own PAN, with your father’s name and date of birth exactly as they appear on the PAN card.
• A mobile number and an email address. Both are checked by OTP, and you log in with either one.
• If you live outside India: your passport details and a scanned copy. Your OTP comes by email.
• The holder’s name as it was on the shares, and the state or district of the address the company had for them.

You get only 10 name searches, according to the Authority’s FAQ, so plan them. Start with the name exactly as it is printed on the certificate, initials and all. Pick the state where the holder lived when the shares were bought, because that is the address in the company’s records.

The result shows whether the shares or dividends have already moved to the IEPF, or are still with the company and marked unclaimed. You can save, download and print it. You cannot file a claim there. Claims are filed on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs website, mca.gov.in, with Form IEPF-5. Which IEPF website does what.

Where can you search shares by folio number?

In three places: the company’s own IEPF page, the registrar’s online enquiry, and a written request to the registrar. All three take a folio number, because the folio is how a company and its registrar keep track of every shareholder.

1. The company’s own IEPF page

Before a company moves anyone’s shares to the IEPF, it has to write to that shareholder three months ahead, at the last address it has. It also has to put a notice in an English and a regional newspaper saying that the names and folio numbers are on its website. That is Rule 6(3)(a) of the IEPF rules. Separately, it has to put a list of unpaid dividends on its website, year by year, for the last seven years.

So open the company’s website, go to Investors, and look for a heading such as IEPF, Unclaimed dividend or Shareholder information. Many companies let you search these lists by folio number. Some let you type just part of it, at least five characters. Some also show shares that have already moved to the IEPF, not only those about to move.

Always check under today’s company name. A certificate that says TVS Suzuki is checked on TVS Motor’s website. One that says Reliance Petroleum is checked on Reliance Industries’ website. Our TVS Motor and Reliance guides explain those two.

2. The registrar’s online enquiry

The registrar, also called the RTA, keeps the company’s list of shareholders, so it can look up a folio directly. KFintech, the registrar for hundreds of companies, runs a dividend enquiry where you choose the company, choose “physical”, type the folio number as printed on the certificate, and see the dividend status for each year. For some companies it also runs IEPF pages, where you choose physical or demat, enter your details and see shares about to move or dividends already moved.

Not every registrar has a public search. Where there isn’t one, use the third way.

3. Ask the registrar in writing

Write to the registrar, or raise a request on its website, with the company name, the folio number, the holder’s name as printed, and a copy of the certificate or a dividend warrant if you have one. MUFG Intime (earlier called Link Intime) and KFintech both take requests online. The registrar can confirm whether the shares are still on that folio, have moved to the IEPF, or became a different folio after a merger. This is also the first step towards the entitlement letter you now need for any IEPF claim.

Would you rather not do the searching yourself? Send us the company name and folio number through Find Your Shares → We check the IEPF records and the registrar, and tell you where the shares stand. It costs nothing.

How do you check shares by folio number, step by step?

Start with the certificate, move to the company’s website, then the registrar, then the IEPF name search. Here is the order that finds the most, fastest.

1. Read the certificate or dividend warrant. Note the company name, the folio number (usually near the top, marked “Folio No.”), the number of shares, the face value and every holder’s name.
2. Find the company’s name today, and its registrar. Renamed and merged companies are checked under today’s name.
3. Search the company’s IEPF page by folio number. Type it exactly as printed.
4. No search box? Open the lists instead. Companies often publish them as spreadsheets or PDFs. Open the file and use “Find in page” on your phone to look for the folio number.
5. Try the registrar’s online enquiry if it has one.
6. Search the holder’s name on the IEPF Authority’s website. This catches folios you did not know about, in other companies.
7. Write to the registrar to confirm what you found, and to ask for the entitlement letter if the shares have moved to the IEPF.

What does the search result mean?

It tells you where the shares are now, and that decides what you do next. Match your result to a row.

Why does my folio number show no result?

Usually because the shares sit under a different company, a different folio number, or a different list today. These are the common reasons.

• The company merged into another one. After a merger, holders get shares of the company that took over, usually under a new folio number in that company’s records. Reliance Petroleum certificates from before 2002, for example, became Reliance Industries shares, 1 for every 11 Reliance Petroleum shares.
• A demerger split the holding. Anyone holding Reliance Industries shares in January 2006 also received shares in four new companies, each recorded on its own folio in that company’s books. One old folio can point to several companies.
• The folio was typed differently. Folio numbers often carry letters or zeros at the front. Type every character exactly as printed.
• The shares never moved. Shares move to the IEPF only after dividends go unclaimed for seven years in a row. If the company paid no dividend for years, or the dividends kept being cashed, the shares may still be on the folio with the company. That is good news: no IEPF claim, only KYC and demat.
• The list covers only some years. A company’s page lists shares about to move and dividends from the last seven years. Older transfers may show only on the IEPF Authority’s name search.
• The shares were in demat. Demat shares have no folio number. They are searched with the DP ID and client ID from the demat account.

Why is the share count on the list bigger than the certificate?

Because bonus shares and share splits added shares to the same folio after the certificate was printed. The certificate shows the shares on the day it was issued. The folio holds everything added since.

Take a Reliance Industries certificate for 100 shares from 2005. Reliance has since given three 1:1 bonuses, in 2009, 2017 and 2024. That folio is now 800 shares, about ₹9.46 lakh at the 29 September 2026 price of ₹1,182.00. Read as “100 shares”, it looks like about ₹1.18 lakh.

The same applies after shares move to the IEPF. Any bonus shares or splits that come later are credited to the IEPF as well, so the claim covers them too. Only rights issues are left out.

This matters more than it seems. The paperwork for a lost certificate or a transmission depends on the value of the whole folio today, with ₹10 lakh as the usual dividing line. A folio that looks small on paper can easily be above it. Our company guides work out the true count: see Reliance, TVS Motor and more.

Where do you find a folio number if the certificate is lost?

On almost any paper the company or registrar ever sent the holder. Look through old files for:

• Dividend warrants, dividend cheques and their counterfoils.
• Letters from the company or the registrar, including notices about unclaimed dividends or the IEPF.
• AGM notices, attendance slips and proxy forms posted to the holder.
• Bank passbooks or statements showing dividend credits. They name the company, which tells you where to look.

Found nothing? The IEPF Authority’s name search shows the folio number in its result. The registrar can also trace a folio from the holder’s full name, address and signature.

If the certificate is lost but the shares are still with the company, you will need duplicate shares. How to get duplicate shares for a lost certificate.

How do you search for shares of a family member who has died?

Search their name and folio number exactly as you would for a living holder. On the IEPF website you register with your own PAN, and you can then search any name, including a parent’s or grandparent’s.

Claiming is the harder part. The shares have to pass to the nominee or legal heirs first, through transmission. Since 22 August 2026, SEBI’s simpler papers apply to physical holdings worth up to ₹10 lakh per company, counted on today’s value. Above that, heirs usually need a succession certificate or legal heir certificate, unless there is a nominee or the other heirs give a no-objection. If the shares are already in the IEPF, the heir claims them with Form IEPF-5 and the same proof. Read our guides to transmission of shares and the succession certificate.

Can you search IEPF shares from outside India?

Yes. Non-resident Indians register on the IEPF website with passport details and a scanned copy, and receive the OTP by email instead of by SMS.

If the IEPF website will not open where you are, the company’s IEPF page and the registrar’s enquiry usually still work, and both take the folio number. A claim can be handled from abroad too, though the papers have to be signed and, in some cases, attested where you live.

You found your folio in an IEPF list. What happens next?

You claim the shares back with Form IEPF-5, after getting an entitlement letter from the company. In order:

1. Open a demat account whose name matches the name on the shares, or the claimant’s name for an heir.
2. Update KYC with the registrar and ask for an entitlement letter. Since the October 2025 rule change, Form IEPF-5 cannot be filed without it.
3. File Form IEPF-5 on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs website.
4. Send the signed form and documents to the company’s nodal officer: an indemnity bond, an advance receipt, ID, a cancelled cheque and your demat account details.
5. The company checks the claim and reports to the IEPF Authority, which credits the shares to your demat account.

On paper this should be quick. The company has 15 days to send its verification report, and the IEPF Authority has 60 days from a complete report to decide. In practice most of the time goes on waiting, and on going back for missing papers. Why IEPF claims get stuck, and what to do.

Why not just hand the folio number to a local lawyer or agent?

Because a folio number found on a list is one line of a bigger picture, and a claim built on that one line usually comes back short.

The IEPF list shows the shares moved from that folio, in that company. It does not show the bonus shares still with the company, the shares from a demerger sitting in other companies’ folios, other folios in the same name, or the dividends sitting in the IEPF. A generalist files for what the list shows. The family gets part of the holding, and months later it is back in the queue for the rest. The 2005 Reliance folio above is 800 shares, not 100, and also points to four other companies.

We work the other way round. We trace the complete holding first: every folio, every bonus, every merger and demerger, every IEPF transfer. Then a vetted local partner handles the paperwork where you live, such as affidavits, attestation and succession papers, on the full holding, the first time.

There is also the question of who gets paid for what. A lawyer or agent is paid whether or not your shares ever arrive. We are not. Zero advance — you pay only once the shares are credited to your demat account. So we only get paid if the whole chain works.

And the IEPF claim itself is decided in Delhi, where the IEPF Authority sits. Our team is in Delhi, so we can follow your file up in person, not by letter from another city. For an IEPF claim, what matters is who is closest to the office that holds your file. Share recovery in Delhi.

The folio number is only the start. After it come the KYC, the entitlement letter, the verification, the demat credit, and a transmission if the holder has died. Anyone can find a folio number. We get you the shares. See how our IEPF claim service works.

Looking for shares without a folio number? Our guide to finding lost shares in India covers searching by name. For dividends, see recovering unclaimed dividends from the IEPF.

Have a folio number and a company name, but not sure where the shares are now? Start with Find Your Shares →

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I search IEPF shares by folio number?
Not on the IEPF Authority’s website. Its search at iepfa.gov.in works on the shareholder’s name plus a state or district, and shows the folio number in the result. To search by folio number, use the company’s own IEPF page or its registrar’s online enquiry.

How do I check my shares using a folio number?
Find the company’s name today and its registrar. Search the company’s IEPF or unclaimed dividend page by folio number, typed exactly as printed on the certificate. If there is no search, try the registrar’s online enquiry, or write to the registrar with the company name, folio number and holder’s name.

How do I check if my shares have been transferred to the IEPF?
Search the holder’s name on the IEPF Authority’s website, iepfa.gov.in, after registering with your PAN and OTP. The result shows whether the shares have moved to the IEPF or are still with the company. You can also check the company’s own IEPF page by folio number.

How do I find all the shares in my name?
Search your name on the IEPF Authority’s website, one state or district at a time, to find folios in companies you may have forgotten. Then check each company’s IEPF page or registrar by folio number. Old dividend warrants, company letters and bank statements show which companies to look at.

What do I need to register on the IEPF search website?
Your own PAN, with your father’s name and date of birth as on the PAN card, and a mobile number and email address, both verified by OTP. Non-resident Indians also give passport details and a scanned copy, and receive the OTP by email.

How many searches can I do on the IEPF website?
The IEPF Authority’s FAQ allows 10 name searches, and each search needs a state or district, up to four at a time. Start with the name exactly as printed on the certificate and the state where the holder lived.

What is a folio number?
A folio number is the account number a company or its registrar gives each shareholder holding physical share certificates. It is printed on the share certificate and on dividend warrants. Demat shares have no folio number; they use a DP ID and client ID instead.

Where can I find my folio number without the share certificate?
On old dividend warrants or cheques, letters from the company or registrar, AGM notices, attendance slips and proxy forms. The IEPF Authority’s name search also shows the folio number, and the registrar can trace it from the holder’s name, address and signature.

Why does my folio number show no result?
Usually because the company merged or changed its name, so the shares now sit under a different folio or company; because the folio was typed without its letters or leading zeros; or because the shares never moved to the IEPF and are still with the company.

Can I file an IEPF claim on the IEPF search website?
No. The search website only shows what is there. Claims are filed on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs website with Form IEPF-5, after you get an entitlement letter from the company or its registrar.

Can I search IEPF shares for a family member who has died?
Yes. Register with your own PAN and search their name, or check their folio number on the company’s IEPF page. To claim, the shares must pass to the nominee or legal heirs, and the heir files Form IEPF-5 with proof of entitlement.

Do I have to pay SharesRecover anything upfront?
No. Zero advance — you pay only once the shares are credited to your demat account.