How NRIs Claim Shares from IEPF: Apostille, NRE vs NRO Demat and Documents

Yes, an NRI can claim shares back from the IEPF without travelling to India. You file Form IEPF-5 online, and the shares come back into an NRO (non-PIS) demat account in your name, not an NRE account. Any refunded dividends go to your NRO bank account. Every paper you sign abroad must be apostilled in your country, or attested at the Indian embassy if your country does not issue apostilles (the UAE is the common example). Once the shares are sold, you can send up to USD 1 million a financial year abroad from your NRO account after tax.

Most NRI claims that get stuck fail on one of these four points: the wrong account type, a document signed abroad that was not properly attested, a name that differs between the passport and the certificate, or a death certificate from abroad that the company will not accept. This guide takes each one in turn. Check what your family holds with Find Your Shares →

Can an NRI claim shares from the IEPF?

Yes. The IEPF claim process is the same for an NRI as for a resident; only the documents and the account type change. The shares may be your own, bought before you moved abroad, or your parents’, which you now inherit. Either way, you file Form IEPF-5 on the MCA portal, send the signed papers to the company’s nodal officer, and the IEPF Authority releases the shares once the company verifies the claim.

On paper this takes 75 days: 15 days for the company’s verification report, then 60 days for the Authority to decide. In practice, NRI claims take longer, mostly because a document signed abroad comes back rejected and has to be signed, attested and posted again. Getting the papers right the first time saves you months.

Our step-by-step IEPF claim guide covers the general process. This page covers only what is different for NRIs.

Should the shares go to an NRE or an NRO demat account?

An NRO demat account, marked non-PIS (non-repatriable). An NRE demat account, which works under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS), is for shares an NRI buys on the stock exchange with money from abroad. Shares from the IEPF were not bought that way. Either you bought them while you lived in India, or you inherited them from someone who did. Under India’s foreign exchange rules (FEMA), both kinds are held on a non-repatriation basis, so they belong in NRO.

Open the NRO demat account before you file Form IEPF-5, because the form asks for the demat details, and the name and PAN on that account must match yours exactly. Any Indian bank’s NRI desk can open one remotely. The refunded dividends follow the same rule: they go to your NRO bank account, not an NRE account or a foreign bank.

What if you still have your old resident demat account?

Convert it to an NRO account first; you cannot receive IEPF shares into a resident account once you live abroad. Keeping a resident account after becoming an NRI breaks FEMA rules. Ask your broker or bank to change its status to NRO, or open a new NRO demat account and move your existing holdings into it.

This matters more than people expect. If the name, PAN or residential status on the demat account does not match the claim, the company’s verification report can fail, and the claim goes back to the start.

Do NRI documents need an apostille or embassy attestation?

Yes. Every document you sign abroad must be legalised before an Indian company or the IEPF Authority will accept it. An ordinary local notary stamp on its own is not enough, and it is the most common reason NRI claims come back. You have two options:

• Apostille, if your country is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, as India is. You sign before a local notary, then the country’s apostille authority adds its certificate.
• Attestation at the Indian embassy or consulate. You sign in front of the consular officer, or have a notarised document attested there. This works from any country, and it is the only option where no apostille is available.

Each Indian mission sets its own fees and appointment rules, so check its website before you sign anything. Sign everything in one sitting: the indemnity bond, the affidavits, the advance receipt and any authority letter. Separate trips mean separate fees and separate chances of a mistake.

How do you stamp an indemnity bond signed abroad?

You sign it abroad on plain paper, and it is stamped once it reaches India. Indian stamp paper cannot be bought overseas. Under Indian stamp law, a document signed outside India can generally be stamped within three months of first arriving in India, so send it early. Form IEPF-5 needs an indemnity bond, and if you are claiming as an heir, the transmission step needs its own affidavits too.

Stamp duty rates are set by each state, so the duty due depends on where the document is stamped. Our guide to the indemnity bond for Form IEPF-5 explains the format.

How do you use a death certificate issued abroad?

Since 22 August 2026, a death certificate issued abroad can be verified by an overseas branch of an Indian bank, or by a foreign bank that has a correspondent banking relationship with an Indian bank. This comes from SEBI’s transmission circular of 23 July 2026, and it removes what used to be the hardest step for NRI heirs. Apostille or embassy attestation still works too. SEBI also now accepts death certificates that carry a QR code.

This matters for an IEPF claim because an heir first has to have the shares transmitted into their name through the company or its registrar (RTA). The same circular also raised the limits for simplified documents. Up to ₹10 lakh per company for physical shares and ₹30 lakh for demat holdings, heirs can use an affidavit-cum-NOC and indemnity instead of going to court. Above those limits, or if the heirs disagree, you may need a succession certificate. An NRI can apply for one through an advocate in India. See transmission without a succession certificate.

What if your name on the passport differs from the share certificate?

You prove the two names belong to the same person with a name-variation affidavit and supporting documents, attested like everything else. This comes up constantly for NRIs: a surname dropped abroad, initials expanded, an anglicised spelling, or a married name on the passport and a maiden name on a 1990s certificate.

Put the variation in writing before you file, using documents that show both names, such as an old passport, a marriage certificate or a gazette notice. When the company sees two spellings with nothing linking them, it usually stops the claim.

What documents does an NRI need for an IEPF claim?

The standard IEPF-5 set, plus proof of your NRI status and overseas address.

• Indian PAN. Foreign citizens apply on Form 49AA. Aadhaar is not required for NRIs.
• Passport, plus an OCI or PIO card if you hold foreign citizenship.
• Overseas address proof: a bank statement, utility bill or government ID from your country of residence.
• NRO demat client master list and a cancelled NRO cheque.
• Entitlement letter from the company. It has been mandatory since the October 2025 IEPF-5 changes.
• Indemnity bond and advance receipt, signed abroad and apostilled or attested.
• Original share certificates, or proof of the demat holding, if you have them.
• For heirs: death certificate, proof of relationship, and the transmission documents described above.

The full list, including what each company’s nodal officer asks for, is in our documents guide.

Can a relative in India file the IEPF claim for you?

They can handle the filing and follow-up, but you remain the claimant, and the shares go only into your own NRO demat account. Since October 2025, anyone filing on a claimant’s behalf needs a signed authority letter. A power of attorney signed abroad needs apostille or embassy attestation, just like every other document.

Many NRIs also find the IEPF website will not load from overseas. That does not stop the claim: the search is only a first step, and the claim itself is filed on the MCA portal. Our guide to the IEPF portal login explains which site does what.

How do you send the money abroad after the claim?

Sell the shares from your NRO demat account, then send up to USD 1 million per financial year abroad from your NRO bank account after tax. That limit covers everything remitted from NRO in the year, including sale proceeds, dividends and inheritance. Your bank needs Form 145 (you fill it in) and, above ₹5 lakh of taxable money, Form 146 from a chartered accountant. From 1 April 2026 these replaced Forms 15CA and 15CB under the Income-tax Act, 2025.

You do not have to sell. Many families keep the shares in the NRO demat account and collect dividends there. Keep the claim papers either way: the bank will ask how you came to own the shares.

Why not just hand it to a local lawyer or agent in India?

Because the claim is only as good as the list of shares inside it, and old shares have usually multiplied. Over twenty or thirty years, bonuses, splits, mergers and demergers turn 100 shares into several hundred, sometimes spread across three or four companies. An agent files for what you remember. The rest stays in the IEPF, and you start a second claim from abroad, with a second round of apostilles. We trace the full holding first, then file for everything in one go.

Second, who gets paid for what? A lawyer or agent is paid whether the shares arrive or not. We charge nothing in advance — you pay only once the shares are credited to your demat account. Our fee depends on the shares actually reaching your account, not on a filing being made.

Third, the file is decided in Delhi. Every IEPF claim is decided at the IEPF Authority in Delhi. From ten time zones away, nobody follows up on a file that is waiting in a queue. Our team is in Delhi and follows up on your file in person. Where a court or local document is needed, we coordinate a vetted local partner. You sign once, correctly, and we handle the rest. See our NRI share recovery service.

Found old certificates, or a dividend letter from a company you’d forgotten? Find out what they are worth today and whether they are in the IEPF →

Questions NRIs ask

Can an NRI claim shares from the IEPF without coming to India?
Yes. Form IEPF-5 is filed online, and documents signed abroad are accepted once they are apostilled or attested at the Indian embassy. The shares go into your NRO demat account.

Can IEPF shares be credited to an NRE demat account?
No. Shares you bought while you lived in India, or inherited from a resident, are held on a non-repatriation basis under FEMA, so they go into an NRO (non-PIS) demat account. Refunded dividends go to your NRO bank account.

Is an apostille enough, or do I need the Indian embassy?
In countries that issue apostilles, such as the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, an apostille is enough. In the UAE, which does not, use attestation at the Indian embassy or consulate. Embassy attestation works from any country.

My parent died abroad. Will an Indian company accept the foreign death certificate?
Yes. Since 22 August 2026, SEBI allows a death certificate issued abroad to be verified by an overseas branch of an Indian bank, or by a foreign bank that has a correspondent relationship with an Indian bank. An apostille or embassy attestation also works.

Do I need Aadhaar to file IEPF-5 as an NRI?
No. NRIs use their Indian PAN and passport, and an OCI or PIO card if they are foreign citizens. Foreign citizens apply for PAN on Form 49AA.

How much can I send abroad after selling the shares?
Up to USD 1 million per financial year from your NRO account, after tax. You need Form 145 and, where it applies, a chartered accountant’s Form 146. These replaced Forms 15CA and 15CB from 1 April 2026.

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