Rules checked against the IEPF Rules as amended from 6 October 2025
When dividends on shares remain unclaimed for seven consecutive years, the Companies Act requires the company to transfer the unpaid dividends, along with the corresponding shares, to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Authority. However, your ownership is not lost. You or your legal heirs can still submit a claim to recover these shares and dividends.
At Sampada Social, we provide professional assistance as an IEPF claim consultant in Delhi NCR and help investors and families navigate the IEPF claim process. From identifying shares and dividends transferred to the IEPF to obtaining the company's entitlement letter, preparing Form IEPF-5 and arranging the required documents for submission to the company's nodal officer, we guide you through each step. As an IEPF claim agency in India, Sampada Social assists with documentation, company coordination and claim follow-ups until the approved shares and dividends are credited to the claimant's demat and bank accounts.
We are a facilitation service. The company and the IEPF Authority decide every claim.
Many families discover this only when they try to convert an old certificate to demat or notice that dividends stopped. It usually happens quietly.
Cheques went to an old address, or to a bank account that was later closed.
The registrar never got a new address, bank detail or a notice of the holder’s death.
After seven consecutive years of unpaid or unclaimed dividends, it gave notice and transferred the shares.
The shares and the unpaid dividends can be claimed back by the owner or the rightful heir. Bonus shares and other benefits announced after the transfer can generally be claimed along with the shares. We confirm the details for each company.
There is no time limit for claiming shares or dividends back from the IEPF. You need to prove you, or your family, owned them and who you are.
Book a free IEPF case checkAn IEPF claim has two parts: an online filing on the MCA's IEPF portal, and original papers sent to the company's nodal officer. We help with both.
We trace your holding using your folio number, certificate numbers, name and father’s name, including name changes and mergers, and confirm with the company or its registrar what went to the IEPF.
The registrar or company usually issues an entitlement letter after checking your identity, signature and certificates. Form IEPF-5 now asks whether you have one, and you can attach it. Getting it first avoids many delays.
The form asks for your details, whether you are claiming shares, amounts or both, your demat and bank details, and whether you file yourself or through an authorised representative. If we file for you, you sign an authority letter, and we make a declaration that the details are complete and correct. You get an acknowledgement with an SRN.
You print the signed form, with the acknowledgement, indemnity bond and advance receipt, and send them with the original certificates and supporting documents to the company’s nodal officer at its registered office. We assemble and check the set, and tell you what to sign and stamp.
The nodal officer checks the papers and sends an online verification report to the IEPF Authority within 30 days of receiving your claim. The Authority then reviews the claim. If it finds a gap, you are usually given a short window, commonly 15 days, to correct it and resubmit.
After approval, the shares are credited to your demat account and the unpaid dividends to your bank account.
The exact list is set out in Form IEPF-5. All copies are normally self-attested, and the originals go to the company. We prepare and double-check the full set before anything is sent.
Get a rough, illustrative idea of what your shares held by the IEPF could be worth, including dividends and price growth. It is not a valuation or a promise of recovery.
"My father held original physical certificates of Brooke Bond / Hindustan Lever from 1989. When we tried to dematerialise them, we were shocked to learn the shares were transferred to IEPF. Sampada Social filed Form IEPF-5, followed our case with the company's nodal officer, and the shares plus ₹4.2 Lakhs in back dividends were credited directly."
Every claim is a little different. These are the cases we are asked about most.
We do: trace the holding, help you get the entitlement letter, prepare and file Form IEPF-5 (as your authorised representative where you ask us to), prepare the indemnity bond and papers, follow up with the nodal officer, and keep you updated on every status change.
We do not: guarantee approval or timing, which depend on the company and the IEPF Authority, or give legal opinions on who is entitled to a deceased person's shares.
Simple answers about the rules, timelines and dividend payouts.
It is the government fund, run by the IEPF Authority, that receives unclaimed dividends and the shares on which dividends have been unclaimed for seven consecutive years. It holds them for the rightful owner.
Yes. There is no time limit for claiming. You must be able to prove you, or your family, owned them and prove your identity.
It is a letter from the company or its registrar confirming your entitlement to the shares or amount. Form IEPF-5 asks whether you have one. It is the safest route, because the registrar checks your documents before you file.
Yes, as your authorised representative. You sign an authority letter, and we declare that the details we enter are complete and correct. You stay the claimant, and the shares and money go to your own demat and bank accounts. We will explain how portal login and OTPs are handled when you book your case check.
We prepare the documents the IEPF Rules require for loss of physical securities, such as an FIR or police complaint, an indemnity and an affidavit, and check with the company's nodal officer which version it wants. We can combine this with a duplicate certificate request. See our Duplicate Certificate service.
On approval, the IEPF Authority credits the shares to your demat account and pays the amount to your bank account. Both are validated when you file.
The company has 30 days from receiving your claim to file its verification report, and the Authority then reviews the file. In our experience a clean claim takes 3 to 6 months. Any missing or mismatched document restarts the clock, so we check the set carefully before sending it.
You are usually given a short window, commonly about 15 days, to correct the issue and resubmit. We review the reason and fix it.
Please speak to a chartered accountant about the tax treatment in your situation.
Tell us the company name and what you remember about the holding. We will tell you in plain words what to check, and what the realistic next step is, at no cost.
