'SEBI no longer permits...': Zerodha's Nithin Kamath has a fix for old share transfers

That dusty envelope of share certificates from your grandfather’s drawer might be worth a fortune—but unless they’re digitized, they’re practically useless. 

Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath has a solution.

In a post on X, Kamath announced Zerodha’s latest initiative: a free service to help investors convert physical share certificates into digital (demat) form—even if they’re not Zerodha clients.

“We often hear stories… about holding physical share certificates,” Kamath wrote, referencing the many cases where people stumble upon inherited paper shares but don’t know what to do next. “SEBI no longer permits their transfer, except for inheritance.”

SEBI banned the transfer of physical shares in 2019, except in cases of inheritance through legal transmission. But even then, the shares must be dematerialized before any transaction—like a sale or pledge—can happen.

To bridge that gap, Zerodha has formed a dedicated support team. “You don’t need to be a Zerodha customer,” Kamath emphasized. “We’ll still help you convert your physical shares.”

Demat isn’t just convenient—it’s essential. SEBI’s push toward electronic shares aims to eliminate fraud, theft, and administrative delays common with paper certificates. And with most global markets already digital, India is simply catching up.