Transmission of Shares to Legal Heirs & Nominees
When a shareholder dies, the shares do not need to be sold or surrendered. They pass to the nominee, the surviving joint holder, or the legal heirs through a process called transmission — and until it is completed, nothing else can be done with the holding.
Transmission is the first domino
Families often come to us wanting to claim from the IEPF or sell an old holding, and are surprised to learn that neither is possible until the shares are first transmitted into the living claimants' names. Transmission is not optional and it is not a formality — it is the step that legally establishes who now owns the shares.
Which route applies depends on how the shares were held:
| How the shares were held | Who receives them | Broad documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Jointly, one holder deceased | Surviving joint holder(s) | Simplest route — death certificate, ISR-4, KYC |
| Single holder, nomination registered | The registered nominee | Death certificate, nominee KYC, ISR-4 |
| Single holder, no nomination, with a will | Beneficiaries under the will | Probate or letters of administration, as required |
| Single holder, no nomination, no will | Legal heirs under succession law | Legal heir / succession certificate, affidavit, indemnity, NOCs from other heirs |
The simplified route for smaller holdings
Recognising how burdensome a succession certificate is, SEBI permits a simplified documentation route where the market value of the deceased holder's physical securities in a company is below a prescribed threshold and there is no nomination or will. In place of a court-issued succession certificate, the Registrar may accept a combination of an affidavit, an indemnity bond, no-objection letters from the other legal heirs, and a legal heir certificate or family settlement deed.
Thresholds and accepted documents are revised by SEBI from time to time and individual Registrars apply them slightly differently. We confirm the current requirement with the specific RTA before drafting anything, so that documents are not executed twice.
Where transmission cases go wrong
- Heirs execute an indemnity or affidavit on the wrong stamp value for their state
- One sibling's NOC is missing, and the RTA holds the file indefinitely
- The deceased's name on the certificate differs from the death certificate
- Shares span several companies and RTAs, each asking for its own set of originals
- The holding was already moved to the IEPF, so transmission and the IEPF claim must be sequenced correctly
We handle these as one coordinated file rather than a series of disconnected requests, which is usually the difference between a case that closes and one that stalls for years.
Documents usually required
Every Registrar has its own preferences, so treat this as an indicative list. We confirm the exact set for your company and case before you have anything notarised or stamped.
- Original or certified death certificate of the holder
- Share certificates, or folio details if certificates are missing
- PAN, Aadhaar and address proof of every claimant
- Client Master List of the claimant's demat account
- Nomination record, will, probate, legal heir certificate or succession certificate as applicable
- No-objection certificates from other legal heirs, where required
- Affidavit and indemnity bond on stamp paper (we draft these)
A note on originals. Never post original certificates or succession documents to anyone without a written acknowledgement and tracked courier. Where the process allows, we work from certified copies and only move originals at the point they are genuinely required.
Transmission of Shares — FAQs
Not sure whether you have anything to claim?
Send us the names and we will check the records for you — free, and with no obligation to proceed.