SEBI Eases Transmission of Securities, Raises Simplified Claim Limits

A simpler route for heirs and claimants

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has simplified and standardised the framework for transmission of securities, directly affecting investors, legal heirs, listed companies, registrars and transfer agents (RTAs), depositories, depository participants and asset management companies.

The regulator issued the circular dated 23 July 2026, bearing reference number HO/38/13/11(14)2026-MIRSD-POD/I/17111/2026, under its Ease of Doing Investment and Ease of Doing Business initiative. The changes are intended to reduce the costs, delays and procedural difficulties faced by families seeking securities belonging to a deceased investor.

Transmission is distinct from an ordinary transfer of securities. It occurs by operation of law following events such as the death of a security holder. The claimant may be a registered nominee, legal heir or another person legally entitled to the assets. In practice, such claims have often involved differing documentary demands across listed companies, RTAs, depositories and depository participants.

Quick processing introduced for small claims

A central feature of the revised framework is a new Quick Transmission Processing category for small-value claims. The category covers physical securities valued up to ₹10,000 and dematerialised securities valued up to ₹30,000.

SEBI has positioned this route as a minimal-documentation process. Its practical significance is clearest where the expense and effort involved in obtaining affidavits, indemnities or succession-related documents may be disproportionate to the value of the holding.

The value limits differ according to how the securities are held. For dematerialised holdings, the relevant threshold is linked to the beneficial owner. For physical holdings, the wider framework generally applies limits with reference to each listed company. Mutual fund units held in statement-of-account form were treated alongside physical securities in the framework proposed through SEBI’s consultation process.

Simplified-documentation limits doubled

SEBI has also doubled the monetary limits up to which claims can qualify for simplified documentation. For securities held in physical form, the limit has increased from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh per listed company. For securities held in dematerialised form, it has risen from ₹15 lakh to ₹30 lakh per beneficial owner.

These are thresholds for determining the applicable documentary route; they do not alter the value of the claimant’s substantive entitlement. Claims exceeding the revised limits may continue to require the normal set of succession and supporting documents applicable to the facts of the case.

The higher thresholds should nevertheless bring a wider set of transmission applications within the simplified route. For investors and their advisers, the first practical step will be to establish the value and mode of holding and then determine which documentary category applies.

PAN requirement removed

One of the documentary changes is the removal of the existing requirement to submit PAN for transmission processing. SEBI’s stated rationale is that PAN is already available when a demat account is opened.

This change should avoid repetitive submission of information already present within the securities-market system. It does not, however, dispense with the need for the claimant to establish identity, entitlement and the destination account into which securities are to be transmitted.

For intermediaries, the reform points towards greater reliance on verified information already held within regulated systems. Compliance teams will need to align internal checklists so that applicants are not asked for documents which the revised framework no longer requires.

Mandatory probate requirement dispensed with

The framework also does away with the mandatory requirement for probate of a will. This follows changes in succession law and addresses a recurring source of delay and expense in transmission cases.

Probate is a court process authenticating a will. Earlier practices could result in claimants being asked to produce probate even in circumstances where obtaining it was not legally mandatory. SEBI’s March 2026 consultation paper had specifically identified this issue, along with the time and cost involved in obtaining probate or a succession certificate.

The removal of a blanket probate requirement should not be read as eliminating every succession-related inquiry. The documents required will still depend on whether a valid nomination or will exists, the value of the securities and whether rival or disputed claims arise. The reform instead removes probate as an automatic documentary demand in the transmission process.

Combined affidavit and no-objection certificate

SEBI has permitted a combined affidavit-cum-no-objection certificate in place of separate affidavits and no-objection certificates. This is a relatively focused procedural change, but it can reduce duplication where multiple legal heirs are involved and one or more heirs consent to transmission in favour of another claimant.

RTAs, depositories and other processing entities will need to use the prescribed or accepted format consistently. Applicants and professional advisers should avoid relying on old document lists without first checking the revised requirements, as legacy checklists may continue to show separate documents.

Death certificates with QR codes recognised

The revised framework recognises a death certificate carrying a QR code as an eligible document, in addition to an original or appropriately attested copy. The measure reflects the increasing availability of digitally verifiable civil records and enables an intermediary to authenticate the document through the embedded code.

The change can be particularly useful where a claimant would otherwise have to present an original certificate or arrange attestation. Its benefit will depend on the QR code being valid and capable of verification by the processing entity.

Foreign death certificates get more verification options

SEBI has also addressed death certificates issued outside India. Additional verification routes have been specified through overseas branches of Indian banks and foreign banks having correspondent banking relationships with Indian banks.

Cross-border transmission cases can be difficult because the intermediary must establish the authenticity of a foreign public document while the claimant may not have ready access to an Indian notary or authority. The additional banking-based channels expand the available means of verification without removing the need to establish that a certificate is genuine.

Nomination remains the most efficient planning tool

The simplification does not diminish the practical importance of registering a nomination. Where a valid nomination exists, the intermediary can ordinarily process the claim using a more direct set of documents, after which the nominee holds the securities subject to the rights of the legal heirs.

SEBI had separately acted in September 2025 to ease the onward transmission of securities by nominees to legal heirs. The latest framework deals with the broader claims process and aims to make the documentation more predictable, including where no nomination has been registered.

Investors should therefore continue to review nominations across demat accounts, physical holdings and mutual fund folios. Nominee details should also be kept current after marriage, death or other changes in family circumstances.

Operational impact for regulated entities

Listed companies, RTAs, depositories, depository participants and asset management companies will have to ensure that front-office guidance, forms, document checklists and internal workflows reflect the revised categories and thresholds. A uniform framework will achieve its purpose only if claimants receive consistent requirements irrespective of the entity processing the request.

Professionals assisting families should begin by identifying all holdings of the deceased investor, whether held physically, in demat form or as mutual fund units in statement-of-account form. They should then confirm whether a nomination or will exists, calculate the value relevant to each claim and obtain the applicable documentary list from the concerned entity.

The reforms were approved by the SEBI Board at its meeting held on 19 June 2026. SEBI said the measures were deliberated with the Industry Standards Forum for RTAs and the Association of Mutual Funds in India, and took account of feedback on the consultation paper issued on 12 March 2026.

Key takeaway

SEBI’s revised transmission framework lowers the compliance burden through quick processing for small claims, doubled simplified-documentation limits and rationalised requirements relating to PAN, probate, affidavits, no-objection certificates and death certificates; investors and intermediaries should now align each claim with the applicable threshold and updated documentary route.