Dematerialising shares in your maiden name

Many women investors have paper certificates that are in their maiden names. It is tough to sell these shares in the market to realise their value unless they are converted to the demat form. The procedure for converting physical shares into the demat form in the married name of the investor involves providing relevant details—change in name and signature with supporting documents—to the depository participant (DP).

These details are to be filled up in the demateralisation requisition form (DRF), which can be downloaded from tinyurl.com/6bzqeha. The DP, in turn, will send the papers to the registrar for making the necessary changes and then process these with the depository to provide credit to the investor's demat account.

Signature

The changed signature, which includes the new last name on the documents, should be attested by the banker, who will certify it as genuine.

DP account

Depository participants accept the DRF only for the accounts they hold. For a new account, formalities have to be completed in the married name before the DP accepts the DRF.

Submission

The details of the demat request are entered by the DP and a demat requisition number is assigned and entered in the DRF.

Processing

The demat account of the investor is updated electronically when the change is implemented after verification by the depository.
Points to note

Certificate: While handing over the physical certificate to the DP, cross it as 'surrendered for demat' to ensure that it is not misused.
Objection memo:

If any gaps are found or there is need for more information, the registrar issues an 'objection memo', which the investor should resolve with the DP within 15 days.

Acknowledgement:

The investor should preserve the acknowledgement slip issued by the DP till the time that the credit has been received in the demat account.

The content on this page is courtesy Centre for Investment Education and Learning (CIEL).