Sebi opens a special window of one year for transfer and dematerialization of physical securities

Capital market regulator Sebi on Friday announced a special one-year period to help investors transfer and dematerialize physical securities that could not be processed earlier due to procedural or documentation issues.In a January 30 circular, Sebi said the special window will be open from February 5, 2026 to February 4, 2027. The move is aimed at investors who could not transfer their physical securities before April 1, 2019, when the regulator made dematerialization mandatory for transfer of securities.

According to Sebi, the window will enable such investors to regularize and complete the transfer and dematerialization of their securities. This will allow them to access securities that could not previously be transferred due to reasons such as incomplete paperwork, procedural hurdles or other similar issues.

The special window will also apply to transfer requests that were previously submitted but rejected, returned or not processed due to deficiencies in documents or procedures. Investors can resubmit these cases during the one-year period.

Sebi said the measure is aimed at helping investors get lawful access to their securities that remain in physical form. The provisions of the circular will come into effect from February 5, 2026.

The circular has been issued as part of the regulator’s efforts to ease the investment process and address long-pending investor complaints regarding physical securities.