Are you able to change or alter the name of your demat account? These situations frequently occur when an investor gets married or divorced, changes their father’s name, or takes on someone else’s middle or last name. If this is the case, it is essential to inform your broker immediately about such a change so that problems with trading or investment in stock markets will not be repeated. Luckily, changing the name of an online Demat account is effortless.
For all the brokers who have free demat account or chargeable demat account openings, the guidance for changing names in demat accounts is provided by all the brokerage firms. Follow the article below to understand the steps of changing your name in a demat account.
What is a Demat Account and its Importance?
This process is known as dematerialisation, when physical securities, such as shares, are converted to electronic form. The demat account acts as an intermediary to facilitate electronic trade settlement and is like a bank account, whereby securities are held in digitised form. This account allows you to debit or credit securities held electronically, as defined in the transaction effected by that account holder.
The ease and comfort of buying and selling securities on the stock market can be facilitated by a Demat account. A Demat account allows an investor to trade wherever and at any time he wants with ease, thanks to the fact that it is accessible during trading hours.
The Situation for Changing Name in Demat Account
The circumstances under which changing the name in the demat account takes place, and the required documents as per the situation are as follows.
1. If a marriage or divorce takes place
It will be necessary to provide a notarised copy of your divorce decree or your marriage license.
A scanned version of your passport with the name of your father or spouse on it.
A certified copy of the official gazette containing your new name.
2. If a name is changed for any reason other than divorce or marriage
A certified copy of the official registry containing your new name.
3. In case of a change in father’s name
A notarised copy of the change to your father’s name that is published in an official gazette.
Steps to Change Name in a Demat Account
Follow the below-mentioned steps and details to change the name in a demat account.
- To obtain an account modification form, ask your broker or representative of your brokerage firm for the form. The form can also be obtained from their website.
- Please fill in your details on the form and sign it.
- You will be asked to provide the brokerage firm with your KYC documents along with the signed form.
- A self-tested copy of your PAN card will be included.
Depending on the type of service that your broker provides, these documents are sent to a depositary participant, head Office or local Agent or through an Internet portal when you have them prepared and in conjunction with your PAN card.
Your documents have been checked, and your broker will notify you that they have accepted and approved a change in your name. This does not change the investor’s trading ID, known as their client identification number. After this process, the name that is displayed in front of the client’s identification number will only change.
Conclusion
You can easily apply to your broker firm for a name change in your Demat account by signing the duly signed form, an authenticated copy of your PAN card and any documents you need. Please keep in mind that there is no change to your trading ID otherwise, some brokering companies use it as a client identification number.
You can always ask for help from the customer service of your brokerage firm in case this process is not simplified enough or if you have any questions or concerns. Take a look at all the relevant questions and contact your customer service agent, who will be able to answer them for you. An online share market app like Share India is one of the best trading apps to open a demat account.
