Charges clearing charges self-clearing member NSE Clearing Indian Clearing Corporation zerodha settlement

Clearing charges at Zerodha

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Overview

Clearing charges are the fees a clearing member levies for settling a trade through the exchange clearing corporation: computing each party’s funds and securities obligation, guaranteeing the settlement, and moving cash and stock between counterparties. Zerodha levies no clearing charge on any segment because it is a self-clearing member, clearing its own trades directly rather than routing them through a third-party professional clearing member (Zerodha clearing charges support note, as of 19 June 2026). Brokers that do use an external clearing member typically pass on Rs 200 to Rs 2,000 per crore, or 0.002 to 0.02 per cent of option premium; that line is absent on a Zerodha contract note.

The distinction matters most for high-turnover traders. On a single delivery trade the difference is a few rupees, but across a month of active futures and options trading a per-crore clearing fee compounds into a real number. Because Zerodha self-clears, the clearing line that some competitors carry never appears, so a trader comparing brokers on cost should treat clearing charges as a genuine point of difference rather than a universal levy.

This article explains what clearing charges are, why Zerodha levies none, where clearing sits in the broader charge stack, and the role of the clearing corporations, NSE Clearing for NSE trades and Indian Clearing Corporation for BSE trades. It sits alongside the exchange transaction charges note, the IPFT charges reference, and the broader Zerodha charges and hidden costs overview.

What clearing is, and what a clearing charge pays for

Clearing is the step between a trade being matched on the exchange and the trade being settled. When a buy order and a sell order match, the trade is executed, but cash and securities have not yet changed hands. Clearing is the process that determines who owes what: it nets each member’s positions, computes the net funds and net securities obligation for each settlement, and instructs the movement of money and stock so the buyer receives shares and the seller receives cash. The clearing corporation stands between the two sides as the central counterparty, guaranteeing that settlement completes even if one side defaults.

A clearing charge is the fee for performing that function. Where a broker is not itself authorised to clear, it appoints a professional clearing member, a firm that clears trades on the broker’s behalf through the clearing corporation. The professional clearing member charges the broker for this service, and the broker passes the cost to the client as a clearing charge line on the contract note. The fee is usually quoted per crore of turnover or as a small percentage of option premium, which is why it scales with trading volume rather than being a flat per-trade amount.

Why Zerodha levies no clearing charge

Zerodha is a self-clearing member of the exchange clearing corporations. It holds clearing membership directly, so it clears its own trades rather than appointing and paying a third-party professional clearing member. With no external clearing fee in the chain, there is nothing to pass on, and Zerodha’s stated position is that it does not charge any clearing charges (Zerodha clearing charges support note, as of 19 June 2026).

This has been the position since Zerodha moved to zero clearing charges for equity and F&O. The saving for the client is the clearing line that a self-clearing broker simply does not generate. For comparison, Zerodha’s own note puts the typical third-party clearing cost at between Rs 200 and Rs 2,000 per crore, or 0.002 to 0.02 per cent of option premium. A trader doing Rs 50 crore of futures turnover in a month at a broker charging Rs 500 per crore would pay Rs 25,000 in clearing alone; at Zerodha that is zero. The benefit is proportional to turnover, so it is largest for active derivatives traders and negligible for occasional delivery investors.

Self-clearing is not free for Zerodha itself; it carries the cost of clearing membership, margin obligations to the clearing corporation, and the operational burden of settlement. The point is that Zerodha absorbs the clearing-membership cost into its own operations rather than billing a per-crore clearing line to clients.

Where clearing sits in the charge stack

On a Zerodha trade the cost stack is brokerage, securities transaction tax, exchange transaction charges, stamp duty on the buy, the SEBI turnover fee at Rs 10 per crore, IPFT at Rs 0.01 per crore on NSE equity and futures, and 18 per cent GST on the sum of brokerage, exchange transaction charges, the SEBI fee and IPFT. The DP charge of Rs 15.34 per scrip applies on delivery sells. Nowhere in that stack is a clearing line, because Zerodha self-clears.

At a broker that uses a professional clearing member, the stack would carry one more line, the clearing charge, sitting alongside the exchange transaction charges and scaling per crore. It is worth separating clearing charges from exchange transaction charges, which are distinct. Exchange transaction charges are the exchange’s own fee for providing the trading platform and are charged by every broker; clearing charges are the clearing member’s fee for settlement and depend on whether the broker self-clears. The two are often conflated because both are per-turnover and both relate to the post-trade chain, but they are levied by different entities for different functions. The full break-up of the lines that do apply is set out in the hidden charges note.

The role of the clearing corporation

A clearing corporation is the exchange-level entity that guarantees and settles every trade on the exchange. It is the central counterparty: it becomes the buyer to every seller and the seller to every buyer, so that no participant carries direct counterparty risk against another. It manages the settlement guarantee fund, collects margins, and steps in if a member defaults. Clearing members, including self-clearing brokers like Zerodha, clear their trades through the corporation.

For trades on the National Stock Exchange , clearing and settlement run through NSE Clearing Limited , the NSE’s wholly owned clearing corporation, historically the National Securities Clearing Corporation Limited. For trades on the Bombay Stock Exchange , clearing runs through Indian Clearing Corporation Limited , BSE’s clearing arm. Both are SEBI-recognised clearing corporations subject to the regulator’s net-worth, risk-management and settlement-guarantee requirements. Whichever corporation a Zerodha trade settles through, the clearing function is performed without a separate clearing charge reaching the client, because Zerodha self-clears as a member of both.

The clearing corporation’s guarantee is what makes the investor protection and settlement-guarantee framework work in practice: because the corporation guarantees settlement, an individual trader does not bear the risk that the counterparty on the other side of the trade fails to deliver. That guarantee is funded through margins and the settlement guarantee fund rather than through a clearing charge on the retail trader’s contract note.

See also

External references

References

  1. Zerodha clearing charges support note, as of 19 June 2026, on Zerodha being a self-clearing member.
  2. SEBI (Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations) Regulations, on clearing corporation recognition and the settlement guarantee fund.
  3. NSE Clearing and Indian Clearing Corporation as recognised clearing corporations for NSE and BSE respectively.

Related articles

Frequently asked questions

Does Zerodha charge clearing charges?
No. Zerodha does not levy any clearing charge on any segment because it is a self-clearing member. It clears its own trades directly rather than paying a third-party professional clearing member, so there is no clearing fee to pass on.
What is a clearing charge?
A clearing charge is the fee a clearing member levies for settling a trade through the clearing corporation, computing obligations, and guaranteeing settlement. Brokers that do not clear their own trades pay a professional clearing member and pass the cost on.
Who clears Zerodha's trades?
Zerodha clears its own trades as a self-clearing member of the exchange clearing corporations, NSE Clearing for NSE trades and Indian Clearing Corporation for BSE trades. There is no external professional clearing member in the chain.
How much do other brokers charge for clearing?
Brokers that route through a third-party professional clearing member typically charge between Rs 200 and Rs 2,000 per crore, or 0.002 to 0.02 per cent of option premium, per Zerodha’s clearing charges note. Zerodha avoids this by self-clearing.
What is the difference between a clearing corporation and a clearing member?
A clearing corporation, such as NSE Clearing or Indian Clearing Corporation, is the exchange-level entity that guarantees and settles all trades. A clearing member is a broker or firm authorised to clear trades through that corporation on behalf of clients.
Is the absence of a clearing charge a real saving?
Yes, for trades that would otherwise carry one. A trader at a broker charging Rs 500 per crore of clearing pays that on top of brokerage and statutory levies; at Zerodha that line is zero, which matters most on high-turnover F&O trading.

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