Zerodha zerodha account opening offline kyc account documents

Documents Required for Offline Zerodha Account Opening

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated 19 June 2026. Reading time ~12 min.

Key facts

Route	Offline, document review by email then courier
Account opening cost	Free for resident individuals since 29 June 2024
Core documents	PAN, address proof, bank proof, photograph, signature
Extra for F&O or commodity	One income proof from a fixed list

The offline Zerodha account is the paper version of the same Know Your Client file that the online eKYC flow assembles digitally. It exists for the reader whose mobile number is not linked to Aadhaar, who holds a foreign passport, or who is opening for a trust , HUF , or corporate entity that has no online path at all. The document set is fixed by the CDSL depository rules and the SEBI KYC framework , not by Zerodha’s preference, so the same five core proofs reappear across every broker.

This article catalogues that physical set: what each proof must show, how the self-attestation works, how the offline list maps onto the online eKYC set , where notarisation enters for NRI and trust cases, and why In-Person Verification survives even when the rest of the application travels by courier. It is a reference companion to the procedure walk-through at how to open a Zerodha account offline and the online-route document list at documents required for a Zerodha account .

Account opening itself is free for resident Indian accounts from 29 June 2024, online or offline, per Zerodha’s resident-individual support page. The old Rs 200 to Rs 300 charge survives only for NRI and non-individual files, where it is a Rs 500 cheque in favour of Zerodha Broking Limited. The document list, not the fee, is what now decides whether your offline application clears on the first review or bounces back for correction.

The five core documents

Every resident-individual offline file is built from five proofs. The first four establish identity, address, and bank linkage; the fifth, income proof, is conditional and covered in its own section below.

PAN card

A self-attested photocopy of the Permanent Account Number card. The PAN is the spine of the whole file: it is the tax identifier SEBI uses to link your trading account, your demat account , and your KRA record . The name on the PAN must match the name you write on the forms exactly, including initials. A mismatch between the PAN name and the bank-account name is a frequent cause of account rejection .

Address proof

Any one of four documents: Aadhaar, driving licence, passport, or voter ID. If you submit Aadhaar, it must be a masked Aadhaar, with the first eight of the twelve digits hidden, per UIDAI’s masking direction for third-party sharing. The masked Aadhaar serves only as address proof here; it does not double as the Aadhaar-OTP authentication that the online route uses, because the offline file has no OTP step. A passport works as address proof only if the address page is current.

Bank proof

A personalised cancelled cheque carrying your printed name, or a bank statement or passbook showing the account number, the bank logo, the seal, the MICR line, and the IFSC code. The bank account named here becomes your primary funds account and the only account that withdrawals can be paid to. A non-personalised cheque, one without your printed name, is rejected because it cannot prove the account belongs to you. If you later want a second bank linked, that is a separate secondary bank request .

Photograph

A recent photograph affixed to the application form. On the offline route this is a physical photo on the printed form, where the online route instead captures your face live during the IPV step . The photograph and the IPV capture are not interchangeable: the offline form needs the affixed photo and you still complete IPV separately.

Signature

Your signature drawn on the forms in the boxes provided, following Zerodha’s signature guidelines PDF. The signature on the forms must match the signature on file with your bank and the one you will later use to update your signature or sign a DDPI . Inconsistent signatures across the forms are a common review failure. The signature guidelines specify a plain ink signature inside the box, not initials and not a stylised mark that the box cannot contain.

How the offline set differs from the online eKYC set

The substance is identical; the medium is not. The online eKYC flow pulls your name, photograph, and address straight from the Aadhaar XML through UIDAI , so you never photocopy anything. You authenticate by Aadhaar OTP sent to the mobile number linked to your Aadhaar, you e-sign the application with the same OTP, and the whole file is digital from PAN verification to esign .

The offline route removes every one of those digital shortcuts. There is no Aadhaar OTP because, by definition, the offline applicant’s mobile is not Aadhaar-linked, or the applicant is an entity that Aadhaar cannot represent. So the name, address, and photo that the online flow harvests automatically must instead arrive as physical self-attested photocopies, and the e-sign is replaced by a wet-ink signature on the printed forms. The deeper comparison sits at Zerodha eKYC vs offline KYC .

Element	Online eKYC	Offline courier route
Identity and address	Pulled from Aadhaar XML via UIDAI	Self-attested PAN copy plus one address proof
Authentication	Aadhaar OTP to linked mobile	Wet-ink signature on printed forms
Photograph	Live IPV capture	Affixed photo on form, IPV still separate
Signature	Aadhaar e-sign	Drawn on forms per signature guidelines
Bank proof	Penny-drop verification	Cancelled cheque or bank statement copy
Submission	Fully digital	Email review, then physical courier

The penny-drop point is worth isolating. The online route validates your bank account by sending a token rupee and reading back the account-holder name, the penny-drop verification . The offline route cannot do that, so the cancelled cheque or statement copy carries the full burden of proving the account is yours, which is why a personalised cheque is non-negotiable offline.

Income proof: only for F&O and commodity

Income proof is not part of the basic offline file. You need it only when you want the F&O segment or the commodity segment enabled, because SEBI requires brokers to collect a financial-capacity proof before allowing derivatives trading. A cash-and-delivery-only account never needs it.

Any one of the following is accepted, each meeting its stated threshold, and the file must be a PDF under 5 MB carrying the logo and seal of the issuing authority:

A bank statement with the bank logo and seal in your name for the last six months, with an average balance above Rs 10,000.
The latest salary slip with gross monthly income above Rs 15,000.
The latest ITR acknowledgement with gross annual income above Rs 1,20,000.
The latest Form 16 with gross annual income above Rs 1,20,000.
A certificate of net worth above Rs 10,00,000.
The latest demat holdings statement with current value above Rs 10,000, holdings not pledged.
The latest fixed deposit receipt with a deposit above Rs 1,00,000.

These thresholds are the same ones Zerodha applies when you activate the commodity segment or enable F&O on an existing account, so the offline applicant who picks F&O at opening is supplying the same proof a current client supplies later. Income proof is also subject to periodic review under SEBI guidelines : the segment can be disabled if a refreshed proof is not submitted on request.

In-Person Verification survives the courier route

IPV is mandatory for all brokers under the SEBI KYC framework, and the offline route does not exempt you. Even though your PAN, address proof, and signature travel by post, the verification of a live human matching those documents happens online. Zerodha directs you to visit signup.zerodha.com/ipv, note the 4-digit OTP shown on screen, enable your camera, and display the OTP while clearly visible. The recorded clip ties your face to the application.

The full mechanics, including what to do if the camera or OTP step fails, sit at how to complete Zerodha IPV by video . The point for the offline applicant is that the document courier and the IPV are two separate acts: posting the forms does not satisfy IPV, and completing IPV does not replace the affixed photograph on the form.

Notarisation and attestation for special cases

A resident individual notarises nothing. Notarisation and extra attestation enter only in three situations, each with its own document chain.

NRI offline files

An NRI account opened offline needs a notarised and self-attested copy of the PAN card, a notarised and self-attested overseas address proof, an Indian address proof if available, and a valid passport and visa, all notarised and self-attested. An NRI holding a foreign passport adds the PIO, OCI, or resident card. A FATCA declaration with TIN details accompanies the set. The notary requirement reflects that the issuing authority sits outside India and Zerodha cannot verify the original directly.

Trust and non-individual files

A trust account needs the trust deed attested by a public notary, with the investment clause present, and the first three pages carrying the trust seal and the authorised signatory’s signature. The corporate , partnership and LLP , and society routes each carry their own attested-document chains. These entity files are offline-only; there is no online path for a non-individual account at Zerodha, with the HUF being the one near-exception that has a partial online flow.

Ultimate Beneficial Owner annexure

Entity files add a UBO layer. Any individual holding 10 percent or more of the entity’s shareholding, capital, or profits must submit the UBO annexure with a self-attested PAN and address proof. Where an entity rather than a person crosses that 10 percent line, the annexure extends to the shareholders of that entity. The UBO chain is a SEBI anti-money-laundering requirement , not a Zerodha invention, so it applies identically across brokers.

What a clean offline file looks like

The resident-individual offline applicant who wants only cash and delivery couriers four self-attested proofs: PAN, one address proof, a bank proof, and the signed forms with photo affixed, plus the separate online IPV. The applicant who wants F&O or MCX commodities adds one income proof from the list above. An applicant registered in Sikkim adds a domicile certificate before commodities can be enabled, a state-specific rule that also applies to the online commodity activation .

The forms are emailed to Zerodha first for review, corrected if flagged, then couriered to the Zerodha Customer Support Centre at JP Nagar 4th Phase, Bengaluru 560076. A correct file opens within 72 working hours, with login credentials sent by email. The new-account desk numbers and the courier address are on Zerodha’s offline-opening support page. Once the account is live, the next steps are the same as any account: add a nominee , set up an emandate for SIPs, and add funds .

External references

References

Zerodha Support, “How to open a Zerodha demat account online? Simple steps,” documents-to-open-an-account article, accessed 19 June 2026.
Zerodha Support, “How to open a Zerodha demat account offline?” individual-accounts offline-opening article, accessed 19 June 2026. States free resident-individual opening from 29 June 2024, the self-attested document list, and the Bengaluru courier address.
Zerodha Support, “What documents are required to open an account for a trust at Zerodha?” non-individual-accounts trust-account article, accessed 19 June 2026. Source for the notarised trust deed and UBO annexure requirements.
SEBI (KYC) requirements for In-Person Verification under the SEBI KYC Registration Agency framework.
UIDAI Aadhaar masking advisory for third-party sharing of Aadhaar copies.

Frequently asked questions

What documents are required to open a Zerodha account offline?

A self-attested PAN copy, one address proof (Aadhaar, driving licence, passport, or voter ID), a bank proof such as a personalised cancelled cheque or a bank statement, a photograph, and your signature on the printed forms. Income proof is added only if you want the F&O or commodity segment.

Is the offline document set different from the online eKYC set?

The substantive list is the same. The difference is the medium: online eKYC pulls your name, photo, and address from Aadhaar through the UIDAI XML and you sign with Aadhaar OTP, while the offline route needs physical self-attested photocopies of the same documents couriered to Zerodha’s Bengaluru office after an email review.

Do I need to notarise any documents for an offline Zerodha account?

A resident individual does not. Notarisation appears in special cases: an NRI’s PAN, overseas address proof, and passport must be notarised and self-attested, and a trust opening needs the trust deed attested by a public notary.

Is In-Person Verification needed for the offline route?

Yes. IPV is mandatory for every broker under SEBI rules. Zerodha lets you complete it online at signup.zerodha.com/ipv by displaying a 4-digit on-screen OTP to your camera, even when the rest of the application travels by courier.

Why submit a masked Aadhaar?

UIDAI directs that the first eight digits of the Aadhaar number be masked when an Aadhaar copy is shared with a third party. Zerodha asks for a masked Aadhaar so the full 12-digit number is never stored in the physical file.

Reviewed and published by

WebNotes Editorial Team

The WebNotes Editorial Team covers Indian capital markets, payments infrastructure and retail investor procedures. Every article is fact-checked against primary sources, principally SEBI circulars and master directions, NPCI specifications and the official support documentation published by the intermediary in question. Drafts go through a second-pair-of-eyes review and a separate compliance read before publication, and revisions are tracked against the SEBI and NPCI rule changes referenced in the methodology section.

Last reviewed: 19 June 2026
Conflicts of interest: WebNotes is independent. No relationship with any broker, registrar or bank named in this article.