How-to family portfolio family account Console Kite invite error sub-account

How to fix the family account invite error on Zerodha

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated . Reading time ~9 min. Level: Beginner.

The Zerodha family portfolio feature links sub-accounts so a parent account can view the combined holdings of a household, and the family account invite error is the most common snag in setting it up. The two errors you are likely to see, “Error fetching invite details: Invite doesn’t exist” and an “invalid user” message, both come from the linking flow rather than from any account fault: the invite was deleted or has expired, or the wrong ID was entered. This guide walks the correct invite flow on Console and Kite and fixes each error.

The family portfolio is view-only. After a sub-account authorises the link, the parent sees that account’s holdings in a combined view; the parent cannot trade in it. Up to 15 family members can be linked, every member must hold a Zerodha account, and the feature is not available for NRI accounts. Getting the link to take is purely a matter of the right ID, the right contact details, and accepting within the 2-hour window.

Conflict-of-interest disclosure. This guide is published by the WebNotes Editorial Team for informational purposes and is written independently. WebNotes operates a Zerodha account-opening referral programme, disclosed on the pages that carry the referral link; this guide does not carry it and earns no referral commission from the procedure described here.

Step-by-step procedure

The numbered Procedure infobox at the top of this guide gives the full sequence. The H3 subsections below expand the steps that produce the invite error.

1. Open the Family view from Kite holdings

On the parent account, go to kite.zerodha.com/holdings and click Family, then Link a sub-account. The parent is the account that will see the combined view; each other account is a sub-account that grants view access. Decide which account is the parent before you start, because the invite always flows from parent to sub-account.

2. Enter the sub-account’s Kite user ID, PAN and contact

This is where the “invalid user” error is made. Enter the sub-account holder’s Kite login user ID, the client ID they use to log in to Kite, along with their PAN and registered mobile or email. Do not enter the 8-digit demat or beneficial-owner (BO) ID; the field expects the Kite login ID, and the demat ID returns invalid user. The PAN and contact must match the sub-account’s records exactly, or the lookup fails.

Click Continue. Zerodha sends a verification link by SMS and email to the sub-account holder’s registered mobile and email. The link is valid for 2 hours. The parent’s view of the sub-account does not activate yet; it activates only after the sub-account authorises.

4. Accept on the sub-account within 2 hours

The sub-account holder opens the verification link, logs in to Console with their own credentials, and authorises the request. This step is what grants the parent view access, so it must be done on the sub-account, not the parent, and within the 2-hour validity window.

5. Re-send if the invite expired or was deleted

If the sub-account holder opens the link and sees “Error fetching invite details: Invite doesn’t exist”, the invite is no longer live. Two causes produce this: the parent deleted the invite from their Console after sending it, or the 2-hour link expired before it was accepted. The fix is the same in both cases: the parent re-enters the sub-account details on Console and sends a fresh invite, and the sub-account accepts the new link within 2 hours.

After authorisation, the sub-account appears under Family in the parent’s holdings, and its portfolio is folded into the combined view on Console and Kite. If it does not appear, the authorisation did not complete; have the sub-account open the latest link again and confirm the login was on the sub-account’s own credentials.

The two errors and their exact causes

Most family-portfolio setup failures reduce to one of two errors.

“Error fetching invite details: Invite doesn’t exist” appears when the sub-account tries to accept an invite that the parent has already deleted, or that has expired past its 2-hour validity. The invite the sub-account is holding no longer corresponds to a live request on the parent’s side, so there is nothing to fetch. The parent must send a fresh invite.

“Invalid user” appears at the parent’s data-entry step when the ID does not resolve to a Zerodha account. The usual cause is entering the demat or BO ID instead of the Kite login user ID. Re-enter the sub-account’s Kite login ID with the matching PAN and registered contact.

A third, quieter failure is the invite SMS never arriving. If the IDs are correct and the link still does not reach the sub-account, the registered mobile or email on the sub-account may be out of date or misregistered, in which case the contact details need correcting with Zerodha support before the invite can be delivered.

Eligibility and limits to check first

A link can fail not on the invite mechanics but on eligibility.

The family portfolio supports up to 15 family members in one portfolio. Every member, parent and sub-account, must hold a Zerodha account; you cannot link an account held at another broker. The feature is not available for NRI accounts, so an attempt to link an NRI sub-account will not complete. And because the feature is view-only, it does not give the parent any trading or operating right over the sub-account; for shared operation a joint account or a separate account opened for a family member or friend is the relevant tool, not the family portfolio.

How this differs from opening a family account

The family portfolio is a viewing layer over accounts that already exist. It is not the same as opening an account for a relative, and it is not the same as a joint account. If the goal is to open and operate an account on behalf of a family member, see opening a Zerodha account for a family member or friend and the Zerodha family declaration that supports funding between family accounts. If the goal is genuine joint ownership of one demat, see Zerodha joint demat holders . This guide covers only the view-only portfolio link and the invite error in setting it up.

See also

External references

References

  1. Zerodha support, How to add family members to a Zerodha account? (linking flow, Kite login user ID, 2-hour verification link, 15-member limit, view-only, no NRI accounts) (as of 21 June 2026).
  2. Zerodha support, Error fetching invite details: Invite doesn’t exist (deleted or expired invite; parent must re-send) (as of 21 June 2026).
  3. Zerodha Z-Connect, Introducing family portfolio view on Console (feature scope and authorisation requirement).

Related articles

Frequently asked questions

Why does Zerodha show 'Invite doesn't exist' when I accept a family account invite?
The parent account has deleted the invite, or the 2-hour verification link has expired. The sub-account cannot accept a stale or deleted invite. The parent must re-enter the sub-account details on Console and send a fresh invite, then accept it within 2 hours.
Why do I get 'invalid user' when adding a family member on Zerodha?
You have entered the wrong ID. Enter the sub-account’s Kite login user ID, the client ID used to log in to Kite, together with the matching PAN and registered mobile or email. Entering the 8-digit demat or BO ID returns invalid user.
How long is the Zerodha family account invite link valid?
The verification link sent to the sub-account holder’s mobile and email is valid for 2 hours. If it is not accepted within that window it expires, and the parent must send a fresh invite from Console for the sub-account to authorise.
Can I trade in a family member's account through the family portfolio?
No. The family portfolio is view-only. After authorisation the parent can see the sub-account’s holdings in a combined view, but cannot place orders in it. Each account is still operated only by its own holder with their own login.
How many family members can I link on Zerodha?
You can add up to 15 family members in one family portfolio. Every member must hold a Zerodha account, and the feature is not available for NRI accounts. Each sub-account must individually authorise its own invite before it appears in the view.
The sub-account holder never received the invite SMS. What now?
Confirm the parent entered the correct Kite login user ID, PAN and the registered mobile and email exactly as held on the sub-account. If the details are right and the link still does not arrive, the contact details on the sub-account may be misregistered; contact Zerodha support to verify them.

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