How to apply for a Mainboard IPO on Zerodha

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A mainboard Initial Public Offering is an IPO conducted on the main segment of the National Stock Exchange or the Bombay Stock Exchange, regulated under the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2018 (ICDR). Mainboard issues differ from SME IPOs in minimum post-issue paid-up capital requirements, disclosure standards, and minimum subscription and allotment norms. This guide covers the full end-to-end procedure for a retail applicant applying through Zerodha using the UPI ASBA mechanism.

For the generic Kite web procedure see the Kite web IPO guide; for the Kite mobile-app procedure see the Kite app guide. For background on the mainboard segment see the Mainboard IPO wiki article.

What distinguishes a mainboard IPO

Before applying, confirm the issue is a mainboard issue. SEBI ICDR Regulations 2018 prescribe separate chapters for mainboard and SME issues. Key mainboard-specific attributes:

  • Exchange listing, on the main board of NSE or BSE (not NSE Emerge or BSE SME).
  • Minimum post-issue paid-up capital, ₹10 crore (whereas an SME issue transitions to the main board only after it crosses ₹25 crore post-issue paid-up capital).
  • Mandatory underwriting, mainboard issues are not required to be fully underwritten unless the promoters do not satisfy eligibility norms; SME issues must be 100% underwritten.
  • Minimum application size, for retail individual investors (RIIs), the minimum bid is one lot, and the maximum bid value for the UPI ASBA route is ₹2,00,000. For non-institutional investors (NIIs), the minimum bid is above ₹2,00,000 and requires a bank ASBA route through the Self Certified Syndicate Bank (SCSB).
  • Basis of allotment, conducted by the registrar and published on T+1; listed on T+3 from issue close.

Zerodha marks mainboard issues distinctly from SME issues on the Bids → IPO landing page. The exchange platform (NSE/BSE) and the issue segment are also visible on the SEBI public issues portal at sebi.gov.in.

Step-by-step procedure

Sign in to Zerodha Kite

Navigate to kite.zerodha.com. Enter your Zerodha client ID (begins with the two-letter broker code, e.g., ZD1234) and password, then complete two-factor authentication via the TOTP generated by your authenticator app. If you use the Kite mobile app, the procedure is identical in structure; see the Kite app guide for the touch-specific flow.

Click Bids in the top navigation bar, then IPO in the sub-navigation. The landing page lists all open issues with the issue name, price band, lot size, bid opening and closing dates, and the minimum application amount at the cut-off price. Past applications are accessible through Bids → Order history.

Read the Red Herring Prospectus

The RHP is the legally binding disclosure document for the issue. The issuer company must file the RHP with SEBI and the relevant stock exchange under Regulation 32 of SEBI ICDR 2018. The RHP discloses:

  • The price band and the basis for the price band (a valuation commentary).
  • The objects of the issue (how the proceeds will be used).
  • The promoters’ holding pattern, both pre-issue and post-issue.
  • Three years of audited financials.
  • Risk factors, including regulatory, sectoral, and issuer-specific risks.
  • The book running lead manager details, the registrar, and the schedule of events.

The RHP link is on the Kite issue card. You can also access it directly at the SEBI public issues portal.

Click Apply and select investor type

Click the Apply button on the issue card. A bid entry modal appears. The investor type defaults to Individual (retail). Change the type if applicable:

  • Shareholder, if you hold shares in the parent company of which this is a spin-off or subsidiary IPO, and the RHP provides for a shareholder reservation portion.
  • Employee, if the issuer has earmarked an employee reservation portion and you are an eligible employee. See the employee category guide.
  • HUF, if you are applying as the karta of a Hindu Undivided Family with matching PAN.

The NII option (for bids above ₹2,00,000) is not available through the UPI ASBA route in the Kite interface; NII applicants must apply through bank ASBA via the SCSB.

Enter quantity, price, and UPI ID

Enter your bid quantity in whole multiples of the lot size. A partially filled lot is rejected. Select your bid price:

  • Cut-off, instructs the registrar to accept whatever price the issue is finally priced at within the price band. This is the standard retail strategy because it eliminates the risk of a price mismatch.
  • Specific price, a price within the price band in the increment stated in the RHP (typically ₹1 increments for most mainboard issues).

You may submit up to three bids per application by clicking Add bid. The UPI mandate block amount equals the highest bid value (highest quantity times upper price band), regardless of how many bids you enter.

Enter your UPI ID in username@bank format. The UPI ID must be linked to a bank account where the PAN matches the PAN on your Zerodha demat. Family-member, business, and merchant UPI IDs are rejected at the sponsor bank’s eligibility check.

Tick the SEBI undertaking and submit

Tick the SEBI undertaking checkbox. The undertaking asserts that:

  1. The bid is not a duplicate application (you have not applied for the same issue under another PAN or another broker).
  2. You satisfy retail investor eligibility (bid value does not exceed ₹2,00,000).
  3. The UPI ID belongs to a bank account in your own name with matching PAN.

Click Submit. Zerodha routes the bid to the exchange and triggers a UPI mandate request from the sponsor bank. The bid status changes to Pending Mandate within thirty seconds.

Approve the UPI mandate

Your UPI app receives a Block Funds for IPO push notification within thirty seconds of bid submission. Open the UPI app, locate the mandate under Pending requests (the exact label varies by app), review the block amount and issuer name, enter your UPI PIN, and confirm authorisation.

The mandate must be authorised by 5 PM IST on the bid closing day. Bids whose mandates are not authorised by this cutoff are treated as unconfirmed and are rejected by the registrar. For the per-app procedure, see:

Verify bid status and allotment

Navigate to Bids → Order history on Kite. The bid card shows the current status:

  • Mandate Pending, bid submitted; mandate not yet approved.
  • Mandate Accepted, mandate approved; bank lien in place.
  • Allotted (N shares), registrar has allotted N shares to you.
  • Not Allotted, no shares allotted; bank lien released on T+1.
  • Rejected, bid rejected at exchange, sponsor bank, or registrar stage.

Under the SEBI T+3 regime, the allotment status is available on T+1, shares are credited to your demat on T+2, and trading commences on T+3 from 9:00 AM IST (pre-open call auction) and 10:00 AM IST (regular session).

Mainboard IPO allotment mechanics for retail

For oversubscribed mainboard issues, the basis of allotment is determined by the registrar under the basis of allotment rules:

  • At least 35% of the net offer is reserved for Retail Individual Investors (RIIs).
  • At least 15% is reserved for Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs).
  • At least 50% is reserved for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs).
  • If the retail portion is oversubscribed, allotment is by computerised draw of lots at one lot per allottee. All eligible retail applicants in an oversubscribed issue therefore have equal probability of receiving exactly one lot, regardless of the number of lots applied for.

This allotment mechanic makes it rational for retail applicants to apply for the minimum one lot (not the maximum), since a larger application does not improve allotment probability.

What can go wrong

  • UPI mandate not received within 15 minutes. Refresh the pending-requests section in your UPI app. As a fallback, open your bank’s own UPI app where the same mandate is discoverable independently of third-party notification routing.
  • Mandate rejected with code U16 / ZD (duplicate mandate). Wait fifteen minutes, withdraw the bid on Kite, and re-submit.
  • PAN mismatch causing silent rejection. The registrar’s third-party verification compares the PAN on your demat with the PAN on the bank account linked to the UPI ID. If they differ, the bid reaches the allotment pool but is then rejected without a notification. Update your bank’s PAN record through the bank’s KYC channel.
  • Bid placed after 4:45 PM on the last day. The mandate may not arrive until the next working day; if the next day is past the issue close, the bid is unconfirmable.
  • Multiple applications under the same PAN. If you apply for the same mainboard issue through two different brokers (or using two different UPI IDs), the registrar’s deduplication rejects one or both bids. Apply for a given issue through only one broker.

References

  1. SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2018, Chapters II–IV, https://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/regulations/aug-2018/sebi-issue-of-capital-and-disclosure-requirements-regulations-2018_39971.html.
  2. SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/CFD/TPD1/CIR/P/2023/140 dated 9 August 2023, Reduction of timeline for listing of shares in Public Issue from existing T+6 days to T+3 days.
  3. NPCI Circular dated 8 September 2025, Enhancement of UPI Per-Transaction Limits for Capital Markets.
  4. How to apply for IPOs, Zerodha Support Portal, https://support.zerodha.com/category/trading-and-markets/ipo/ipo-application/articles/how-to-apply-for-ipos-and-how-to-stay-informed-of-new-ones.

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