How to claim mutual fund units / dividends from IEPF
Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) holds unclaimed dividends transferred from AMCs after 7 years. The Companies Act / MCA framework allows investors (or their heirs) to claim these. The process is via online Form IEPF-5; typical processing 3-6 months.
Conflict-of-interest disclosure. This guide is published by WebNotes Editorial Team for informational purposes. WebNotes has no commercial relationship with IEPF Authority or any AMC. No affiliate commission is earned.
Step-by-step procedure
See the procedure infobox above.
What gets transferred to IEPF
Per Companies Act / IEPF Rules:
- Unclaimed dividends > 7 years: Transferred from AMC to IEPF.
- Unclaimed redemption amounts: Similar transfer mechanism.
- Underlying units sometimes: For shares not claimed even after dividend transfer; transferred to IEPF demat account.
IEPF Form IEPF-5
Online via iepf.gov.in :
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Claimant (investor / heir) | Name, address, PAN |
| Folio / claim reference | From AMC records |
| Amount claimed | Dividends + interest if applicable |
| Bank account | For refund |
| Identity proof | Aadhaar, PAN, passport |
| Death certificate (if heir) | Original / attested |
| Succession proof (if heir) | Nominee / succession certificate |
Claim by heir
If original investor deceased:
- Heir submits IEPF-5.
- Same documents as nominee / succession claim for AMC.
- Additionally: AMC’s no-objection or entitlement letter.
MITRA service
MITRA (CAMS + KFin joint service): tracks orphan / forgotten MF folios under your PAN. Helps identify holdings that may have IEPF-transferred amounts.
Verification by AMC
Step 5 (AMC approach): AMC verifies your claim against its records of pre-transfer holdings. Issues entitlement letter forwarded to IEPF Authority.
This is the longest part of the timeline.
See also
- How to transmit MF units after death
- How to claim MF units via nomination
- How to claim MF units via succession certificate
- How to handle joint holder death (MF)
- How to add nominee on MF folio
- How to update nominee MF folio
- How to remove nominee from MF folio
- How to update multiple nominees (MF)
- How to decide nominee vs will (MF)
- How to retrieve forgotten MF folios
- How to claim IEPF dividends (Zerodha)
- How to link folio to PAN (MF)
- Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF)
- MITRA (forgotten folio retrieval)
- Section 47 (no-tax-merger)
- Companies Act 2013
- Succession Certificate
- Will (legal document)
- Mutual funds in India
- AMFI
- SEBI
External references
References
- Investor Education and Protection Fund (Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules, 2016.
- Companies Act, 2013 - IEPF provisions.
- AMFI Best Practice Guidelines on unclaimed amounts.