How-to How to Zerodha IPV in-person verification camera permissions Account opening

How to enable the camera for In-Person Verification (IPV) on Zerodha

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated 19 June 2026. Reading time ~9 min. Level: Beginner.

Key facts

Time required	2 to 5 minutes once the camera is granted access
Cost	Free (part of account opening, no separate charge)
Documents needed	Original physical PAN card, held up to the camera during the liveness step

Procedure

Confirm you are on a supported browser or the Kite appUse updated Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari on desktop, or the Kite app on iOS or Android. The IPV screen needs the WebRTC camera interface, which older browsers do not expose.
Open the IPV screen in the sign-up flowThe In-Person Verification screen appears automatically after the Aadhaar eKYC and photograph or signature upload steps in the Zerodha account opening flow. Tap or click Start verification.
Allow the camera when the permission prompt appearsThe browser or operating system shows a one-time dialogue asking whether the page may use the camera and microphone. Choose Allow for both. Denying either blocks the session.
If the prompt did not appear, reset the site permissionIn Chrome or Edge, click the camera or lock icon in the address bar, set Camera to Allow, then reload. In the Kite app, open device Settings, find Kite, and enable the Camera permission.
Close any other app or tab using the cameraA camera can serve only one application at a time. Quit video calls, other browser tabs, and the native camera app, then reload the Zerodha IPV page so it can claim the camera.
Check lighting and retry the liveness captureFace a window or overhead light, keep the background plain, and hold the PAN card steady within the frame. Follow the on-screen liveness prompts at a natural pace to complete the session.

In-Person Verification (IPV) is the live photo and video check that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) requires for every new broker-client relationship in India, and it is the one step in Zerodha account opening where a working camera is not optional. This guide explains how to grant camera access for IPV on Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, and inside the Kite app on iOS and Android, and how to clear the camera failures that most often stall the session: a denied permission, another app holding the camera, a browser blocking access, and poor lighting.

The IPV session itself is short. The whole problem, in almost every stalled case, is that the device has not handed the camera to the Zerodha page. Once the permission is granted and the camera is free, the Zerodha IPV video step runs in two to five minutes.

Conflict-of-interest disclosure. This guide is published by WebNotes Editorial Team for informational purposes. It documents an operational device-permission task and carries no referral link. WebNotes does not earn any commission from completing this step.

Why the camera is mandatory at this step

SEBI directs that every new trading and demat account holder complete in-person verification so the depository participant can confirm the applicant is the same individual whose documents were submitted. Zerodha satisfies this through an automated video capture rather than a live call with a staff member. The session applies liveness detection to confirm a real person, not a photograph or a screen replay, is present, and it reads the PAN card held to the camera to cross-check it against the application.

Because the check is automated and image-based, the camera feed has to be live and legible. There is no fallback that skips the camera inside the standard online flow. If the device blocks the camera, the IPV screen simply shows a camera error and the account opening goes on hold until the capture succeeds.

Enabling the camera in a web browser

On a desktop or laptop, the camera is controlled in two layers: the operating system grants the browser access to the camera, and then the browser grants the specific website access. Both have to say yes.

Chrome and Edge

Chrome and Edge share the same Chromium permission model. When you click Start verification, a small dialogue drops down under the address bar asking to use your camera and microphone. Click Allow. If you previously clicked Block, no dialogue appears the next time; instead click the camera icon (a small camera with a red dot) or the tune or lock icon at the left of the address bar, set Camera and Microphone to Allow, and reload the page. On Windows, also open Settings, Privacy and security, Camera, and confirm that camera access for the browser is turned on. On macOS, open System Settings, Privacy and Security, Camera, and tick the box next to Chrome or Edge.

Firefox

Firefox prompts for the camera each time a site requests it unless you ticked Remember this decision. Click the lock or permissions icon in the address bar, find Use the Camera and Use the Microphone, clear any Blocked state, and reload. Firefox shows a live camera selector in the prompt if more than one camera is attached; pick the front-facing one.

Safari

On macOS, Safari manages camera access per website. With the Zerodha tab open, choose Safari, Settings, Websites, Camera, and set the Zerodha domain to Allow. Then open System Settings, Privacy and Security, Camera, and confirm Safari is allowed at the operating-system level. On an iPhone or iPad, the standard route is the Kite app rather than Safari, which is covered below.

Enabling the camera in the Kite app

On a phone, the Kite app asks for the camera the first time the IPV screen loads. Tap Allow or While using the app. If you tapped Don’t Allow earlier, the app cannot re-prompt, so you reset it in device settings.

On Android, open Settings, then Apps, find Kite, tap Permissions, and turn on Camera and Microphone. On some Android skins the path is Settings, Apps, Kite, Permissions, Camera, and then Allow only while using the app. On iOS, open Settings, scroll to Kite, and toggle Camera and Microphone on. Return to the app and reload the IPV screen so it requests the camera again.

If the app still reports no camera after the permission is on, force-close Kite from the recent-apps switcher and reopen it, because a permission granted while the app is running is sometimes only picked up on the next launch.

Common causes of camera failure

The IPV camera fails for a small, predictable set of reasons. Working through them in order clears almost every case.

A denied permission is the most frequent cause. The screen reads camera not accessible or shows a black feed. The fix is to reset the site or app permission to Allow, as described above, and reload.

Another application holding the camera is the next most common. A camera serves one process at a time, so an open video call in Google Meet, Zoom or WhatsApp, a second browser tab on a camera site, or the phone’s native camera app will all keep the camera busy. Quit every other camera user, then reload the Zerodha page.

A browser blocking access happens with older browser builds and with aggressive privacy or content-blocker extensions. The video IPV needs the WebRTC camera interface, which very old browser versions do not support. Update the browser, disable privacy extensions for the Zerodha tab, or switch to the Kite app, which carries its own camera handling.

Low light or a backlit setup does not throw a permission error; the camera works but the liveness capture fails repeatedly. Face a window or overhead light, keep the background plain and non-reflective, and remove sunglasses, hats and heavy face coverings. Prescription glasses can be worn.

A hardware or driver problem is rarer. If no website can use the camera, test it in the operating system camera app first; if that also fails, the issue is the device, not Zerodha.

Retrying the IPV session

After you fix the permission, reload the IPV page rather than navigating backwards. A completed IPV step is saved server-side, so if the session dropped midway, the sign-up flow usually resumes from the next uncompleted step rather than restarting the whole KYC process.

Hold the PAN card 20 to 30 cm from the camera, with all four corners and the PAN number, name, date of birth and photograph legible in the live preview. Then follow the liveness prompts, which may ask you to blink, turn your head slightly, smile, or read a short code aloud. Move at a natural pace; the system captures frames during the action and repeats a missed prompt once before ending the session. If IPV fails three or more times, the flow can lock temporarily, and the route then is a support ticket at support.zerodha.com requesting a manual IPV review rather than further retries.

What can go wrong

Permission was denied and no prompt reappears: the browser or app will not ask twice. Reset Camera to Allow in the site settings (address-bar icon) or device app settings, then reload.
Another app is using the camera: close video calls, extra browser tabs, and the native camera app, then reload the Zerodha page so it can claim the camera.
Operating system is blocking the browser: on Windows and macOS, also allow camera access for the specific browser in the system privacy settings, not just on the website.
Old browser or privacy extension: the WebRTC camera interface may be blocked. Update the browser, disable content blockers for the Zerodha tab, or switch to the Kite app.
Repeated liveness failure despite a working camera: the problem is lighting, not permission. Use bright front-facing light, plain background, no backlight, no sunglasses or hat.
PAN card glare: laminated cards reflect light. Tilt the top edge slightly away from the camera so the PAN number and photograph read clearly.
Three or more failures: the flow may lock. Raise a manual IPV review ticket at support.zerodha.com rather than retrying further.

External references

References

SEBI Master Circular for Stock Brokers, requiring in-person verification of clients (SEBI/HO/MIRSD/MIRSD-PoD-1/P/CIR/2022/73, 25 May 2022).
W3C WebRTC API specification (w3.org/TR/webrtc/, accessed 19 June 2026), the browser camera interface used by video IPV.
Zerodha account opening support, in-person verification and camera setup (support.zerodha.com, accessed 19 June 2026).

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.