How-to zerodha trading account without demat F&O commodity trading Account opening

How to open a Zerodha trading account without a demat account

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated 20 June 2026. Reading time ~9 min.

Key facts

Time required	About 30 to 45 minutes online, then 1 to 2 business days for activation
Cost	Free for a resident individual, since 29 June 2024; commodity segment adds nothing if opened together
Documents needed	PAN, Aadhaar linked to mobile, bank account details, signature, income proof for F&O

Procedure

Start the application on zerodha.comOpen the Zerodha account-opening page, enter your mobile number and email, and verify both with the OTP sent to each.
Enter and verify PANEnter your PAN and date of birth. Zerodha verifies the PAN against the income tax database and your KYC status against the CDSL KYC Registration Agency.
Complete Aadhaar KYC via DigiLockerAuthorise DigiLocker to pull your Aadhaar address, name and date of birth. Aadhaar must be linked to your registered mobile for the OTP step to complete.
Select only the trading segments you needChoose the equity and derivatives trading account and add the commodity segment if you trade MCX. Leave the demat account unselected if you will trade only F&O, currency or commodities.
Link your bank accountEnter your savings bank account number and IFSC. Zerodha validates it with a penny-drop or IMPS check to confirm the account is yours.
Upload signature and income proofUpload a clear signature image. For the F&O segment, upload an income proof such as a six-month bank statement, salary slip or latest ITR, which SEBI rules require for derivatives.
Confirm there is no opening feeA resident individual account is free to open, in effect since 29 June 2024, so there is no payment step. The commodity segment adds no fee when opened alongside equity.
Complete in-person verification and e-signFinish the in-person verification over a short video step or Aadhaar-based e-sign. Zerodha then activates the trading account, usually within one to two business days.

A Zerodha trading account can be opened without a demat account when the intended trading is limited to futures and options, currency derivatives, or commodities, none of which involve taking delivery of shares. This guide covers when the no-demat route applies, the step-by-step opening procedure, and the firm limit it carries: without a demat account you cannot take equity delivery, so you cannot buy and hold shares.

The reason is structural. A demat account holds securities in electronic form. Derivatives contracts on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange , and commodity futures on the MCX, expire and settle without any security being credited to a demat account. Zerodha’s own account guidance states that for futures and options you do not need a demat account whether you trade intraday or positional, and that only futures trade on MCX so no demat is needed for commodities.

This is a how-to for opening such an account. The conceptual background on the demat account itself, the depositories, and the full charge schedule sits in the linked wiki entries. The procedure here is the Zerodha online flow with the demat selection left off, plus the SEBI income-proof requirement that attaches to the derivatives segment.

When the no-demat route applies

The no-demat route applies when every trade you intend to place settles without a security entering a demat account. Three cases qualify.

The first is futures and options on equity and indices. Every F&O contract has an expiry date and settles in cash or by squaring off; no share is delivered into a demat account, so none is needed. This holds for both intraday and positional trades.

The second is currency derivatives. Currency futures and options on the NSE and BSE settle the same way as equity derivatives, against the exchange, with no demat involvement.

The third is commodities. Only futures trade on the MCX through Zerodha, and commodity futures settle without a demat account, so a commodity-only trader needs none. One sequencing point applies here: Zerodha does not let you open a standalone commodity account in isolation from an equity-and-derivatives trading account on the online flow, so the commodity segment is added alongside the equity trading account. The equity trading account can still be opened without the demat.

Step-by-step procedure

The procedure infobox near the top of this page lists the eight steps in order. The subsections below expand each one, with the points specific to the no-demat case and the F&O income-proof rule.

1. Start the application on zerodha.com

Open the Zerodha account-opening page and enter your mobile number and email address. Each receives a one-time password, and both must be verified before the application proceeds. Use a mobile number that is linked to your Aadhaar, because the KYC step later depends on an Aadhaar OTP sent to that number.

2. Enter and verify PAN

Enter your PAN and date of birth. Zerodha verifies the PAN against the income tax database and checks your existing KYC status with the CDSL KYC Registration Agency. If you have completed KYC for another SEBI-registered intermediary, much of your record is pulled automatically and the form is shorter.

3. Complete Aadhaar KYC via DigiLocker

Authorise DigiLocker to share your Aadhaar details. This pulls your name, address and date of birth into the application without manual entry or document upload, and is what allows the KYC to complete fully online. The Aadhaar OTP is sent to the mobile number linked to your Aadhaar, so that linkage is the practical gate on the online route.

4. Select only the trading segments you need

This is the step that makes the account a no-demat account. Zerodha offers an equity and derivatives trading account, a demat account, and a commodity trading account as separate selections. Choose the equity and derivatives trading account, add the commodity segment if you trade MCX, and leave the demat account unselected. Each segment is enabled separately, so omitting the demat at this step opens the trading account on its own.

If you later decide to take equity delivery, the demat can be added to the same trading account afterward. Adding it does not require a fresh account; it is a segment addition through Console .

5. Link your bank account

Enter your savings bank account number and IFSC. Zerodha runs a penny-drop or IMPS verification, crediting a token amount or checking the account name, to confirm the bank account belongs to you. Funds for trading move between this bank account and the trading account.

6. Upload signature and income proof

Upload a clear image of your signature. For the futures and options segment, also upload an income proof. SEBI requires brokers to collect proof of income before enabling derivatives, and Zerodha accepts a six-month bank statement, a salary slip, Form 16, a demat holding statement, or the latest income tax return. A commodity-only or currency-only application carries the same income-proof requirement for the derivatives segment.

7. No opening fee for a resident individual

A resident individual account is free to open, in effect since 29 June 2024, so there is no opening-fee payment step. The commodity segment adds no separate fee when opened together with the equity account. Because no demat is opened, the demat AMC does not arise at all; the full charge schedule is set out at Zerodha account opening charges .

8. Complete in-person verification and e-sign

Finish the in-person verification, a short video step or an Aadhaar-based e-sign, to confirm your identity. Zerodha processes the application and activates the trading account, usually within one to two business days. You then log in to Kite and trade the enabled segments.

Readers who have read the limits below and decide to proceed can open a Zerodha account .

The equity-delivery limit

The defining limit of a no-demat trading account is that it cannot take equity delivery. Buying a share to hold means the share is credited to a demat account on settlement, and without a demat there is nowhere to credit it. A no-demat account therefore cannot be used to buy and hold stock, receive an IPO allotment in demat form, or hold the underlying shares of any cash-market purchase.

Equity intraday is a separate point. An intraday equity position is bought and sold the same day and is squared off before delivery, so it does not on its face need a demat. Zerodha’s rule is that any demat of yours must be mapped to the trading account to enable equity intraday. This is where an external demat held with another broker matters: you can link an existing demat account to the Zerodha trading account to satisfy that mapping, rather than opening a new Zerodha demat. A trader who already holds a demat elsewhere can run a Zerodha trading account for derivatives and equity intraday against that external demat.

If you want to take actual equity delivery later, the demat segment is added to the trading account at that point. The addition opens a Zerodha CDSL demat under the same login, after which the BSDA slabs and the standard AMC apply. The no-demat account is therefore a starting state, not a permanent restriction.

Charges on a no-demat account

A no-demat trading account avoids one recurring cost: the demat AMC documented at AMC at Zerodha . With no demat, there is no Rs 300-a-year maintenance charge and no DP charge on sell debits, because there is no demat to debit.

Trading costs are unchanged. Brokerage on F&O, currency and commodity trades, securities transaction tax or commodities transaction tax, exchange transaction charges, SEBI turnover fees, stamp duty and GST all apply at the standard rates set out at Zerodha charges and Zerodha brokerage structure . The absence of a demat account changes the holding side, not the trading side.

What can go wrong

Selecting the demat account by habit at the segment step opens a demat you did not want, with its own AMC from the second year. Review the segment selection before paying.
Trying to buy and hold a share on a no-demat account fails at order placement, because delivery needs a demat. Add the demat segment first, or link an external one for intraday only.
Skipping the income proof blocks the F&O segment. SEBI requires it for derivatives, so the segment stays disabled until a valid proof is uploaded.
Using a mobile number not linked to Aadhaar stops the online KYC at the OTP step. Link the number to Aadhaar first or use the offline route.
Opening a commodity-only account online is not offered in isolation; the equity trading account is opened alongside it, even when you will not take equity delivery.

External references

References

SEBI Master Circular for Stock Brokers, SEBI/HO/MIRSD/MIRSD-PoD-1/P/CIR/2023/72 (KYC and income-proof requirements for the derivatives segment).
Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (KYC obligations on intermediaries).
SEBI (KYC Registration Agency) Regulations 2011.
Depositories Act 1996 (demat account framework for delivery-based holdings).
Zerodha, “Various types of accounts”, 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: 20 June 2026
Conflicts of interest: WebNotes is independent. No relationship with any broker, registrar or bank named in this article.