How-to IPO bid Zerodha Kite cut-off price IPO lot size UPI ASBA

How to place IPO bids on Zerodha Kite

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated . Reading time ~11 min. Level: Beginner.

Placing an IPO bid on Zerodha Kite means entering a quantity in multiples of the lot size and a price, either a specific level within the price band or cut-off , then confirming with a UPI ASBA mandate. You can add up to three bids in a single application, and the sponsor bank blocks the highest of the three values. This guide covers the bid mechanics: how lots work, when to choose cut-off over a specific price, how multiple bids interact, the UPI ID rule, and the retail value ceiling.

The bid is the part of an IPO application where retail investors most often get the mechanics wrong: bidding a part lot, picking a price below the final cut-off and being excluded, or using a UPI ID that is not in their own name. Each of those produces a rejected or wasted application. The walk-through below is for Kite web and the Kite app , which share the same bid form. For the surrounding flow, see How to apply for an IPO on Kite web ; this guide focuses only on the bid itself.

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 box above gives the full sequence. The sections below expand the three parts that decide whether a bid is sound: quantity in lots, the cut-off versus specific-price choice, and how three bids share a single block.

1. Open the issue and select investor type

On Kite, go to Bids then IPO, open the issue and click Apply. Choose the investor type. Individual is the retail default. Switch to Employee if you are an eligible employee of the issuer, or Shareholder if you hold shares in the parent under a shareholder reservation. The category you pick sets the value ceiling and the reservation pool your bid competes in, so select it before entering the bid.

2. Enter quantity in lot multiples

Enter the quantity as a multiple of the lot size. The lot size is fixed by the issuer; one lot is the minimum you can bid, and you scale up in whole lots only. The form rejects any quantity that is not a whole-lot multiple, so you cannot bid for a part lot or an arbitrary number of shares. For the retail category the total application value must stay below Rs 2 lakh, which at the upper end of the price band caps you at the largest whole-lot multiple that fits under Rs 2 lakh. How the lot size is set and why it varies by issue is covered in IPO lot size .

3. Choose cut-off or a specific price

You bid at a price in one of two ways. Tick cut-off to instruct the registrar to accept whatever final price the issue is set at within the band. Or enter a specific price within the band to bid at one chosen level.

Cut-off is the common retail choice because it removes exclusion risk. In book building the final price is the highest level at which the issue is fully subscribed; bids below that level are rejected. A specific-price bid set below the final cut-off price is excluded entirely, so the application is wasted even though money was set aside. A cut-off bid is never excluded on price. A specific-price bid only helps if you hold a firm view that the issue will be priced below the top of the band and want to commit at that lower level. The mechanics and the worked numbers are in Cut-off price and How to apply at cut-off price in an IPO on Zerodha .

4. Add up to three bids and understand the single block

You can place up to three bids in one application using Add bid, each with its own quantity and price within the band. This is not three separate applications; it is one application carrying up to three price-quantity lines. The amount the sponsor bank blocks is the highest of the three bid values, computed as the largest quantity times the highest applicable price, not the sum of all three. The two lower bids do not add to the block.

The practical use of multiple bids is narrow. A retail investor bidding at cut-off needs only one bid, since cut-off already accepts the final price. Multiple specific-price bids let an investor lay bids across the band, but for the retail category the single-block rule means this offers little over a single cut-off bid. Most retail applications use one cut-off bid and leave the other two empty.

5. Enter your UPI ID

Enter a UPI ID in the username@bank format, for example 9876543210@ybl or rajesh@okaxis. The UPI ID must map to a bank account in your own name, with a PAN matching the PAN on your demat. A family-member, business or merchant UPI ID is rejected by the sponsor bank, and the registrar’s third-party verification fails when the PAN behind the UPI ID does not match your demat PAN. This is the most common silent cause of a failed retail bid.

6. Tick the undertaking, submit and approve the mandate

Tick the SEBI undertaking confirming the bid is not a duplicate under another PAN and that you meet category eligibility, then submit; you swipe on the app and click Submit on web. The sponsor bank then sends a block-funds mandate to your UPI app. Approve it with your UPI PIN before 5 PM on the issue closing day. The bank places a lien for the highest bid value; your available balance drops by that amount while the book balance is unchanged, and the lien continues to earn savings interest. The per-app approval steps are in How to approve a UPI IPO mandate .

The retail ceiling and the HNI threshold

The retail individual investor category requires the application value to stay below Rs 2 lakh. A bid of Rs 2 lakh or more is a non-institutional, or HNI, application, which competes in a different pool with proportionate rather than lottery allotment. The Rs 2 lakh line is therefore both a cap on a retail bid and the entry point to the HNI category; cross it knowingly, not by accident, because the allotment mechanics on the other side are different. For HNI bidding on Zerodha see How to apply as an HNI in an IPO , and for how the categories are defined see IPO investor categories: retail, HNI and QIB .

Separately, the UPI ASBA route itself carries a per-transaction limit, raised by NPCI to Rs 5 lakh for capital-market applications in September 2025. The retail Rs 2 lakh ceiling sits well inside that, so a retail bid is never constrained by the UPI limit. An application above the UPI limit, or where UPI is not usable, takes the bank ASBA route instead.

How the bid competes for allotment

A placed bid does not buy a guaranteed allotment. In an oversubscribed retail book, the basis of allotment gives at least one lot to as many applicants as the retail pool can cover, by lottery, with any remainder drawn for the rest. Bidding more lots in a heavily oversubscribed issue does not raise your odds in the retail category, because the lottery is per applicant, not per lot. One cut-off bid for one lot is the standard retail application for exactly this reason. The dynamics are set out in IPO oversubscription and allotment .

See also

External references

References

  1. Zerodha support, How to apply for an IPO (quantity in lot multiples; cut-off or specific price; up to three bids per application; highest of three blocked; UPI ID must be the applicant’s own), as of 21 June 2026.
  2. Zerodha support, When can you place IPO orders on Zerodha (order window and mandate cut-off), as of 21 June 2026.
  3. SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2018, retail individual investor definition (application value below Rs 2 lakh) and book-building price determination, sebi.gov.in.
  4. NPCI circular dated September 2025 raising the UPI per-transaction limit for capital-market categories to Rs 5 lakh.

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Frequently asked questions

How many bids can I place in one IPO application on Zerodha?
Up to three bids in a single application. Each must be within the price band and a multiple of the lot size. The sponsor bank blocks the highest of the three bid values, not the sum, through the UPI mandate.
What is the difference between cut-off and a specific price in an IPO bid?
Cut-off means you accept whatever final price the issue is set at within the band, so you are never excluded for under-bidding. A specific price bids at one chosen level; if the issue is priced above it, that bid is rejected.
How much money is blocked when I place three IPO bids?
The highest of the three bid values is blocked, computed as the largest quantity times the highest applicable price. The other two bids do not add to the block. Only the single highest value is held by the sponsor bank.
In what units do I enter IPO quantity on Kite?
In multiples of the lot size set by the issuer. One lot is the minimum bid. The form rejects any quantity that is not a whole-lot multiple, so you cannot bid for a part lot or an arbitrary share count.
Whose UPI ID can I use for an IPO bid on Kite?
Only a UPI ID mapped to a bank account in your own name with a PAN matching your demat. A family-member, business or merchant UPI ID is rejected by the sponsor bank, and the application fails third-party verification.
What is the maximum retail IPO bid on Zerodha?
For the retail individual category, the application value must be below Rs 2 lakh. At the upper price band this caps you at the largest whole-lot multiple under Rs 2 lakh. Above that you apply in the HNI category.
Should I bid at cut-off or pick a price?
Most retail investors bid at cut-off, because it eliminates the risk of exclusion if the issue is priced at the top of the band. A specific-price bid only helps if you have a firm view that the final price will be lower.

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