How to transfer shares from another broker to Zerodha (CDSL Easiest)

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated 12 May 2026. Reading time ~10 min. Level: Intermediate.

Key facts

Time required	1–2 business days after instruction submission
Cost	Charged by the source DP (typically Rs 25–50 per ISIN per instruction); Zerodha charges nil for credit
Settlement type	Off-market transfer (not through stock exchange clearing)
Easiest registration	Required at easiest.cdsl.com before first transfer

This guide explains how to transfer equity shares from any CDSL-based demat account to your Zerodha demat account using the CDSL Easiest online platform. The transfer is an off-market instruction (no stock exchange involvement) and is the standard method for moving holdings when changing brokers or consolidating demat accounts.

Zerodha is a depository participant (DP) of CDSL. Its BO (beneficial owner) IDs begin with the CDSL depository ID 12081600 followed by eight digits.

Step 1: Locate your CDSL BO IDs

Source BO ID (your existing broker): Find this on the most recent CDSL Consolidated Account Statement (CAS), on any contract note, or by logging in to your current broker’s back-office platform. A CDSL BO ID is exactly 16 digits.

Target BO ID (Zerodha): Log in to Zerodha Console and navigate to Profile > Demat account. The BO ID is shown there. Alternatively, it appears on the CMR (Client Master Report) downloadable from Console.

Write both IDs down precisely. A single transposed digit will send shares to an unintended account.

Step 2: Register on CDSL Easiest

CDSL Easiest (easiest.cdsl.com) is CDSL’s own online platform that allows beneficial owners to submit delivery instructions without visiting their DP’s office or signing a physical DIS.

Visit easiest.cdsl.com and click Registration.
Enter your 16-digit BO ID and the details from your Delivery Instruction Booklet (DIB): the DIB serial number and the booklet issue date. If you have never received a DIB (many modern accounts are DIB-free), request your current broker’s back-office to issue one, or contact CDSL at cdsl@cdslindia.com with your BO ID to initiate Easiest registration by an alternative route.
Complete OTP verification on the registered mobile number.
Set a Transaction PIN (TPIN), this is separate from your CDSL login password and authorises actual instructions.
CDSL sends an activation link to the registered email. Click it to activate the account.

Once registered, you can log in at easiest.cdsl.com using your BO ID and password.

Step 3: Add Zerodha as a trusted target account

CDSL Easiest requires you to pre-register target accounts before transferring shares to them. This is a security measure.

Log in to easiest.cdsl.com.
Navigate to Setup > Add Target Account.
Enter your Zerodha BO ID (16 digits), the account holder name, and the target DP’s name (Zerodha Broking Limited, DP ID 12081600).
Confirm the details and submit.
CDSL dispatches a physical PIN mailer to the registered postal address of the source account. This mailer contains a one-time PIN required to activate the target account. Delivery typically takes 3–5 business days.
Once the mailer arrives, log in to Easiest, go to Setup > Activate Target Account, and enter the PIN.

After activation, Zerodha’s BO ID appears in your trusted target account list and can be selected in transfer instructions.

Step 4: Submit the off-market transfer instruction

With the target account activated, you can submit the transfer instruction.

Log in to easiest.cdsl.com.
Navigate to Transactions > Off Market (or Setup > Off Market Transfer, depending on the Easiest interface version).
Click Add Instruction.
Enter the following details:

Field	What to enter
ISIN	12-character ISIN of the scrip (e.g., INE009A01021 for Infosys). Find this on your broker’s holdings page or at bseindia.com.
Quantity	Number of shares to transfer
Execution date	The business day on which the debit should occur (must be a future or current business day; not a T+0 if it is past the cut-off time, typically 5:00 PM IST)
Consideration	For an off-market transfer with no money changing hands, enter nil or 0
Target BO ID	Select your Zerodha BO ID from the trusted account list
Remarks	Optional; enter “broker change” or similar

Review the instruction and click Submit.
Authenticate with your TPIN and the OTP sent to your registered mobile.
The instruction is accepted and CDSL displays a reference number. Save or screenshot this for your records.

You can add multiple instructions in one session (one per ISIN). There is no batch upload on the standard Easiest interface.

Step 5: Confirm debit from source and credit to Zerodha

Source account: The shares are debited from your source DP account on the execution date. You can verify the debit by logging in to your current broker’s portfolio page or the Easiest Transaction History section.

Zerodha Console: Log in to Zerodha Console and check Portfolio > Holdings on the business day following the execution date. The transferred securities should appear. If they do not appear within two business days of the execution date, raise a ticket with Zerodha support, providing the CDSL Easiest reference number and the execution date.

NSDL accounts: inter-depository transfer

If your source account is with an NSDL-registered broker, the procedure differs because NSDL and CDSL are separate depositories.

Obtain a physical DIS (Delivery Instruction Slip) from your NSDL broker.
Fill in Zerodha’s BO ID as the target, specifying CDSL as the target depository.
Submit the DIS to your NSDL broker’s DP office.
NSDL processes inter-depository transfers via a settlement mechanism. The process takes 1–3 business days.
Charges at the source NSDL DP typically include Rs 25–50 per ISIN plus GST. Zerodha does not charge for credit.

Alternatively, NSDL’s online delivery instruction platform (NSDL Speed-e or IDeAS) supports inter-depository transfers online, but the registration process differs from CDSL Easiest.

What can go wrong

Locked or pledged shares: Shares that are pledged (for margin) or under a demat lock-in cannot be transferred. Unpledge the shares with your source broker before initiating the transfer.
PIN mailer not received: The target account activation PIN is sent by physical post. If it does not arrive within 7 business days, contact CDSL at 1800-200-5533 to request a reprint.
Wrong ISIN: If the ISIN entered does not match a holding in your source account, CDSL rejects the instruction. Verify the ISIN on BSE (bseindia.com) or your broker’s holdings page.
Cut-off time missed: Instructions submitted after 5:00 PM IST execute on the next business day. If the execution date was set for today and the cut-off was missed, the instruction fails. Resubmit with the next business day as the execution date.
Holdings not reflecting in Zerodha: Credit appears in Console by T+1 business day. If absent after two days, check the Easiest transaction history for the instruction status and raise a support ticket at support.zerodha.com with the CDSL reference number.
Corporate action entitlement: If a dividend record date or bonus record date falls during the transfer window, the entitlement flows to whichever account holds the shares at the close of the record date. Plan transfers to avoid straddling record dates.

After the transfer

Once shares are credited to your Zerodha demat account, they appear under Portfolio > Holdings in Zerodha Console and under Holdings in the Kite trading interface. You can place sell orders on these holdings from the next trading session.

The average cost displayed in Console will show the transfer credit date as the purchase date initially; you should update the purchase price (cost of acquisition) for capital gains tracking purposes. Zerodha Console allows manual entry of the original acquisition cost under Holdings > Edit.

If you transferred shares as part of a broker switch, remember to close your account with the old broker to avoid ongoing AMC (annual maintenance charges) at the source DP.

References

SEBI, Depositories and Participants Regulations, 2018, Regulation 38–40 (delivery instructions and transfer of securities).
CDSL Operating Instructions, OI-00-031, Off-Market Transfers and Easiest Platform.
CDSL, “EASIEST – Electronic Access to Securities Information and Execution of Secured Transaction”, cdsl.com (accessed May 2026).
SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/MIRSD/MIRSD_RTAMB/P/CIR/2021/622, 13 October 2021, Streamlining off-market transfer procedures.
Zerodha Support, “How to transfer shares from another broker to Zerodha”, support.zerodha.com (accessed May 2026).

WebNotes Editorial Team prepares factual how-to guides based on publicly available regulatory documents and broker disclosures. WebNotes is not affiliated with Zerodha Broking Limited or CDSL. Procedures and charges are subject to change; verify current requirements at easiest.cdsl.com and support.zerodha.com before acting.

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: 12 May 2026
Conflicts of interest: WebNotes is independent. No relationship with any broker, registrar or bank named in this article.