Investing Registrar to an issue RTA Basis of allotment CAMS KFintech MUFG Intime Bigshare

The role of registrars and transfer agents in the IPO process

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated 21 June 2026. Reading time ~14 min.

Key facts

What an RTA is	A SEBI-registered registrar to an issue and share transfer agent, governed by the SEBI (Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations, 1993
Core IPO function	Fixes the basis of allotment in consultation with the stock exchange, finalises the allottee list, and runs the refund or unblock cycle
Where you check allotment	On the registrar's investor portal, by PAN, application number, or demat ID, alongside the BSE and NSE allotment-status pages
The main IPO registrars	KFin Technologies (KFintech), MUFG Intime India (formerly Link Intime), Bigshare Services, and Computer Age Management Services (CAMS)
Registration categories	Category I (registrar to an issue and share transfer agent) and Category II (one of the two), with capital adequacy of Rs 50 lakh and Rs 25 lakh respectively
Refund or unblock timeline	Under SEBI's T+3 listing framework, allotment is finalised and non-allottees are unblocked within the three working days after the issue closes

A registrar to an issue is a SEBI-registered intermediary that processes every application in an IPO , fixes the basis of allotment in consultation with the stock exchange, finalises who receives shares, and runs the refund or unblock cycle for the rest. The role is governed by the SEBI (Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations, 1993, and the registrar, commonly called the RTA, is the entity whose portal you visit to check whether you got an allotment.

The registrar sits between the issuer, the stock exchanges , the sponsor and self-certified syndicate banks, and the two depositories, CDSL and NSDL . It is appointed by the company raising money, but it is an independent intermediary, not an arm of the issuer or of your broker. Its work is invisible while the issue is open and becomes visible the moment allotment is announced: the allotment status you refresh, the shares credited to your demat, and the ASBA block released on your bank account are all the registrar’s output. This article sets out what the RTA does at each stage, the regulatory framework that defines its duties, and the handful of firms that handle most Indian IPOs.

Conflict-of-interest disclosure. This guide is published by the WebNotes Editorial Team for informational purposes. WebNotes has no commercial relationship with any registrar and transfer agent named here. No affiliate commission is earned from the procedures described.

The regulatory framework: SEBI RTA Regulations 1993

The SEBI (Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations, 1993, last amended on 18 August 2023, define two functions and two registration categories. A “registrar to an issue” performs the issue-side work: collecting and processing applications, fixing the basis of allotment, finalising the allottee list, and handling refunds and certificates. A “share transfer agent” performs the post-listing work: maintaining the register of members and processing transfers, transmissions, and corporate actions. Many firms hold both functions.

Registration runs in two categories. Category I covers a firm carrying on the activities of both a registrar to an issue and a share transfer agent. Category II covers a firm carrying on either one of the two. Capital adequacy, in the form of net worth, is Rs 50 lakh for Category I and Rs 25 lakh for Category II under the Regulations. A firm cannot act as registrar to an issue without this SEBI registration; the registration number appears in the issue prospectus alongside the registrar’s name and contact details.

The Regulations impose conduct duties that bear directly on the IPO investor. The registrar must make reasonable efforts to avoid misrepresentation and ensure the information it gives investors is not misleading. It must avoid conflicts of interest, which is why an issuer’s own group company generally cannot register its issue. It must maintain detailed records of the basis of allotment finalised with the exchange, the terms of the offer, and the refund orders or unblock instructions dispatched against application monies. And it must hold the infrastructure to process applications, reconcile collecting and sponsor banks, and keep refund and allotment records in safe custody.

What the registrar does at each stage of an IPO

The registrar’s IPO work runs across four stages: validation while the issue is open, basis-of-allotment after it closes, crediting and unblocking, and publishing the status.

Validating applications

As bids arrive through the ASBA and UPI ASBA rails, the registrar reconciles them against the depositories’ demat records and the income-tax PAN database. It checks that each application carries a valid PAN, a valid demat account, a bid at or above the floor price or at cut-off , and a confirmed block: a valid UPI mandate acceptance for UPI applicants, or a valid bank ASBA lien for net-banking applicants. Applications that fail any check, a PAN mismatch, a duplicate, a third-party account, or an unaccepted mandate, are flagged for rejection before any allotment runs. This third-party verification is why an unapproved mandate or a name-PAN mismatch silently knocks an application out.

Fixing the basis of allotment

After the issue closes, the registrar fixes the basis of allotment in consultation with the designated stock exchange. This is the central statutory function named in the 1993 Regulations: “assisting in fixing the basis of allotment of securities in consultation with the stock exchange.” The registrar computes the subscription in each category, applies the SEBI-prescribed methodology, and produces the allottee list. For the retail tranche, when valid applications exceed available lots, it runs the SEBI-mandated computerised random lottery, in which each application has an equal chance regardless of the number of lots applied for. For the non-institutional tranche, it applies proportionate allotment within the small-NII and big-NII sub-categories created by the December 2021 SEBI reform. The finalised basis-of-allotment document is approved by the exchange and signed off by the issuer’s board or its IPO committee.

Crediting allottees and unblocking the rest

Once the basis is approved, the registrar instructs the depositories to credit allotted shares to successful applicants’ demat accounts, and instructs the sponsor bank to unblock the ASBA holds of unsuccessful applicants and partial allottees. Under SEBI’s T+3 listing framework, where T is the issue closing day, the entire allotment, credit, and unblock cycle completes within the three working days before listing. A retail applicant who gets no allotment sees the lien on the application amount lifted in this window; a partial allottee sees the excess released. If the unblock does not land, the registrar is the escalation point, which is why releasing blocked IPO funds often starts with the registrar rather than the broker.

Publishing allotment status

The registrar publishes the allotment status on its own investor portal, searchable by PAN, application number, or demat client ID. The same data is mirrored on the BSE and NSE allotment pages . The status shows shares applied for, shares allotted, and the amount blocked or released. Read how to check IPO allotment on the registrar’s site for the search steps. Because the registrar is the source of the allotment record, its portal is the authoritative place to confirm an allotment; the exchange pages draw from the same finalised basis.

The refund and unblock mechanics

Under ASBA, there is no cash refund in the old sense, because no money ever left the applicant’s account. The application amount was blocked under a lien, not debited. For a non-allottee, the registrar’s instruction simply releases the lien, and the money becomes freely usable again with no transfer ever having occurred. For a partial allottee, the registrar releases the difference between the blocked amount and the value of shares actually allotted at the issue price. The pre-2016 model, in which application money was paid out and a refund order or electronic credit came back weeks later, has been replaced by this block-and-release cycle, and the registrar runs both ends of it.

The investor keeps the savings-account interest on the blocked amount throughout, because the money never moved. The registrar’s obligation under the 1993 Regulations is to maintain a record of every refund or unblock dispatched against application monies received, which is the audit trail SEBI relies on if an unblock is delayed or missed.

The main IPO registrars in India

A small set of SEBI-registered firms handle most Indian IPOs. The prospectus of every issue names its registrar, and that is the firm whose portal you use for allotment status.

Registrar	Role profile	Note
KFin Technologies (KFintech)	Major equity-issue and mutual-fund registrar	Handles a large share of mainboard and SME IPOs
MUFG Intime India	Major equity-issue registrar	Formerly Link Intime India; renamed after the MUFG acquisition
Bigshare Services	Equity-issue registrar	Active across mainboard and SME issues
Computer Age Management Services (CAMS )	Dominant mutual-fund RTA; some issue registration	Largest registrar by mutual-fund assets serviced

KFin Technologies and MUFG Intime India process the bulk of equity IPOs between them, with Bigshare Services handling a substantial share of SME and smaller mainboard issues. CAMS is best known as the mutual-fund RTA servicing most fund houses, and registers for some issues as well. The Link Intime rename to MUFG Intime India followed the acquisition of the Indian registrar by Japan’s MUFG group; the SEBI registration and the operational role carry over unchanged, so an investor checking allotment for an issue registered to “Link Intime” in older prospectuses uses the MUFG Intime portal today.

A separate cautionary chapter in Indian registrar history is the Karvy RTA pledge-misuse episode of 2019 , in which the Karvy group’s broking arm misused client securities; the registrar business was later acquired and rebranded as KFintech. The episode is the reason SEBI tightened segregation and audit norms across RTAs and depository participants.

How the registrar fits with the broker, exchange, and depository

The registrar is one of four distinct parties in your IPO journey, and conflating them causes most of the confusion about where to look when something goes wrong.

The issuer is the company raising money; it appoints the registrar and the merchant bankers.
The broker, such as Zerodha , routes your bid to the exchange and shows you the application and allotment in Kite , but does not decide allotment.
The exchange, NSE or BSE , receives the bids, publishes subscription data , and approves the basis of allotment the registrar prepares.
The registrar processes applications, fixes the basis with the exchange, finalises allotment, and runs the unblock.

So an allotment query goes to the registrar, an application-routing or average-cost display query goes to the broker, and a subscription-number query is read off the exchange. The depositories, CDSL and NSDL, hold the demat credit the registrar instructs.

Common misunderstandings

Thinking the broker decides allotment: it does not. The registrar fixes the basis of allotment with the stock exchange; the broker only routes the bid.
Expecting a cash refund under ASBA: there is none. The registrar releases the lien on the blocked amount; the money never left your account, so nothing is “refunded” in cash.
Using the wrong registrar portal: check the issue prospectus for the named registrar. An older “Link Intime” issue is now serviced on the MUFG Intime portal.
Assuming CAMS handles every IPO: CAMS is primarily the mutual-fund RTA. Most equity IPOs run through KFintech, MUFG Intime, or Bigshare; read the prospectus.
Escalating an unblock delay to the wrong party: a delayed ASBA release is the registrar’s and sponsor bank’s domain, not purely the broker’s.

External references

References

SEBI (Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations, 1993, last amended 18 August 2023 (definitions, Category I and II registration, capital adequacy, conduct duties, basis-of-allotment function).
SEBI, instructions to registrars to an issue and share transfer agents (record-keeping and infrastructure obligations).
SEBI circular SEBI/HO/CFD/DIL2/CIR/P/2021/2480/1/M dated 16 December 2021 (split of the NII tranche into small-NII and big-NII sub-categories).
SEBI master circular on the T+3 IPO listing timeline (allotment, credit, and unblock within three working days after issue close).
SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018 (ASBA application mechanism and allotment framework).

Frequently asked questions

What does a registrar do in an IPO?

A registrar to an issue processes every application, validates it against PAN and demat records, fixes the basis of allotment with the stock exchange, finalises who gets shares, credits the allottees, and triggers the unblock of non-allottees’ ASBA funds. It also publishes the allotment status.

Who decides the basis of allotment in an IPO?

The registrar fixes the basis of allotment in consultation with the designated stock exchange, under the SEBI RTA Regulations 1993. For an oversubscribed retail tranche it runs the SEBI-mandated computerised lottery; for the NII tranche it applies proportionate allotment within the sub-categories.

How do I check my IPO allotment on the registrar's site?

Go to the registrar’s investor or IPO portal, select the issue, and search by PAN, application number, or demat client ID. The page shows shares applied for, shares allotted, and the amount blocked or to be unblocked. The same data appears on the BSE and NSE allotment pages.

Who are the main IPO registrars in India?

KFin Technologies (KFintech), MUFG Intime India (formerly Link Intime), and Bigshare Services handle most mainboard and SME equity IPOs. Computer Age Management Services (CAMS) is the dominant mutual-fund RTA and also registers for some issues. All are SEBI-registered.

Why did Link Intime change its name to MUFG Intime?

Link Intime India was acquired by Japan’s MUFG group and rebranded as MUFG Intime India Private Limited. It is the same registrar handling the same IPO and share-transfer functions; the SEBI registration and the operational role are unchanged by the rename.

Is the registrar the same as the broker or the issuer?

No. The registrar is an independent SEBI-registered intermediary appointed by the issuer. The broker routes your bid; the issuer is the company raising money; the registrar reconciles applications, fixes allotment with the exchange, and runs refunds. The three roles are separate and distinct.

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