Charges pledge charges unpledge margin collateral zerodha pledge CDSL pledge F&O margin shares

Pledge and unpledge charges at Zerodha

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Overview

Zerodha pledge charges are a flat Rs 30 plus 18% GST per pledge request, per ISIN, irrespective of the quantity you pledge; unpledging is free. Zerodha clients who want to use their existing equity holdings as margin collateral for futures and options trading pledge those shares to the broker. The pledge creates a lien on the shares in favour of Zerodha (and, through re-pledge, in favour of the clearing corporation), while the shares stay in the client’s own demat account. One charge of about Rs 35.40 covers a single ISIN in a single request, no matter how many shares that request carries.

The pledge mechanism runs through CDSL’s Pledge and Re-pledge System, which SEBI restructured with effect from 1 August 2020. Under the revised system, clients retain beneficial ownership of pledged shares (the shares are not moved to a broker pool account); only a lien is marked. For the conceptual background, see margin pledge mechanics on Zerodha and pledge and collateral margin on Zerodha . To run the pledge itself, see the step-by-step guide on how to pledge holdings for margin .

Charge structure

ParameterValue
Pledge chargeRs 30 per request, per ISIN
GST at 18%Rs 5.40 per request, per ISIN
Total per pledge requestRs 35.40 per ISIN
Unpledge chargeFree (no charge)
BasisPer ISIN per pledge request, irrespective of quantity
Applicable toCDSL and NSDL demat account holders

The charge is levied per ISIN, not per share and not per rupee of value. Pledging 500 shares of one stock in a single request incurs one charge of Rs 35.40. Pledging 500 shares of one stock and 300 shares of another means two ISINs, so two charges, Rs 70.80 in all. Zerodha lets you select up to 50 holdings in one pledge request, and each distinct ISIN in that request carries its own Rs 30 plus GST.

The charge repeats on each fresh request. If you unpledge a stock and pledge it again on a later day, the pledge charge applies again to that new request. There is no separate unpledge charge on the way out.

Unpledging is free

Zerodha does not charge to unpledge. When you no longer need the collateral, you raise an unpledge request from Zerodha Console or Kite . Zerodha submits the unpledge instruction to CDSL, the lien is released, and the shares revert to free holdings in your demat account. An unpledge request placed before 3:30 PM makes the shares available for trading the following day; a request after 3:30 PM makes them available the day after. No charge and no separate authorisation fee apply at any point. The walkthrough is in how to unpledge holdings on Zerodha .

This is a common point of confusion. Some brokers and older writeups describe a symmetric charge on both legs. At Zerodha, only the pledge leg is charged; the unpledge leg is free.

How the pledge system works

The pledge is created in a few steps. You select the shares in Kite or Console and enter the quantity for each. Zerodha sends the pledge request to CDSL for the specified ISIN and quantity. If you have not signed a DDPI or POA, you authorise the request with your CDSL TPIN and an OTP sent to your registered mobile and email; if you have never set a TPIN, generate one via the CDSL TPIN generation flow . On authorisation, CDSL marks the lien on the shares in your own demat account, and Zerodha credits your Funds page with the collateral margin, which is the previous closing value of the shares minus a haircut.

The collateral margin can be used for equity intraday, trading futures, and writing options. It cannot be used to buy stocks or ETFs for delivery. Buying options funded by collateral is allowed but attracts a delayed-payment charge on the amount used. For the practical use of the credit, see how to use collateral margin for F&O .

Re-pledge to the clearing corporation

Zerodha, as a SEBI-registered broker, re-pledges the shares received from clients to the exchange’s clearing corporation, NSE Clearing for NSE and the Indian Clearing Corporation for BSE. This re-pledge is how the clearing corporation holds lien over the shares as margin against F&O positions. Zerodha does the re-pledge without any additional charge to the client.

Haircut on pledged shares

The collateral credited for pledged shares is less than the full market value because of a haircut. The haircut is a risk buffer, not a fee: no money leaves your account, and the shares keep their full market value. If a stock worth Rs 1,00,000 carries a 10% haircut, the collateral margin credited is Rs 90,000, and the shares are still worth Rs 1,00,000.

Each approved security has its own haircut, driven by its volatility and Value at Risk. More volatile securities carry higher haircuts. The live per-security haircut and the resulting collateral value are published on Zerodha’s approved-securities list at zerodha.com/approved-securities; the number changes over time, so read it there rather than assuming a fixed band. For the full mechanics, see Zerodha pledge haircut explained and the list of securities eligible for pledging .

Interest and the 50:50 cash rule

The pledge charge is a one-time Rs 30 plus GST per request. Two separate interest costs can arise afterwards, and neither is part of the pledge fee.

First, SEBI requires that at least 50% of the margin for overnight F&O positions be met in cash or cash equivalents; collateral from ordinary shares can meet only the other 50%. If you use non-cash collateral beyond that limit, the cash shortfall attracts a delayed-payment charge of 0.035% per day, which is 12.775% per year, plus 18% GST. From 1 April 2026, if the cash shortfall exceeds Rs 5 lakh, F&O order brokerage rises to Rs 40 per order instead of the earlier Rs 20. The rule is set out in the 50:50 cash-collateral rule and the split between cash component and collateral component . Cash-equivalent securities such as liquid ETFs and G-secs count toward the cash leg, which is why traders pledge instruments like Liquid BeES alongside stocks.

Second, buying options funded by collateral attracts a delayed-payment charge of 0.05% per day, or 18% per year, on the collateral used, and requires a positive cash balance. Pledging additional Group A stocks that sit outside Zerodha’s roughly 800-security interest-free list also carries 0.05% per day on the collateral you draw from them.

Cost of frequent pledging

Because only the pledge leg is charged, the running cost depends on how many distinct ISINs you pledge and how often you re-pledge them. Pledging 10 different stocks once, in a single request or across several, costs 10 times Rs 35.40, so Rs 354. Unpledging all 10 later costs nothing. A trader who unpledges and re-pledges the same 10 stocks every month pays the Rs 354 again on each re-pledge, because each new pledge request per ISIN is charged. Traders who hold their pledge steady across expiries, and only unpledge when they exit the collateral, keep the charge to a one-off Rs 35.40 per ISIN.

Pledge versus selling shares for margin

An alternative to pledging is to sell the shares and use the cash for F&O margin. The trade-off runs on four lines. Selling triggers securities transaction tax and possible capital gains tax, while pledging is not a taxable event. Pledged shares keep earning dividends and can appreciate, whereas sold shares are gone. Pledging costs Rs 35.40 per ISIN, while selling incurs STT, a DP charge , and other levies that usually exceed Rs 35.40. On margin efficiency, cash meets 100% of the requirement, while pledged equity meets only the non-cash 50%. For investors who want derivatives exposure without permanently selling long-term holdings, pledging is the standard route. Note that shares bought on margin trading facility are already pledged to the broker and cannot be re-pledged for F&O margin until the MTF position is closed.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Zerodha charge to pledge shares?
Zerodha charges Rs 30 plus 18% GST per pledge request, per ISIN, which works out to about Rs 35.40. The charge is flat and does not change with the quantity you pledge in that request.
Does Zerodha charge a fee to unpledge shares?
No. Unpledging is free at Zerodha. You raise the unpledge request from Console or Kite at no cost, and the shares return to your free holdings the next trading day.
Is the Zerodha pledge charge per share or per request?
It is per ISIN per request. One request covering 500 shares of one stock costs Rs 35.40. Pledging two different stocks means two ISINs and two charges, so Rs 70.80 in all.
Do I pay the pledge charge again if I pledge the same stock later?
Yes. Each fresh pledge request for an ISIN is charged Rs 30 plus GST. If you unpledge a stock and pledge it again on another day, the pledge charge applies again on that new request.
Is the haircut a charge I pay to Zerodha?
No. The haircut is a risk buffer, not a fee. It reduces the collateral margin credited against your shares, but your shares keep their full market value and no money leaves your account for the haircut.
Are there interest charges on pledged collateral?
Pledging itself only costs the Rs 30 plus GST. Interest applies separately if you use non-cash collateral beyond the 50% cash limit, or buy options funded by collateral, both of which attract a delayed-payment charge.

See also

External references

References

  1. SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/MIRSD/DOP/CIR/P/2020/171, “Margin obligations to be met by way of pledge / re-pledge in the Depository System”, 9 September 2020.
  2. SEBI Circular on re-pledging by trading members, SEBI/HO/MRD2/DCAP/CIR/P/2020/234.
  3. SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations 2018, Regulation 43 (pledge of securities).
  4. CDSL Operational Instructions on Pledge, Unpledge and Invocation of Securities.
  5. Zerodha Support, pledging charges and terms of service, support.zerodha.com (accessed 1 July 2026).

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