Last Updated on September 27, 2023 by BFSLTeam BFSLTeam
Are you looking to take charge of your finances and start investing in the stock market?
If so, it’s essential to understand what you need to know before getting started. Opening a Demat account is the basic step to investing, trading, and tracking your stocks. To open a Demat account, you must meet some eligibility requirements.
This blog post will discuss the requirements needed to open a Demat account, who can hold a Demat account, how this account works, and its benefits.
Let’s dive in!
Table of Content
How does a Demat account work?
Before we jump into the eligibility criteria, let’s understand how a Demat account works.
A Demat account acts like an electronic safe for stocks and bonds. The account gets credited or debited accordingly when you buy or sell shares. It keeps a record of all your transactions and investments so that you can track them easily. Without a Demat account, you won’t be able to make trades or investments in the stock market. Here are some basic concepts you need to know to understand how a Demat account works:
- Central Depository: CDSL (Central Depository Services Limited) and NSDL (National Securities Depository Limited) are the two central depositories in India. The depository holds your stock accounts for you.
- DP (Depository Participant): A Depository Participant or DP is an intermediary between the CDSL/NSDL and the investor that provides access to your stock accounts. DP can be banks, brokers, or financial institutions that offer services to open Demat accounts with CDSL or NSDL.
- Unique ID: Every Demat account is linked with a unique ID used for transaction purposes and enables companies to identify the individual to credit shares to their account.
- Portfolio Holding: Your Demat account holds a portfolio of all the financial securities you buy and sell. It automatically updates your Demat account whenever you transfer or buy a security.
Benefits of Demat Account
There are many benefits of having a Demat account:
- Easy to manage stocks: Demat accounts make buying and selling shares easy with just a few clicks and eliminate the paperwork.
- No limitations: You can buy any number of shares or securities without any limitations.
- Transparency: Demat accounts offer real-time updates on your portfolio so that you can easily track your investments.
- Lower costs: One advantage of online transactions, including opening a Demat account online is the low cost. While handling and stamp duty are expenses associated with physical bonds, a Demat account only has brokerage fees.
- Safe & Secure: All the securities are stored electronically, which makes them much more secure than physical certificates.
- Loan Facility: You offer your securities as collateral to the banks while issuing a loan.
What are the requirements to open a Demat account?
Here are the eligibility criteria and documents you will need to open a Demat account:
- Age
Both adults and minors can purchase stocks. There is no minimum age to open a Demat account in India.
If you are a minor, your Demat account can be opened by your parents or guardians in your name by submitting all the required documents. Until the age of 18, your parents or guardian will operate the Demat account.
Post 18 years, the DP will send you an intimation to gather KYC documents to open and transfer details to a new account.
- Documents required to open a Demat account
Identity & Address Proof: You need to submit an identity proof document that contains your complete name, photograph, address, and signature. Acceptable documents are a passport, PAN card, Aadhaar card, voter’s ID card, driving license, electricity bill, and water bill.
Bank Account: To complete the Demat account opening process, you must link your Demat account with your bank account. This allows transfers from the Demat account to happen without hassle when trading stocks through the stock market exchange.
Who can hold a Demat Account?
Here is a list of individuals and organizations that are eligible for a Demat account:
Individual
- Adults
- Minors
- NRIs
Entities:
- Banks
- Mutual Funds
- Partnership firms
- Corporations
- LLP (Liability Limited Partnership)
- Registered/Unregistered trust
- Registered/Unregistered society
Conclusion
Having a Demat account is essential for anyone who wants to invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other financial securities in India. With a Demat account, you can manage your investments easily and securely without any limitations or paperwork.
FAQs
An Indian citizen with valid identification and address proof can open a Demat account. NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) are also allowed to open Demat accounts, which operate differently than standard accounts.
Foreign national individuals cannot open a Demat account.
Yes, a 17-year-old can open a Demat account. However, the parents or the guardian will have to open the Demat account in the minor’s name and operate it until the minor turns 18.
Yes, you don’t need income proof to open a Demat account in India. You need a valid address and identification proof.
