Investors who want to trade in securities, like company stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETF), government securities, corporate bonds, and mutual funds, must open a Demat account.
Investors have to pay annual fees and maintenance charges for Demat accounts. Therefore, one should close all inactive or zero balance Demat accounts.
One must first download a closure form from the Depository Participant's website. The form should be accurately filled and submitted along with the investor’s KYC documentation.
If you want to close or terminate your Demat account, you must go to the Depository Participant's office and submit the Demat account closure form along with the necessary documents.
Investors who want to close their Demat accounts should submit their Depository Participant's ID and client ID for the account verification process.
One must note that details like name and address on the closure form should match the records available with NSDL or CDSL.
The reason for the account closure should be mentioned. Investors may close the account either voluntarily or due to unavoidable circumstances, such as death, and so on.
If the Demat account has more than one account holder, then all must sign the closure form in the presence of a Depository Participant (DP) official. Here the DP can be a bank or a brokerage firm.
Investors should ensure there are no holdings, pending payments, or charges in the account before closure.
If you still have securities, or charges payable in your Demat account, then before closing the particular account, the securities have to be transferred to another Demat account.
After submitting the account closure form, the entire process of closing the account takes about 7-10 business days.
You do not have to pay or incur any fees to the depository when you close your Demat account.