Stop Scrolling. Open Zerodha. Update Your Nominee.

You check your Zerodha portfolio every day. Sometimes twice. You track your SIPs, watch your stocks, and refresh the P&L more often than you’d admit.

But there’s one thing in your Zerodha account you’ve probably never looked at. And it’s the one thing that matters most if something happens to you.

Your nominee.

About 72% of individual demat account holders in India haven’t appointed a nominee, according to SEBI data. That’s nearly three out of four investors. If you’re one of them, and something happens to you tomorrow, your family doesn’t just lose you. They lose easy access to everything you’ve invested.

Without a nominee, your family would need a succession certificate from a district court to claim your shares, mutual funds, and ETFs. That means a lawyer, court fees running 2-5% of the estate value, and 3-6 months of waiting. On a Rs 50 lakh portfolio, that’s Rs 1-2.5 lakh gone just in legal costs.

With a nominee? The transmission takes about 15-30 working days with straightforward paperwork. No court. No lawyer. No fees beyond what the DP charges.

The difference is 3 minutes of your time today.

How to Add a Nominee on Zerodha (Step by Step)

Here’s exactly what to do. Keep your phone handy — you’ll need Aadhaar OTP.

1. Go to console.zerodha.com on your browser
2. Click Account in the top menu
3. Click Nominees
4. Click Add Nominee
5. Enter the nominee’s details: name, relationship, date of birth
6. Upload a PDF of the nominee’s ID proof
7. Set the percentage allocation (if adding multiple nominees, total must be 100%)
8. Complete e-Sign via Aadhaar OTP

That’s it. Processing takes up to 48 hours. You’ll get confirmation emails from both Zerodha and CDSL.

Important notes:

• You can add up to 3 nominees currently
• If you already have nominees and need to change them, modifications require offline processing with a fee of Rs 25 + 18% GST (about Rs 29.50)
• Your Zerodha demat nominee automatically covers mutual funds held on Coin (since Coin MFs are in demat form)

What About Groww?

If you use Groww instead of (or alongside) Zerodha:

1. Open the Groww app or website
2. Go to Profile > Account Details > Nominee Details
3. Click Edit Nominee
4. Enter details and complete e-Sign via Aadhaar OTP

For existing mutual fund investments on Groww held in folio form (not demat), you may need to update nominees separately through the MF Central portal at mfcentral.com.

What About Your Mutual Funds?

This is where it gets a bit confusing. Your MF nominees might be different from your demat nominees, depending on how they’re held:

• MFs in demat form (e.g., via Zerodha Coin): Your demat nominee automatically applies. No separate setup needed.
• MFs in folio form (e.g., direct with AMC, or via Groww for some funds): You need to set nominees separately through MF Central, KFintech, or CAMS.

MF Central (mfcentral.com) is the easiest route — it’s a unified portal by CAMS and KFintech that lets you update nominees across all mutual fund folios regardless of platform.

If a family member ever needs to claim mutual fund investments after a death, the process varies by fund house. We’ve written a detailed guide: How to claim mutual funds after a family member’s death.

Current SEBI Rules on Nominations (As of February 2026)

SEBI has been tightening nomination rules. Here’s where things stand:

• Master circular (January 10, 2025): Revamped and revised nomination framework for demat accounts and mutual funds
• Current limit: Up to 3 nominees with percentage allocation
• Phase III (10 nominees): Was announced but has been deferred indefinitely as of December 11, 2025
• Account freezing: SEBI had initially proposed freezing accounts without nominees, but that was reversed in June 2024. Your account won’t be frozen for lack of a nominee.
• But: Brokers are required to send you regular reminders about adding nominees. Those annoying pop-ups in your Zerodha app? That’s SEBI making sure you see this.

So no, your account won’t be frozen. But that’s not a reason to delay. The freeze was reversed because of practical issues, not because nominations don’t matter.

The Bigger Picture: A Nominee Is Not Enough

Here’s something most people don’t know, and it changes everything.

A nominee is not the same as a legal heir.

In the landmark Supreme Court case Shakti Yezdani v Salgaonkar (2023), the court clarified: a nominee is a trustee, not an owner. The nominee holds assets in trust for the legal heirs.

What this means in practice:

• Your nominee can collect your investments after your death
• But legal heirs can challenge the nominee’s claim
• If there’s no will, Hindu Succession Act or Indian Succession Act determines who the legal heirs are
• If a legal heir and nominee are different people, it can get ugly. Courts. Lawyers. Years.

We’ve covered the nominee vs legal heir distinction in detail. It’s one of the most misunderstood concepts in Indian personal finance.

The Real Solution: Nominee + Will

Nomination handles the short-term. It gives someone quick access to your investments without courts.

A will handles the long-term. It makes your intentions legally clear. Who gets what. No ambiguity. No family disputes.

Together, they create a clean transfer:

1. Nominee collects the assets quickly (15-30 days)
2. Will specifies who the assets belong to
3. No court battles. No confusion. No family torn apart over money.

And don’t forget — it’s not just your investments. Your digital accounts also need a plan. Email, social media, subscriptions, crypto — all of it.

The Numbers That Should Worry You

• 72% of demat accounts don’t have a nominee (SEBI data)
• Over Rs 1 lakh crore in unclaimed shares and dividends sit with the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF)
• Rs 78,213 crore in unclaimed bank deposits (RBI, March 2024)
• Around Rs 3,000 crore in unclaimed mutual funds
• Only about 20% of Indians have a legally valid will

Every rupee in those unclaimed pools started as someone’s carefully planned investment. Someone picked those stocks. Someone set up those SIPs. Someone meant for that money to go to their family.

It didn’t. Because of a missing nominee. A forgotten nomination. A will that was never written.

The 2-Minute Version

If you’ve read this far and still haven’t opened Zerodha:

1. Open console.zerodha.com (or your broker’s app)
2. Add a nominee — spouse, parent, whoever you trust
3. e-Sign with Aadhaar OTP
4. Do the same for Groww, MF Central, or wherever else you invest
5. Tell someone where your investments are

That’s it. Five steps. Probably less time than you spent reading this post.

Life events change things too. Got married? Had a kid? Changed jobs? Here’s when and how to update your nominees.

Your portfolio doesn’t matter if nobody can access it. Fix that today.

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Make Sure Your Family Knows Everything

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Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. The information provided here is based on publicly available data, SEBI circulars, and general knowledge of Indian financial regulations as of the date of publication. Regulations, rules, platform interfaces, and procedures may change without notice. The steps described for Zerodha, Groww, MF Central, KFintech, and CAMS are based on their publicly available processes and may vary depending on your account type, KYC status, or platform updates. Always verify current processes directly on the respective platforms. The legal references (including the Shakti Yezdani v Salgaonkar case) are for general awareness and should not be treated as legal advice. For specific legal or financial guidance related to nominations, estate planning, or succession, please consult a qualified professional. Anshin is not a financial advisory service and does not manage, invest, or hold any financial assets on behalf of users.