Ever wondered what happens to shares which remain unclaimed for a long time? It might happen that you have brought penny shares of a company a long time ago or your parents have brought shares and then forgot about it over the years. Most of the time, parents forget to inform their children, or people themselves forget about these shares thinking that they won't fetch any profit. But sometimes these penny shares and their respective companies grow manifolds over the years and the corresponding invested amount also grows big.

Now, if someone wants to claim these shares and their dividend which is left unclaimed for years, here is how they do it.
Procedure for Recovery of Lost Shares from IEPF

Earlier, the unclaimed shares used to go into the public fund of the Government of India and were used in public welfare schemes. Now, the government has created Investor Education and Protection Fund where unclaimed dividends and shares are transferred if they lie dormant for more than seven years.

If a person wants to claim this amount then he/she can do it in the following steps:

Step 1: Apply to IEPF
Apply to the unclaimed dividend link on the website of IEPF and take a print of the duly filled application form.

Step 2: Sending Claim Application to Nodal Officer
Now, send the completed application form with document related to ownership of shares along with bank account or Demat account details and ID proof to the Nodal Officer of the company whose shares need to be claimed. You might need to send affidavits and other documents as well. Take the help of a legal firm to compile a perfect application file with all the relevant documents to avoid rejection of the claim.

Step 3: Nodal Officer Sends Verified Claim File to IEPF
The nodal officer will verify your claim file with the application form for the rightful ownership of the lost shares. Officer will also verify the authenticity of all the submitted documents. After successful verification, the Nodal Officer sends the claim file to IEPF for release of claim.

Step 4: IEPF Releases Funds
After receiving the file the IEPF also verifies the claim file and the verification report sent by the Nodal Officer. Once the verification process is completed, the IEPF releases funds to the attached bank accounts or releases shares to the corresponding Demat account whose details have been shared by the claimant.

So, this was the complete process of recovery of lost shares from IEPF. It is recommended that the claimant takes help from a reputed legal and financial advisory firm so that he submits the right set of documents. A legal firm will also help in establishing rightful ownership on the unclaimed shares by removing any legal hurdle.