Apply IPO From Family Demat Accounts: PAN and Minor Rules

You can apply for an IPO from family members' demat accounts as long as each application uses that person's own PAN, own demat account and a bank account or UPI ID in their own name. SEBI's rules allow one application per PAN per category, so a family with four adult PANs can make four separate retail applications. Most family applications fail not because of the rule itself but because of mismatches, such as paying through the wrong person's UPI ID.

The rules here are as of October 2026 for mainboard IPOs. This guide is educational, promises no allotment and recommends no IPO.

The core rule: one application per PAN

Each IPO application is tied to the applicant's PAN, which is linked to their demat account. The registrar checks PANs across all applications in a category. If the same PAN appears more than once, the bids can be treated as multiple applications and rejected, sometimes all of them.

What this means in practice:

• Two demat accounts on one PAN do not give two chances.
• Applying through two brokers or through a broker and net banking with the same PAN is a duplicate.
• Each family member with their own PAN is a separate applicant.

Because oversubscribed retail portions are allotted by a lottery of minimum lots, each valid family application is effectively a separate ticket. See how to increase IPO allotment chances for how the odds work.

Who in the family can apply, and how

Minors

A minor can hold shares and apply through a demat account in their own name. The minor is always the sole, first holder; a minor's demat account cannot have a joint holder. A parent or legal guardian operates the account and completes KYC along with the minor's documents. The minor needs their own PAN, which can be issued on the basis of Aadhaar and proof of age.

For payment, most brokers expect a bank account in the minor's name, operated by the guardian. Some broker help pages describe other arrangements, so confirm with your broker before bidding. At 18, the account must be converted to a regular account with fresh KYC in the young adult's own name.

Joint demat accounts

A joint demat account does not create two applicants. The IPO bid is made in the first holder's PAN, and the payment must come from a bank account where the first holder is the holder (for UPI, a UPI ID linked to such an account). If the second holder wants to apply, they need a separate demat account where they are the first holder.

HUF

A Hindu Undivided Family with its own PAN, demat and bank account can apply through its karta. It is treated like an individual for category limits, so a bid of up to ₹2 lakh is retail. The karta's personal application and the HUF's application are separate because they use different PANs.

How to apply for each member

1. Each member logs in to their own broker account (or the guardian, for a minor's account).
2. Choose the issue, category and lots. For retail, a one-lot bid at cut-off is the common choice.
3. Enter a UPI ID that belongs to that member. Many brokers block a UPI ID not linked to the applicant's bank, but some do not catch it until the registrar's checks.
4. Approve the mandate in that member's UPI app before 5 pm on the closing day.
5. Keep a record of each member's application number and blocked amount.

For the full process, see how to apply for an IPO online.

Worked example: a family of five (illustrative)

The Mehtas want to apply for a hypothetical issue with a lot size of 52 shares and a cap price of ₹285. One lot costs 52 × ₹285 = ₹14,820.

Applicants: Rahul, his wife Neha, his father, his mother, and their 12-year-old son through a minor account. That is five PANs, each applying for 1 lot at cut-off.

• Total blocked: 5 × ₹14,820 = ₹74,100, spread across five bank accounts.
• Odds: suppose the retail lottery gives each valid application a 6% chance. The chance that one applicant misses is 94%. The chance that all five miss is 0.94 × 0.94 × 0.94 × 0.94 × 0.94 = 0.7339. So the chance of at least one allotment is 1 − 0.7339 = 0.2661, about 26.6%.
• Expected outcome: 5 × 0.06 = 0.3 lots on average, so most of the time the family still gets nothing.

Now the mistake version. Rahul pays for Neha's and his mother's bids through his own UPI ID.

With only three valid applications, the chance of at least one allotment drops to 1 − 0.94³ = 1 − 0.8306 = 0.1694, about 16.9%.

Common rejection reasons for family applications

• UPI ID or bank account not in the applicant's name.
• Same PAN used twice, for example once by a broker and once by net banking.
• Joint demat used for the "second holder", which is still the first holder's PAN.
• Mandate not approved in time because the family member did not see the request.
• Insufficient balance in that member's bank account.
• Minor's account without a valid PAN or with incomplete guardian KYC.
• Retail bid above ₹2 lakh at the cap price.

You can follow live issues and their dates on our live IPO dashboard. If an application does go through, see how to check IPO allotment status for each PAN.

Tax and ownership points

• The money should genuinely belong to the applicant. Using a relative's name purely as a front can create tax and legal problems.
• Gifts within the family are tax-free for the recipient when the giver is a "relative" as defined in the tax law; see tax on gifts.
• Clubbing of income. If you gift money to your spouse or minor child and they invest it, gains and dividends from it can be taxed in your hands under the clubbing provisions (old Section 64 of the 1961 Act, carried into the Income-tax Act, 2025). Money belonging to adult children and parents is not clubbed.
• Capital gains rates for listed shares as of October 2026: 20% short-term (held 12 months or less) and 12.5% long-term above ₹1.25 lakh a year in gains.

If shares are held for a while, our CAGR calculator shows each member's annualised return.

Key takeaways

• One application per PAN per category; each family member with their own PAN, demat and bank account is a separate applicant.
• The UPI ID or bank account must belong to the applicant; paying for others from your UPI is a common cause of rejection.
• Minors can apply through a guardian-operated account in their own name with their own PAN; there is no joint holder.
• A joint demat account gives only one application, in the first holder's PAN.
• An HUF can apply separately through its karta with its own PAN.
• Clubbing rules can tax income from money you give your spouse or minor child in your hands.