How to Apply for IPO Online: UPI and ASBA Steps (2026)

To apply for an IPO online in India, you place a bid through your stock broker's app using UPI, or through your bank's net banking using ASBA (Application Supported by Blocked Amount). In both routes the money stays in your bank account and is only blocked until allotment. As of October 2026, you must approve the UPI mandate by 5 pm on the issue's closing day, and shares list on the third working day after the issue closes (T+3).

You need a demat account, a trading account, and a bank account in your own name linked to the same PAN. If you do not have one yet, see how to open a demat account.

Two ways to apply

A SCSB is a Self-Certified Syndicate Bank, which is a bank SEBI has approved to block funds for public issues. Most large banks are on the list. For UPI, your UPI app and bank must also be on SEBI's list of apps and banks enabled for IPO mandates.

Before you bid: a short checklist

• Read the issue details. Price band, lot size, opening and closing dates, and how the money will be used are in the red herring prospectus (RHP). Our guide on reading the IPO offer document explains which sections matter.
• Check the dates. Most main-board issues stay open for three working days. Bidding generally runs from 10 am to 5 pm on exchange working days.
• Keep enough balance. The full bid amount at the upper end of the band must be available in the linked bank account when you approve the mandate.
• Use your own UPI ID. The UPI ID must belong to a bank account in the applicant's own name. Third-party UPI IDs lead to rejection.
• Know your category. If your bid is ₹2 lakh or less, you are a retail individual investor (RII). Above that, you fall in the non-institutional (NII) category. See IPO categories: retail, sHNI and bHNI.

You can follow open, upcoming and recently listed issues on our live IPO dashboard.

Step by step: applying through your broker with UPI

1. Open the IPO section of your broker's app and select the issue.
2. Choose your category (individual or retail, employee, or shareholder if eligible).
3. Enter quantity in lots. IPOs are sold only in multiples of the lot size. The app shows the amount for each lot.
4. Enter the price or tick "cut-off". As a retail bidder, ticking cut-off means you accept the final issue price, whatever it is within the band. The app blocks the amount at the upper end of the band.
5. Enter your UPI ID and submit. You can enter up to three bids at different prices in one application, but only one application per PAN is allowed.
6. Approve the mandate. Within a few minutes to a few hours, a mandate request appears in your UPI app (as a notification or under "mandates"). Check the issue name and amount, then approve with your UPI PIN.
7. Check the status. The broker app should show the bid as accepted, and the exchange sends an SMS or email confirming the bid. The amount now shows as blocked in your bank account.

If the mandate does not arrive, do not apply a second time from another app with the same PAN. Wait, check the broker's order status, and contact the broker. A bid without an approved mandate by the deadline is not valid.

Step by step: applying through net banking (ASBA)

1. Log in to net banking and look for "IPO", "ASBA" or "Invest" in the menu.
2. Register once with your demat account details (DP ID and client ID, or the 16-digit BO ID for CDSL).
3. Select the issue, category, number of lots and price, or tick cut-off if you are a retail bidder.
4. Confirm. The bank blocks the amount right away. There is no separate mandate step.
5. Save the acknowledgement with the application number.

ASBA through net banking is the usual route for bids above ₹5 lakh, such as large NII bids, because UPI cannot be used above that amount.

Bid at cut-off or at a specific price?

Retail investors usually bid at cut-off. If you bid at a price below the final issue price, your bid is rejected. Bidding at cut-off avoids that risk. NII and QIB bidders cannot bid at cut-off and must quote a price; most quote the upper end of the band.

The T+3 timeline after you apply

Under SEBI's T+3 rule, mandatory for issues opening on or after 1 December 2023, "T" is the issue closing day and holidays are not counted.

If funds are not unblocked on time, SEBI's investor-compensation framework applies, under which intermediaries pay compensation for the delay (at least ₹100 a day, as set out in the issue's General Information Document). Check the RHP for the exact rule for each issue. To check your result, see how to check IPO allotment status.

Worked example: how much gets blocked (illustrative)

Suppose an issue has a price band of ₹270 to ₹285 and a lot size of 52 shares. Riya, a retail investor, bids for 3 lots at cut-off.

In practice, an oversubscribed retail portion is allotted by lottery, and most winners get just one lot. If Riya receives 1 lot at ₹280, the bank debits 52 × ₹280 = ₹14,560 and releases ₹44,460 − ₹14,560 = ₹29,900. If she gets nothing, the full ₹44,460 is unblocked.

She could also have applied for the maximum retail amount: 13 lots (13 × 52 × ₹285 = ₹1,92,660), since 14 lots (₹2,07,480) would cross ₹2 lakh and move her into the NII category. Applying for more lots usually does not improve retail odds. If you hold the shares after listing, our CAGR calculator shows the annualised return over any period.

Common reasons IPO bids get rejected

• Mandate not approved by 5 pm on the closing day.
• UPI ID linked to someone else's bank account.
• PAN or demat details wrong, or a PAN used twice in the same issue.
• Insufficient balance when the mandate is approved.
• Bid price below the final price (when you did not tick cut-off).
• Applying in the retail category for more than ₹2 lakh.

Safety points

• Apply only through your registered broker or bank. Nobody can "guarantee" an allotment for a fee.
• Grey market premium figures shared on social media are unofficial. See what is IPO GMP before you rely on them.
• An approved IPO mandate is a one-time block for that issue, not a recurring autopay.

This article is educational. It does not recommend any IPO.

Key takeaways

• You can apply for an IPO through your broker with a UPI mandate (up to ₹5 lakh) or through net banking ASBA for any eligible amount.
• The money is blocked, not debited, and is released if you get no shares.
• Retail investors can bid at cut-off; the block is at the upper end of the price band.
• Approve the UPI mandate before 5 pm on the closing day, or the bid is invalid.
• Under T+3, allotment and unblocking happen by T+2 and shares list on T+3 working days after closing.
• One application per PAN per category; duplicates can be rejected.