How to apply for an IPO, step by step

• A PAN that is valid and matches your demat account.
• A demat account in your own name, active and not frozen. Shares are credited here.
• A bank account with enough balance for the amount you want to bid. It should be in your own name.
• A UPI ID linked to that bank account, if you apply through a broker app. Individual bids up to ₹5 lakh can be made with UPI.

Check that your name and PAN are written the same way in your demat and bank records. A mismatch is a common reason for a rejected application. Why IPO applications get rejected lists the others.

Find the IPO in the IPO section of your broker's app while it is open for bidding. Before you bid, read the offer document or a summary of it, and decide how many lots you want. Use the application amount calculator to see what the bid will cost and which category it falls in.

Most retail applicants choose the retail category and bid at the cut-off price. The cut-off price means you accept the final issue price, whatever it turns out to be within the band. The amount blocked is worked out at the top of the band, so there is always enough to cover it. See lot size, price band and minimum investment.

1. Open the IPO in your broker's app and choose your category.
2. Enter the number of lots and select the cut-off option.
3. Enter your UPI ID and submit the bid.
4. Open your UPI app. A mandate request arrives from the exchange's system. Check the amount and approve it with your UPI PIN.
5. Come back to the broker's app and confirm the bid shows as placed.

You can also apply through your bank. Log in to net banking, open the IPO or ASBA section, choose the issue, enter your demat details and the number of lots, and submit. The bank blocks the amount in your account. This is the route for bids above the UPI limit. See what ASBA is.

• The amount is blocked, not paid. It stays in your account but you cannot use it until it is released or debited.
• You can usually revise or cancel the bid while the issue is open, from the same app.
• Watch the subscription. The subscription page shows how many times each category has been bid for.
• Note the dates. Allotment is finalised about a day after the issue closes. The Allotment tab of each IPO shows the dates and the registrar.

If you are allotted shares, the amount for those shares is debited and the shares are credited to your demat account on listing eve, around T+2. Any amount for lots you were not allotted is unblocked. If you are not allotted anything, the whole block is released. Nothing is lost in either case, apart from the time the money was tied up.

To check the result, see how to check IPO allotment status. For why an oversubscribed issue leaves some bids without shares, see how the allotment lottery works.

• Apply on the first or second day, not in the last hour, so a technical problem does not cost you the bid.
• Apply once per PAN. Several bids from the same PAN for the same IPO can be rejected as multiple applications.
• Use a UPI ID that belongs to you and is linked to a bank account in your own name.
• Keep the application number. It is useful for checking the allotment status.
• Be careful with links and messages that ask for your UPI PIN or promise guaranteed allotment. Only your own UPI app asks you to approve a mandate.