Transmission

Transmission is how shares and mutual fund units pass from someone who has died to their nominee or legal heirs. With a nominee, it’s simple. Without one, SEBI’s 2026 rules allow simplified documents up to ₹30 lakh per demat account.

Transmission versus transfer

The two words are easy to mix up. A transfer moves securities between living people, usually when you sell shares or gift them. Transmission is specifically the movement caused by death: the holdings of a person who has died pass to the nominee or heirs. One is a market or gift transaction; the other is a succession process, triggered by a death certificate rather than a trade.

How it works

If the deceased named a nominee, transmission is straightforward: the nominee submits a death certificate and basic documents, and the units or shares move to them. Without a nominee, the heirs supply succession documents, and SEBI’s 23 July 2026 framework simplified this: claims up to ₹30 lakh per demat account, or ₹10 lakh for physical holdings and fund units, can use simplified documents, and small claims up to ₹30,000 in demat can use a quick route for close relatives.

No probate needed

SEBI’s 2026 framework removed probate of a will as a mandatory document for transmission, in line with the change to succession law. The nominee or heir then holds the assets subject to the will or succession law. See claiming a parent’s money after they die.