How to Apply for an IPO in India

The mechanics of applying for an Indian IPO through UPI or net-banking ASBA, what each category can bid, the cut-off price, and the mistakes that get an application rejected before allotment is even run.

Published 8 September 2026 · IPO Sahayak

Applying for an IPO in India is a short process wrapped in a lot of jargon. The money never leaves your account at the time you apply, you are not buying shares at a fixed price, and most applications that fail do so for clerical reasons rather than because the applicant was unlucky in the draw. This page walks through what actually happens.

What you need before you start

• A demat account. Shares are credited electronically, so there is no way to apply without one.
• A PAN linked to that account. Allotment is processed on PAN. A mismatch between the PAN on the application and the PAN on the demat account is one of the most common rejection reasons.
• A bank account in your own name with enough clear balance to cover the full bid amount. Third-party accounts are not permitted — you cannot apply using a spouse's or parent's account.
• A UPI ID from a bank that is on the SEBI-approved list, if you are applying through a broker rather than through net banking. Not every UPI handle works for IPO mandates.

The two routes: UPI and net-banking ASBA

Every retail IPO application in India runs on ASBA — Application Supported by Blocked Amount. The distinction people mean when they say “UPI or ASBA” is really who blocks the money: your broker triggers a UPI mandate that your bank app asks you to approve, or you go into net banking and place the block yourself.

Applying through a broker with UPI

1. Open the IPO section of your broker's app or website and pick the issue.
2. Enter the number of lots. Bids have to be in whole lots — you cannot apply for an arbitrary number of shares.
3. Choose the cut-off price unless you have a specific reason not to (more on this below).
4. Enter your UPI ID and submit.
5. Open your UPI app and approve the mandate. This is the step people miss. Until the mandate is approved the application is incomplete, and the request expires — usually by 5 PM on the closing day, often earlier at your broker's own cut-off.

Once approved, the amount shows as blocked in your account. You still earn interest on it, and you cannot spend it.

Applying through net banking

1. Log in to net banking and find the IPO or ASBA section.
2. Select the issue, enter your demat details, lots and price.
3. Submit. The bank blocks the amount directly, with no mandate to approve separately.

The net-banking route has one practical advantage: there is no mandate that can quietly expire. It is also usually the only route available for applications above the UPI limit.

Which category your application lands in

You do not choose your category so much as your bid size chooses it for you, and the category decides how allotment is run.

• Retail (RII) — up to ₹2 lakh. If the retail portion is oversubscribed, allotment is a lottery on one-lot units, so a larger retail bid does not improve your odds of getting something. This mechanic is worth understanding properly; it is covered in how IPO allotment works.
• Small NII (sNII) — above ₹2 lakh and up to ₹10 lakh.
• Big NII (bNII) — above ₹10 lakh. Both HNI sub-categories are allotted on a draw basis when oversubscribed, and neither can bid at cut-off.
• QIB. Institutions. Not relevant to an individual applicant, but the QIB subscription figure is the number the market watches most closely, because those bids cannot be withdrawn once placed.

In a standard book-built issue the split is 50% QIB, 15% NII and 35% retail. Issues brought by companies without a three-year profitability record use a much harsher 75/15/10 split, which leaves retail with a far thinner slice. The offer document states which applies.

Bidding at cut-off versus naming a price

In a book-built IPO the final price is discovered from the bids received. If you name a price at the bottom of the band and the issue is priced at the top, your bid is simply not considered. Bidding at cut-off means you accept the discovered price, whatever it turns out to be within the band, and your application stays in contention regardless.

You are blocked for the full amount at the top of the band either way. If the issue prices lower, the difference is released. For a retail investor there is rarely a reason not to bid at cut-off — the option to name a price mostly exists for investors expressing a valuation view, and HNIs cannot use cut-off at all.

The timeline after you apply

Indian IPOs run on a T+3 timetable, where T is the day the issue closes. In practice that means:

• T: issue closes. Bids stop being accepted; unapproved mandates lapse.
• T+1: the basis of allotment is finalised with the registrar and the exchange.
• T+2: shares are credited to demat accounts and blocked funds are released for applications that did not get an allotment.
• T+3: listing and the start of trading.

Once allotment is out you can check yours several ways — the registrar, the exchange sites, your broker or your bank — and the live status for current issues sits on our allotment page.

Changing or cancelling a bid

Retail investors can revise a bid upward or downward, or withdraw it entirely, until the issue closes. That right is specific to retail: QIB and NII bids cannot be withdrawn once placed, and can only be revised upward. It is the reason the QIB subscription figure carries more information than the others — those bidders are committed.

What actually gets applications thrown out

A rejected application never reaches the allotment draw at all. The frequent causes are mundane: a UPI mandate left unapproved, insufficient clear balance when the bank tries to place the block, more than one application on the same PAN, a name that does not match between the bank account and the demat account, or a bid that is not in whole lots. Each of these, and how to avoid it, is covered in why an IPO application gets rejected.

One thing worth doing before you apply

Read the risk factors section of the red herring prospectus. It is written by the company's own lawyers, it is the most candid part of the document, and it takes ten minutes. Also check whether the issue is a fresh issue or an offer-for-sale: fresh issue money goes into the business, while an offer-for-sale simply transfers existing shares to you and raises nothing for the company. The grey market premium tells you far less than either of those, for reasons set out in what IPO GMP actually is.

Common questions