How to apply for an IPO in India (UPI & ASBA): step-by-step guide

Updated 26 October 2026 · 6 min read

Applying for an IPO in India takes about five minutes once your demat account is ready. The most important thing to understand is that your money is not paid out when you apply. It is only blocked in your own bank account — it keeps earning savings interest — and is debited only for the shares you are actually allotted. If you get nothing, the block is simply released.

This guide walks through the whole process: what you need beforehand, the two ways to apply (UPI through your broker, or ASBA through net banking), how to choose your category and number of lots, the deadlines that catch people out, and what happens after the issue closes.

What you need before applying

• A demat and trading account with any SEBI-registered broker. Opening one online takes 10–15 minutes with Aadhaar e-KYC; plan for it to be active a day or two before the IPO closes.
• A PAN card. Your PAN is already linked to the demat account — and it is the PAN that counts as "one applicant", not the demat account.
• A bank account in the same name as the demat account, linked either to a UPI app (BHIM, Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm and most bank apps support IPO mandates) or to net banking with the ASBA facility.
• Enough balance for the full application. The amount is blocked, so it must be available in the account when you approve the bid.

Method 1: apply through your broker with UPI (most common)

Almost every retail investor applies this way. The screens differ slightly between brokers, but the steps are the same everywhere:

1. Open the IPO section of your broker's app or website while the issue is open (usually three working days, 10 am to 5 pm). Many brokers also accept "pre-apply" orders a day or two before opening; they are sent to the exchange when the IPO opens.
2. Pick the IPO and your category. Most people apply as Retail (individual investor, up to ₹2 lakh). If you are an employee of the company or a shareholder of its listed parent, you may also see those categories.
3. Enter the number of lots. Shares can only be bought in multiples of the lot size shown on the IPO page.
4. Enter the price. Retail investors can tick "cut-off price", which means you agree to pay whatever final price is fixed within the band — this is almost always the right choice, because a bid below the final price is not allotted at all.
5. Enter your UPI ID and submit. Within a few minutes (sometimes up to a few hours on busy days) a mandate request arrives in your UPI app.
6. Open the UPI app and approve the mandate with your UPI PIN. Until you approve it, your bid is not valid.

UPI can be used for applications of up to ₹5 lakh. Above that — for example a big HNI application — use ASBA through net banking instead.

Method 2: apply through net banking (ASBA)

ASBA stands for "Application Supported by Blocked Amount". Most large banks offer it inside net banking, usually under "Investments" or "IPO/e-IPO". You select the IPO, enter your demat account details (DP ID and client ID), category, lots and price, and the bank blocks the amount straight away — no separate mandate to approve. ASBA has no ₹5 lakh limit, so it is the usual route for bigger applications, and it is handy if your UPI app is giving trouble on the last day.

Which category should you choose?

If you qualify for the employee or shareholder quota, you can usually apply in that quota and in the retail category too, from the same PAN — those quotas are often much less crowded.

How many lots should you apply for?

In a popular IPO the retail portion is oversubscribed many times, and the allotment works as a lottery for one lot each. Applying for more lots does not meaningfully raise your chances: one lot and thirteen lots have practically the same odds of getting one lot. So for a heavily subscribed issue, applying for one lot keeps less money blocked for no loss of chances. When an issue is not fully subscribed, everyone gets what they applied for, so the number of lots only matters for weaker issues.

Deadlines that catch people out

• Bids must be placed, and the UPI mandate approved, by 5 pm on the closing day. A bid whose mandate is approved after the cut-off is rejected.
• Some brokers stop taking orders earlier on the last day (often 4–4:30 pm) to leave time for the exchange.
• UPI apps and bank servers get slow on the last afternoon of a popular IPO. Apply on day one or two if you can.
• Pre-apply orders are only sent on opening day — you still need to approve the mandate when it arrives.

What happens after you apply

You can check allotment on the registrar's website with your PAN — the IPO page here links straight to the right registrar — or tap "＋ I applied" on the IPO page to track it under My IPOs.

Tips from experience

• Use one application per PAN. A second bid from the same PAN (even from another broker) gets both rejected.
• Make sure your PAN, demat and bank details match exactly — name mismatches are a common reason for rejection.
• Read at least the "Objects of the issue", "Risk factors" and financials in the RHP before applying. Each IPO page here links to it.
• Treat the grey market premium (GMP) as a mood indicator, not a promise. Our GMP accuracy page shows how often it was right.