How to apply for an IPO in India

You apply through your bank (ASBA) or a broker app (UPI), pick the cut-off price, and approve one payment mandate. The money is only blocked — not debited — until allotment. Here is the full process and the rules that trip people up.

Updated 7 September 2026

Before you start — the checklist

A demat account and a bank account linked to it.
A UPI ID (for the broker-app route) or net banking with your bank (for the ASBA route).
Enough free balance in the bank account to be blocked — for a mainboard IPO that's about ₹14,000–₹15,000 for one lot; for an SME IPO the retail minimum is 2 lots, above ₹2 lakh (SEBI rule since 1 July 2025).
The IPO must be open — see the IPO calendar for open and close dates. Bidding closes at 5:00 PM IST on the last day; brokers usually cut off a little earlier.

Route 1 — through a broker app (UPI)

Open the IPO section of your broker app (Zerodha, Groww, Upstox, Angel One, etc.).
Select the IPO and enter your bid: quantity in lots and price. Retail investors almost always tick “Cut-off price” — you agree to pay whatever final price the company sets (usually the top of the band), which maximises your chance of a valid bid.
Enter your UPI ID and submit.
You get a mandate request in your UPI app (GPay / PhonePe / BHIM). Approve it before 5 PM on the close day. This blocks the money — it does not pay it.
Done. Check the app for “Applied” status.

Route 2 — through your bank (ASBA)

ASBA = “Application Supported by Blocked Amount”. Log in to net banking, find the IPO / e-IPO section, pick the IPO, enter your demat details, quantity and cut-off price, and submit. The bank blocks the amount in your account directly — no UPI mandate needed. This is the most reliable route on a heavily subscribed IPO because UPI mandates sometimes fail under load.

What happens to your money

The amount is blocked in your account — you still earn interest on it, and you can see it as “on hold”.
If you get full allotment, the exact amount is debited on allotment day and the rest (if you bid at a lower price) is released.
If you get partial or no allotment, the blocked amount is released — usually within 1 working day of allotment. See the allotment guide for the timeline and your odds.

The rules people get wrong

One PAN, one application. Multiple retail applications on the same PAN are all rejected. Family members apply from their own PAN / demat.
Applying for more lots does not improve your per-application odds in the retail category when it's oversubscribed — it's a lottery per valid application, not per share.
Bid at cut-off. Bidding below the final price makes your application invalid.
Approve the mandate. An un-approved mandate = no application, even though the app shows your bid.
You can modify or cancel a retail bid any time before the close; after that it's locked.

Should GMP decide whether you apply?

No. Grey market premium is an unofficial, unregulated number from a handful of dealers. It swings several times a day, is frequently wrong, and can be talked up near an IPO's close to attract last-day applications. Plenty of high-GMP IPOs have listed flat or below issue price, and low-GMP ones have jumped. Treat it as one weak sentiment signal — read the offer document (RHP), the company's financials and the subscription pattern (heavy QIB interest is more meaningful than a grey-market quote), and only commit money you can have blocked for a week.

Platform does not tell you whether to apply. It aggregates public data so you can decide. It is not a SEBI-registered adviser and gives no buy/sell/apply recommendations. Always confirm the price band, dates and terms with NSE, BSE and the RHP before applying.

Platform is an independent aggregator, not affiliated with NSE, BSE, SEBI or any registrar. This article is general information, not investment advice. See the disclaimer.