**SEBI Unlock for Physical Shares: New Window Opens Feb 5** **Market Alert | January 31, 2026** The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced a major relief measure for investors holding legacy physical securities. A special one-year window will open from **February 5, 2026**, to **February 4, 2027**, allowing the transfer and dematerialization of shares that were previously stuck due to procedural or documentation hurdles. **Addressing Pre-2019 Deadlocks** This initiative targets investors who failed to transfer physical securities before the **April 1, 2019** mandate. The regulatory reprieve specifically covers cases where transfer requests were rejected, returned, or left pending due to deficiencies. Investors can now re-lodge these requests to regularize ownership. However, strict conditions apply: * Transfers will be credited **exclusively** to demat accounts. * These securities will face a mandatory **one-year lock-in** from the date of transfer registration. * During the lock-in, shares cannot be sold, pledged, or transferred. **Streamlining Demat Credits** In a parallel move to cut red tape, SEBI has scrapped the requirement for the "Letter of Confirmation" (LOC) for crediting shares. Effective **April 2, 2026**, Registrars and Transfer Agents (RTAs) will verify details and directly credit securities to the investor's demat account. This policy shift aims to reduce the settlement timeline from approximately **150 days** to just **30 days**, significantly improving liquidity and operational efficiency. **Market Impact** This dual announcement resolves long-standing grievances for thousands of shareholders holding "dead" assets while modernizing the backend infrastructure for security transfers. The move is expected to bring a substantial volume of dormant securities back into the active market system once the lock-in periods expire.