The Timeline of IPO Allotment
The journey from placing an IPO bid to finally seeing the shares in your Demat account follows a strict T+3 timeline mandated by SEBI. T represents the final day of issue closure. The basis of allotment is generally finalized on T+1, refunds or unblocking of funds occur on T+2, and the shares hit the secondary market on T+3.
Understanding this timeline is crucial because it helps you manage your liquidity. During this period, your application money remains securely blocked in your bank account via the ASBA (Applications Supported by Blocked Amount) UPI mandate, earning normal bank interest.
How the Lottery System Works
Most quality IPOs today see massive retail participation. Whenever the retail portion is oversubscribed, SEBI rules dictate that the allotment must be done via a computerized draw of lots (lottery). This ensures that every valid retail applicant has an equal chance of receiving at least one minimum lot of shares.
Your chances of winning this lottery depend entirely on the current IPO subscription numbers. If the retail category is subscribed 10 times, mathematically, you have a 1 in 10 chance of getting the allotment. Applying with multiple lots from a single PAN card does not increase your chances; applying from different family members' PAN accounts does.
Where to Verify Your Allotment
Once the registrar (like Link Intime or KFintech) completes the lottery, the results are uploaded to the servers. However, registrar websites frequently crash due to millions of users refreshing the page simultaneously.
To avoid frustration, you can use a live IPO allotment status portal that connects directly to official APIs. All you need is your PAN number or your IPO application number. These tools provide lightning-fast, accurate confirmation of whether you won the allotment or not.
What to Do If You Don't Get Shares
Not getting an allotment is a common scenario in bull markets. If you miss out, don't panic. Your blocked funds will automatically be released by your bank within 24 hours. If there is a delay in unblocking, you can easily raise a complaint with your bank's UPI dispute section.
If you strongly believe in the company's fundamentals, you still have an opportunity to buy the shares on listing day. However, be cautious of listing-day volatility. Track the Kostak rates and Subject to Sauda beforehand to estimate where the price might settle, and only buy post-listing if the valuation still justifies the entry price.
Registrar vs Exchange Portals
You can check your allotment on the official registrar's website (like Link Intime or KFintech) or on the BSE/NSE portals. Registrar websites are updated first, making them the fastest source of truth, though they often experience heavy server loads leading to temporary crashes.
Understanding Mandate Revocation
If you don't receive an allotment, your UPI mandate is revoked. This signals your bank to unfreeze the blocked amount. While the registrar sends the instruction on T+1, banks can sometimes take 24 to 48 hours to process the unblock, causing temporary anxiety for applicants.
What is Pro-Rata Allotment?
In the past, HNIs received pro-rata allotment (proportionate to their bid). Now, SEBI has introduced a lottery system even for the NII category if it is heavily oversubscribed. However, in some specific cases or older rules, pro-rata meant getting a percentage of what you applied for.
Handling UPI Block Failures
Occasionally, an application is successful but the UPI block fails, or funds remain blocked post-listing despite no allotment. In such cases, you must email the registrar with your application number or raise a UPI dispute ticket via your banking app (like GPay or PhonePe) to resolve the mandate.
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