What happens after you apply
The issue stays open for three to five days. After it closes, allotment runs: if the issue is oversubscribed, shares are distributed by lottery among valid applications within the retail category, so a bigger application does not improve your odds per lot. Allotment status appears on the registrar’s site and in your broker app, and shares land in your demat account on listing day.
The three things to check before applying
First, the price band and lot size, because the money required is lot size times price. Second, the issue size versus your intent: subscription numbers tell you how crowded the application is, not whether the company is good. Third, the registrar and allotment dates, so you know when the block releases.
What this site does not tell you
Whether to apply. Listing gains are unpredictable, and past IPOs listing well says nothing about the next one. This site explains the mechanics: how to apply, what ASBA blocks, when shares arrive. The decision to apply is yours, and it is a decision, not a formality.
Mainboard versus SME IPOs
Mainboard IPOs list on NSE or BSE’s main segment with a minimum retail lot size designed for retail investors. SME IPOs list on the separate SME platforms, where the minimum application is ₹1,00,000 or more, and the companies are smaller with thinner post-listing liquidity. The ASBA process is identical for both, but the markets are not: SME shares trade in a less liquid segment with wider price swings. Treating an SME IPO as a cheaper mainboard IPO is the single most common category mistake in applications.
Reading the offer document before you apply
The Red Herring Prospectus (RHP) is the document that matters. Three sections deserve your time: the objects of the issue (what the raised money is for), the risk factors (every company lists them, and they are the only forward-looking honesty in the document), and the financial statements (revenue, profit and debt for the last three years). The registrar, allotment dates and contact details sit near the end. The document takes an hour to skim and answers more than any article or video about the same IPO.
A concrete example
A company opens its IPO with a lot size of 100 shares at ₹300. You apply for one lot through your broker’s app with your UPI ID. ₹30,000 blocks in your bank. On allotment day the registrar shows your status; on listing day either the shares or the released block tells you the result.
Questions people ask about IPO
IPO applications are made in lots, not single shares. If the lot size is 100 and the price band tops at ₹300, one lot needs a ₹30,000 block. Two lots need ₹60,000. Checking the lot size before applying avoids an application that fails on insufficient funds.
The IPO registrar’s website (Link Intime or KFintech, named in the offer document) and the broker app both show allotment using your PAN or application number. The broker app usually shows it first on allotment day.
Grey market premium is the unofficial price at which IPO applications trade before listing, and it is neither regulated nor reliable. It reflects sentiment in an unregulated market, not the company’s fundamentals or the eventual listing price. This site describes it for completeness and takes no position on any IPO.
Yes. From listing morning the shares are ordinary demat holdings and can be sold like anything else, subject to any exchange rules that apply to the listing. Whether selling on day one suits your own goals is your decision; the mechanics impose no lock-in.
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