Introduction
IPO allotment is the process by which a company decides who gets how many shares after the subscription window closes. For the investor, the period between subscription close and allotment day is stressful — you have applied, your money is blocked, and you are waiting to find out whether you got shares. This guide walks through the full allotment process, the proportional allotment rules, and what actually happens behind the scenes.
The Timeline
Here is the standard T+6 schedule used for most Indian mainboard IPOs after SEBI's 2023 reforms:
- **Day T** (subscription close): All bids must be received by 5 pm IST - **Day T+1**: Allotment finalized by the registrar and approved by the lead manager - **Day T+2**: Refunds initiated for unallotted applications; allotted shares credited to demat accounts - **Day T+3**: Trading begins on NSE and BSE
From subscription close to listing day is typically 6 working days. The 2023 SEBI reforms compressed this from the previous T+10 cycle, significantly reducing funds blocked for investors.
How Allotment Actually Works
The registrar — usually KFintech, MUFG Intime, Bigshare, Cameo, or Skyline — runs the allotment process based on rules defined in the offer document and SEBI regulations. The rules differ by investor category:
Retail (up to ₹2 lakh per application)
If the retail portion is undersubscribed, everyone gets full allotment. If it is oversubscribed, allotment is by lottery — every valid application gets a chance at one lot. Post-2019 SEBI rules guarantee that every valid retail application gets a minimum of one lot if the subscription is anywhere close to 1x.
For highly oversubscribed IPOs (say 50x in retail), only a fraction of applicants receive allotment, and even the "lucky" ones get just one lot. Your total application amount does not matter in this lottery — applying for 13 lots vs 1 lot makes no difference if the issue is highly oversubscribed.
sNII (bid < ₹10 lakh)
Proportional allotment. If the category is subscribed 10x, each applicant receives approximately 1/10 of what they applied for.
bNII (bid > ₹10 lakh)
Also proportional, but computed separately from sNII. This is the category used by HNIs and high-ticket investors.
QIB (Qualified Institutional Buyers)
Also proportional, but QIBs typically do not rely on luck — allotment is negotiated through anchor bids and block deals.
How to Maximize Retail Allotment Chances
Because retail allotment is a lottery, the only way to improve your odds is to apply through multiple PANs — typically family members who have their own demat accounts. Each PAN gets an independent ticket in the lottery. Note that SEBI prohibits multiple applications from the same PAN, and any such application is automatically rejected.
A second tactic: apply at cut-off price. This is treated as the highest possible bid and makes your application eligible for all price-band scenarios.
Checking Allotment Status
On the allotment date evening, allotment status typically goes live on the registrar portal around 6–8 pm IST. You can check using your PAN, application number, or DP/Client ID on the registrar website. ipomarket.in's allotment page links directly to the correct registrar for every recent IPO.
Refund Cycle
For unallotted applications, the blocked funds are released back to your bank account within 1 working day of allotment. You do not need to do anything — the UPI mandate is automatically cancelled. If you do not see the refund within 2 working days, contact your bank or the registrar.
Common Mistakes
- **Applying from multiple accounts on the same PAN** — SEBI rules treat this as a technical rejection. - **Incorrect UPI ID** — a typo here will cause mandate failure. - **Not approving the UPI mandate in time** — Mandates expire in 5 minutes for most brokers. - **Applying on the last day at peak hours** — NSE/BSE bidding systems can throttle under load.
Conclusion
IPO allotment is mostly a lottery for retail investors, but you can stack the odds in your favour by applying from multiple family PANs, bidding at cut-off, and submitting early in the subscription window. Track every open IPO's allotment date and registrar on ipomarket.in so you never miss a critical date.