Lost Share Certificate

Have you lost your share certificate?

If you are trying to dispose of shares still held in paper certificate form, you will need to surrender the original certificates or replace them if they are lost. Requests for lost certificate replacement paperwork must be submitted in writing. The share registrar or transfer agent will require an indemnity, or surety bond in North America, to protect them against the certificate turning up later and being used fraudulently. This is generally valued at a percentage of the market value of the shares. In North America, the surety bond also involves an Affidavit attesting to the loss of the certificates, which needs to be signed before a Notary Public.

If the registrar can’t indemnify the shareholder or their estate representative, you will need countersignature indemnity insurance, where an insurer steps in to underwrite the risk associated with high value lost certificates.

We can help – please contact us for a bespoke quote. We can also undertake this work as part of the process of selling shares.