How to Re-Register Stock Certicificates

There are many reasons to re-register a stock certificate. This can be due to the death of an individual, name change, gifting or stock transfer. The underlying theme is a transfer of ownership. You will need to gather certain information and find a transfer agent in order to transfer ownership and re-register a stock certificate.

Gather your information. You will need the original stock certificate, complete name, address and taxpayer ID (social security number) of the new owner, stock power and a W-9 form. In some cases, such as a transfer due to death, you will be required to show more documentation.

Locate a transfer agent. Try to find an agent in the state of the person you are transferring ownership from. See Resources below for a way to find an agent in your state as well as a database of current transfer agents for publicly traded companies.

Call or set up a meeting with the transfer agent. Be sure to have all the information from Step 1 available.

Take old certificates to the transfer agent and ask them to re-register in the name of the new owner.

Send the stock certificates to the designated custodian. This step may not be necessary in some cases. In general, it will take two to four weeks to transfer ownership. Your agent or broker should help to determine what address the reissued certificates should be mailed to.