How to register physical share certificates

Once your shares are registered electronically with the transfer agent, you can easily request a transfer to your Questrade account.

Requests through transfer agent

Some transfer agents may be able to start the transfer from their end, if the transfer agent is “starting” the process from their side, please provide them with the following information:

• Questrade’s CUID code/number: QSTR
• DTC code/number: 5084
• Your self-directed Questrade account number

Please note: Most transfer agents will charge a fee for this service. We can help reimburse up to $150 in transfer fees per transfer. To learn more, please see here.

Requests through Questrade

If you’d like to submit the request to Questrade directly, you will need to upload the following documents:

1. DRS statement (from the transfer agent)
   • Must be issued within 2 months
   • Must show customer name, number of shares, company name and CUSIP
   • Shares must not be under restrictions of any kind, please see below for more information
2. Letter of direction
3. For U.S. securities only: Power of Attorney form
   • The original, hand-signed copy must be physically mailed in due to our regulators
   • You must leave “Name of transferee” and “Address of transferee” blank when completing the form

DRS transfers may take up to 10 business days to process. For international securities (non-USD/CAD) this process can take between 15-20 business days due to the many intermediaries involved. 

Fees

DRS transfers cost $300+HST to process per security if started from Questrade.

If you are transferring to a brand-new Questrade account, you will first need to fund the account with $300+HST to cover the transfer fee before we can begin the process. Fees can only be charged to the destination account for the transfer if you have multiple accounts.

Restrictions

Please keep the following restrictions in mind if requesting a DRS transfer:

• OTC/Pink sheet securities are not eligible for DRS transfer into a Questrade account
• CSE (.cn) securities are only acceptable for transfer if the following requirements are met:
  • Is currently trading
  • Has a unique CUSIP
  • Eligible for deposit into CDS
  • Is unrestricted (Due to the volatile nature of CSE listed securities)
• Fractional shares cannot be transferred via DRS
• Non CDS/DTC eligible securities - Not eligible for transfer
• 1933 Securities restriction - Not eligible for transfer
• Date restrictions beyond 1 month in the future - Not eligible for transfer
  • This can be found on the back of the certificate/DRS statement and will usually state: “Cannot be sold/transferred before ‘X’ date”
  • This means we cannot process the transfer until this date