How to Register as a SEBI Investment Adviser in India (2026)
Becoming a SEBI Registered Investment Adviser is a clear checklist: the right qualification, two NISM exams, a net-worth or deposit proof, fees, and an application SEBI reviews in two to three months. The 2026 easing and the new SETU platform lower the front-door cost. The part nobody warns you about is what starts the day you are approved, when every piece of advice has to be profiled, gated, and recorded.
Note: SEBI eased Investment Adviser entry norms in 2026, so qualification, net-worth or deposit, and fee figures are in flux. Treat the numbers here as the prior baseline and confirm every figure against the current SEBI Investment Advisers Regulations 2013 and the latest circular before acting. General guidance only, not legal advice.
First, make sure the IA route is the one you want. A Research Analyst publishes research to a subscriber list; an Investment Adviser gives personalised, fiduciary advice to named clients and carries a heavier compliance load for it. If you are weighing the two, start with Research Analyst vs Investment Adviser. If you are set on the IA path, here is the route.
The six steps to registration
Meet the qualification bar
A two-year (minimum) graduate or postgraduate degree or diploma in a relevant field (finance, commerce, economics, banking, insurance, actuarial), or an equivalent like a CFA charter or the NISM PGP in Securities Market (Investment Advisory). Check the current list, since SEBI eased entry norms in 2026.
Clear both NISM exams
Pass NISM-Series-X-A (Level 1) and NISM-Series-X-B (Level 2). The individual adviser or the principal officer of a non-individual needs both, valid at application time and kept current on renewal.
Show net worth (or deposit)
The prior baseline: Rs 5 lakh for an individual or sole proprietor, Rs 50 lakh for a non-individual, certified by a practising CA and maintained continuously. The 2026 easing may have changed this to a deposit model or dropped some proofs, so verify the current rule.
Pick the entity and structure
Individual or sole proprietor, partnership, LLP, or company. Non-individual advisers carry a higher net-worth or deposit bar and need a qualified principal officer and a compliance officer. The choice drives fees and ongoing obligations.
File the application and fee
Submit the application to SEBI with certifications, net-worth or deposit proof, and declarations. Application fee historically Rs 2,000 (individual/partnership) or Rs 10,000 (company/LLP), with a registration fee after approval. SETU is meant to make this a single-window flow.
Stand up your compliance before you advise
Approval is the start, not the finish. Risk profiling, the suitability gate, the signed IA advisory agreement, capped and disclosed fees, and a five-year audit trail all have to exist before the first piece of advice goes out.
Requirements at a glance
Middle column is the individual or sole-proprietor position, right column is the non-individual (LLP or company) position. Figures are the prior baseline; verify against the current SEBI circular.
What SETU changes, and what it does not
SEBI's SETU single-window platform is meant to make the registration walk simpler and guide existing advisers through their ongoing filings. It lowers the cost of getting in. It does not run the obligations that begin once you are registered. The day SEBI approves you, the suitability gate, the advisory agreement, the fee cap, and the audit trail are yours to operate, and an inspection asks you for those records, not for a registration receipt.
The day-one obligations most applicants underestimate
The mistake is treating registration as the finish line. The IA regime gates every piece of advice on a current risk profile and a suitability finding, requires a signed advisory agreement before any advice, caps and discloses fees, and demands a five-year audit trail linking each recommendation to the suitability record that justified it. The full list is in SEBI Investment Adviser compliance in 2026. Build the system for it before your first client, not after your first inspection.
How Aktai fits
Once you are registered, Aktai's Investment Adviser software builds the day-one obligations into the product. The advice gate blocks a send to any client without a current risk profile, a valid suitability finding, and a signed IA advisory agreement, server-side and default-closed. Fees are cap-checked against the SEBI limits, and every recommendation is linked to the suitability record it was justified against, giving you the five-year, inspection-ready audit trail. It is built for the Indian IA regime only, gated to IA registrations.
FAQ
What qualifications do you need to become a SEBI Investment Adviser?
A graduate or postgraduate degree or diploma (minimum two years) in finance, accountancy, business management, commerce, economics, capital markets, banking, insurance, or actuarial science, or an equivalent professional qualification such as a CFA charter or the NISM Post Graduate Program in the Securities Market (Investment Advisory). SEBI eased some entry norms in 2026, so confirm the exact qualification list against the current SEBI Investment Advisers Regulations before applying.
Which NISM exams are required for an Investment Adviser?
The individual adviser, or the principal officer of a non-individual adviser, must pass both NISM-Series-X-A (Investment Adviser Level 1) and NISM-Series-X-B (Investment Adviser Level 2). Both must be valid at the time of application and kept current through the renewal cycle. SEBI has separately introduced simpler exams for sales and support staff, but the adviser or principal officer still needs both levels.
What is the net-worth requirement for a SEBI Investment Adviser?
Historically, an individual or sole proprietor had to show net worth of Rs 5 lakh and a non-individual Rs 50 lakh, certified by a practising chartered accountant and maintained on a continuous basis. SEBI moved to ease entry in 2026, including dropping some documents, so the figure and whether it is framed as net worth or a deposit may have changed. Treat the numbers here as the prior baseline and verify the current requirement against the latest SEBI circular.
How much does SEBI Investment Adviser registration cost?
The application fee has been Rs 2,000 for individuals and partnership firms and Rs 10,000 for companies and LLPs, with a separate registration fee payable after SEBI approves the application. Fee schedules change, so confirm the current application and registration fees on SEBI’s site before paying.
How long does SEBI Investment Adviser registration take?
Roughly two to three months end to end, driven mostly by how long SEBI takes to review the application and raise queries. A complete, clean application with the certifications, net-worth proof, and declarations in order moves faster. SEBI’s SETU single-window platform is meant to streamline this further for new and existing advisers.