Overview

Physical share certificates are paper documents that prove you own shares in a company. We accept physical share certificates in self-directed investing accounts.

Steps to transfer your physical share certificates

Follow the steps below to transfer physical share certificates to your Wealthsimple account.

1. Sign the certificate

Sign the back of the certificate where it says "signature of shareholder".

2. Write transfer instructions

On a separate piece of paper, include:

• How you want to transfer the shares (as is, or sell them for cash)
• Your Wealthsimple account number

3. Provide proof of purchase cost

Include documentation showing how much you paid for the shares.

4. Mail everything to us

Send your original signed certificates, instructions, and proof of purchase cost to:

Tips for transferring physical share certificates

1. We only support share certificate transfers from Canadian institutions. If you're not sure your certificate is from a Canadian institution, please contact our support team.
2. Search for the stock or ETF on our platform to confirm that we support it. We can't accept share certificates for unsupported securities.
3. Use registered mail with tracking to send your certificates. They're valuable, so it's best to be able to track them. We only accept original certificates, not digital copies.
4. Take clear pictures of both sides of your certificates before mailing them. This helps us review your case if there are any issues.
5. There might be fees associated with this transfer. Check our transfer fee reimbursement policy for details.

Next steps

After we receive your certificates, it takes 5-10 business days to add the shares to your account. If you have any questions during this process, please contact our support team.