How to Sell Stock Certificates

Co-authored by Michael R. Lewis

Last Updated: August 27, 2024 Approved

If you find yourself in possession of old stock certificates, you have a few options for selling them. You can cash them in through the transfer agent of the company with which the stock is owned. Or, you can work with a broker to sell the stock. Research the value of the stock to know whether you are holding on to fortune in cash or simply a pretty, collectible piece of paper.

Selling Stock Certificates

Contact a transfer agent at the company where the stock is owned and inquire about selling or transferring your certificates. Or, hire a broker to sell stock at a competitive market price. Either way, look up your stick value beforehand so you know what you're working with.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Selling through a Transfer Agent

Download Article

Publicly traded companies use transfer agents to manage individuals and organizations who own shares of their stock. Usually, the transfer agent is a bank or trust company. Sometimes a very large company, like Walt Disney, acts as its own transfer agent. Transfer agents perform three main functions: issuing and canceling stock certificates; acting as an intermediary for the company to pay out interest and stock dividends; and handling lost or destroyed stock certificates.^{[1]
X
Trustworthy Source

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Independent U.S. government agency responsible for regulating the securities industry, which includes stocks and options exchanges

Go to source}
Visit the investor relations page of the company's website. This will direct you to the company's transfer agent in most cases. You can also visit the Securities Transfer Association. This is a private trade organization of transfer agents. They provide general information about the functions of transfer agents.^{[2]
X
Trustworthy Source

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Independent U.S. government agency responsible for regulating the securities industry, which includes stocks and options exchanges

Go to source}

Advertisement
3
Transfer the stock to direct registration. Call the transfer agent and ask for instructions on how to transfer the stock to direct registration. The Direct Registration System (DRS) allows owners of stock certificates to hold their shares in book entry-form with the transfer agent instead of as a physical stock certificate. Book-entry means that the transfer agent keeps a record of your ownership of the stock in its books. This replaces the physical stock certificate. Once you have done this, you can easily sell the stock at any time.
- DRS protects you from fraud and other risks associated with paper certificates.
- It also saves you money because it eliminates the cost of storing, printing and insuring paper certificates.
- You will have to mail the stock certificates to the transfer agent. Send them via insured mail with tracking information.
4
Sell your stock shares. It will take the transfer agent approximately 10 days to transfer your paper stock to DRS. Once this is complete, you can sell the shares at any time. When you are ready to sell, contact the transfer agent and tell them to sell.
- DRS allows you to sell the stock quickly without the delays of handling the physical stock certificate, allowing you to take advantage of positive changes in the market.
Fred Fuld III, Financial Historian

Research the company that issued the certificate to determine its historical significance and financial performance, as this can affect the certificate's value.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Depositing with a Brokerage Account

Download Article

1
Sell your stock with a broker with whom you do not have an account. You can contact any stock broker and request that they sell your stock certificate for you. However, if you do not already have an account with that broker, they will likely charge you a hefty fee.
- In the past, brokerage firms have offered to sell paper stock certificates for free or at low cost in the hopes that customers would then open an account and use their other services. However, most customers did not go on to open accounts with the brokers, so most brokerage firms stopped offering this service.
2
Transfer your stock to street name registration. Use this process if you already have an account with a brokerage firm or are willing to open a new one. The brokerage firm registers your stock in its name and lists you as the “real” or “beneficial” owner. On the stock issuer's books, however, the brokerage firm is listed as the owner. This will replace your paper stock certificate. The brokerage firm will send you quarterly statements that list your securities, dividends and interest statements.^{[3]
X
Trustworthy Source

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Independent U.S. government agency responsible for regulating the securities industry, which includes stocks and options exchanges

Go to source}
- If you are acting as the executor or administrator of an estate, you will have to submit additional forms and court documents certifying that you are the administrator.^{[4]
  X
  Research source}
3
Sign the certificate over to the brokerage firm. You must do this before sending it to them in order to allow the brokerage to transfer the stock to street name registration. This process must be done at a bank or financial institution who can guarantee your signature.^{[5]
X
Research source}
- First, fill out the back of the stock certificate with the name of the brokerage firm. Find the spot that says, “Constitute and appoint ________ attorney to transfer.” Write the name of the brokerage firm on the line.
- Then, sign the back of the certificate and get a medallion signature guarantee. This is a stamp that guarantees your signature so the brokerage firm knows that it was actually you who signed the certificate over to them. The witness at the bank will stamp the back of your certificate with the medallion signature guarantee.
- Write your social security number and account number on the front of the certificate.
Mail the certificate by certified mail. Insure it and get tracking information. It will take approximately five days for the stock to appear in your brokerage account. You can now sell it at any time. Once you sell the stock, the broker will either send you a check or deposit funds into a bank account that is linked to your brokerage account.^{[6]
X
Research source}
5
Sell your stock. Once the stock shows up in your brokerage account, you can sell it at any time. Contact your broker and place an order to sell the stock. When you place the order to sell, you can set conditions on how the order is executed, as well as price restrictions and time limitation on the execution of the order.^{[7]
X
Research source}
- A market order tells your broker to sell the stock for the next available price. No restrictions can be placed on a market order. Your stock will sell at any time during the day no matter what the price.^{[8]
  X
  Research source}
- A limit order sets the minimum price for which your stock can be sold.^{[9]
  X
  Research source}
- A sell stop order sets a maximum amount you are willing to lose on the sale of a stock. If the stock drops below a certain value, it is sold right away to prevent further losses.^{[10]
  X
  Research source}

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Researching the Value of Old Stock Certificates

Download Article

1
Know what a stock certificate is. A stock certificate is a physical piece of paper that represents ownership in a company. When someone buys shares of stock in a company, they can receive a stock certificate that states how many shares they own, the date the stock was sold, identification numbers, a corporate seal and relevant signatures. A stock certificate is usually printed on a large piece of paper and features elaborate graphic designs that are intended to prevent fraudulent replication. In the past, stock certificates were issued any time someone purchased stock in a company. Today, however, the records of stock ownership are generally kept in electronic form. You can request a paper stock certificate. Companies will usually charge a fee for printing it for you.^{[11]
X
Research source}
- A physical stock certificate is also referred to as “bearer form,” meaning the bearer of the certificate owns the securities.^{[12]
  X
  Research source}
It is common for people to find stock certificates among the possessions of a person who has died. Sometimes the name of the company is familiar. But other times you may not have ever heard of the company. If you find old stock certificates, identify the company name, the Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures (CUSIP) number and the name of the person with whom the stock is registered. This information will allow you to research whether or not the certificates have any value.^{[13]
X
Research source}
3
Research the history of the company with the Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures (CUSIP). Every stock is given a CUSIP identification number. Use this number to research changes and splits in the stock and name changes.^{[14]
X
Research source}
- CUSIP numbers are created by the American Banker's Association, who also owns the numbers. The numbers are operated by Standard and Poor's.
- To gain access to the database of CUSIP numbers, you have to pay a fee to Standard and Poor's. Sometimes individual companies will display their CUSIP numbers on their website.^{[15]
  X
  Research source}
4
Consult corporate historical records if the company name has changed. If the company name has changed or it has merged with another company, you may have to do some additional research to figure out the current name of the company. Most brokerage firms can track down information on companies.^{[16]
X
Research source} But, if you don't want to work with a brokerage firm, visit Capital Changes, the Directory of Obsolete Securities, which is published annually by Financial Information Incorporated or Mergent Archives to research company histories.
- If the company has merged with or been acquired by a company that already exists, contact that company's investor relations page to identify the transfer agent and cash in the stock.^{[17]
  X
  Research source}
- If these sources don't yield any information, consult state records of the state in which the company was incorporated. Many states have online databases that keep track of registered company names.
Yahoo Finance has a symbol lookup tool that lets you enter the name of the company to find its stock symbol, or ticker.^{[18]
X
Research source} The stock symbol is a unique series of characters used the by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (Nasdaq).^{[19]
X
Research source} ^{[20]
X
Research source}
6
Look up a stock quote. Use the stock symbol to get a stock quote. Consult a stock market quote service. You can find these services for free on the internet. Simple stock market quote tools can be found on Big Charts and Nasdaq.
- Enter the stock symbol of the company. You can look up one company at a time. Or you can enter the symbols for multiple companies, separated by commas, to get multiple stock quotes.
- On the Big Charts site, a chart listing all of your stock symbols will be created. It will give you information on the latest stock price and whether it's up or down.^{[21]
  X
  Research source}
- On the Nasdaq site, you can choose to simply get a stock quote by clicking on the stock quote option. But you can also get tools for analyzing the performance of the stock and deciding whether or not to sell. These include interactive charts, stock analysis reports, company news, financial information and information about holdings and ownership.
- Use this information to decide when to sell the stock. Some people identify a target price or range in which to sell their stock. Other factors that influence the decision to sell include the company's financial performance or changes in ownership of the company^{[22]
  X
  Research source}
If the company no longer exists or has gone bankrupt, then the stock is worthless. But, if the stock certificate is worthless as a security, it may have some value as a collectible item. The hobby of collecting old stock certificates is called scripophily. To find collectors and dealers, consult Goldsheet's Obsolete Securities Page, the Scripohily Society, price and hobby guides at your local library and eBay.^{[23]
X
Research source}