SEBI Research Analyst Regulations Explained SimplyThe SEBI research analyst regulations, formally the SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014, decide who must register to give research on Indian listed securities and what they must do afterwards. This guide walks through each chapter and schedule in plain language, including the December 2024 overhaul and the 2025 and 2026 amendments.  Last updated: 21 October 2026 The SEBI research analyst regulations are the SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014, the rulebook every person who gives research, buy/sell/hold calls, price targets or model portfolios on Indian listed securities for consideration must follow. They have six chapters and three schedules: definitions, registration, conflicts and disclosures, inspection, action on default and miscellaneous powers, plus the application forms, fees and a code of conduct. Most of the day-to-day work they create (consent records, client registers, call logs, research reports) can be organised in a CRM built for SEBI research analysts. This guide explains each chapter in plain English and then covers what changed in the December 2024 amendment and the amendments of 2025 and 2026. It is a summary, not legal advice. Regulations are amended often, so always read the current consolidated text on sebi.gov.in and the latest master circular before you act. What are the SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014?SEBI made the regulations under the SEBI Act, 1992 to register and regulate research analysts. They were published in the Gazette on September 1, 2014 and, according to SEBI's FAQs, came into effect from December 1, 2014. SEBI's consolidated version on its website shows the text as amended up to October 10, 2026. The regulations set the big rules. The detail (fee limits, deposit amounts, formats, deadlines) sits in SEBI circulars, now collected in the Master Circular for Research Analysts dated February 6, 2026, and in FAQs issued by SEBI and by BSE, which acts as the Research Analyst Administration and Supervisory Body (RAASB). When a regulation says "as may be specified by the Board", look in the master circular for the specifics. How are the RA regulations organised?Chapter I: who counts as a research analyst?Regulation 2 holds the definitions, and they decide whether the rules apply to you at all. After the December 2024 amendment the definitions are much wider than they used to be. Research analystA person who, for consideration, is engaged in the business of providing research services. The definition includes a part-time research analyst. The job title does not matter. Research servicesPreparing or publishing research reports, issuing research analysis, making buy/sell/hold recommendations, giving price targets or stop-loss targets, offering an opinion on a public offer, recommending a model portfolio, providing trading calls, or any similar service on securities listed or proposed to be listed on an Indian stock exchange. ConsiderationAny economic benefit, including non-cash benefit, received directly or indirectly from the client or anyone else. SEBI has clarified that research given free to clients of a broker's other paid services still counts as research "for consideration". Research reportAny written or electronic communication with research analysis, a recommendation or an opinion on securities or a public offer that provides a basis for an investment decision. General market commentary, broad index discussion, economic commentary and statistical summaries are excluded. Trading callsIntraday, ultra-short duration and non-delivery based (other than hedging) recommendations, and any recommendation on securities that is not personalised to the investor. Part-time research analystAn individual or partnership firm that provides research services and also has other business activity or employment that is unrelated to securities, does not involve handling client money and does not involve investment advice on other products. Persons associated with research servicesPartners, directors, employees and other staff engaged in providing research services. All client and public facing staff, including sales and relationship managers, are deemed to be included; purely clerical staff with no client contact are not. Family of client and institutional investor"Family of client" means the individual client with dependent spouse, children and parents, and matters for the fee limit. From November 9, 2026, "institutional investor" takes its meaning from the SEBI ICDR Regulations, 2018. Chapter II: who must register and how?Regulation 3 is the core prohibition: no one may act as a research analyst or research entity, or hold themselves out as one, without a SEBI certificate of registration. Investment advisers, credit rating agencies, asset management companies and fund managers that issue research or appear in public media are exempt from registration but must follow Chapter III. Principal officers, partners and persons associated with research services of a registered RA do not need their own registration, but must meet the qualification rules. Application through RAASBThe application is made in Form A with supporting documents. SEBI's FAQs say it is submitted to RAASB at membershipraia.bseindia.com, which scrutinises it and recommends it to SEBI. Enlistment with the supervisory body is itself an eligibility condition under regulation 6. Foreign research providersA person outside India issuing research on Indian listed securities must enter into an agreement with a SEBI-registered research analyst or research entity (regulation 4). Eligibility checksSEBI looks at legal form, qualifications and certification of the people involved, the deposit, fit and proper status under the Intermediaries Regulations, infrastructure, past refusals and disciplinary history (regulation 6). What qualifications does regulation 7 require now?Regulation 7 was substituted in December 2024 and changed again by the second amendment of 2025, in force from November 25, 2025. An individual RA, the principal officer of a non-individual RA, employed analysts, partners engaged in research and persons associated with research services must at all times have either:
They must also obtain fresh NISM certification before the existing one expires or within three years of registration, as applicable. The master circular gives existing RAs relief from the revised qualification (not the certification) requirement, and gave persons associated with research services one year from July 23, 2025 to get NISM certified. Our guide to the NISM Series XV certification covers the exam itself. What deposit and fees do you pay?The old net worth requirement was replaced by a deposit (regulation 8). It is marked as lien in favour of RAASB and can be used if the RA fails to pay dues from online dispute resolution. Since August 2025 the form is specified by SEBI: the master circular allows units of a liquid or overnight mutual fund, or a deposit with a scheduled bank, sized on the maximum number of clients on any day of the previous financial year. RAASB also charges administrative fees, which it sets. The deposit must be revised by April 30 if your client count moves you into a different slab. Check RAASB's current fee notice before paying. How long is the certificate valid, and what conditions apply?The certificate is granted in Form B (Form C for a part-time RA) and stays valid until SEBI suspends or cancels it; there is no renewal, only the five-yearly fee. An individual or partnership firm registered as an investment adviser may also be registered as an RA, provided it keeps the two activities at arm's length. Regulation 13 adds conditions: follow the Act and regulations, tell SEBI promptly about material changes or false information, use the term "research analyst" (or "part-time research analyst") in all correspondence with clients, and a part-time RA may have no more than 75 clients at any point of time. See part-time research analyst rules and RA and IA dual registration for detail. Chapter III: what are your obligations once registered?Chapter III is where most compliance work lives. It runs from regulation 15 to 26C. Internal policies (regulation 15)Written policies on dealing and trading by analysts to manage conflicts, keep research objective and stop reports being used to manipulate the market, plus mechanisms to keep research independent of other business. Fees (regulation 15A)RAs may charge fees in the manner SEBI specifies. For individual and HUF clients who are not accredited investors, the master circular caps fees at ₹1,51,000 per annum per family, excluding statutory charges, with proportionate refunds and no breakage fee on early termination. Trading limits (regulation 16)Independent and part-time RAs, employed analysts and their associates must not trade in a security they recommend or follow from 30 days before to 5 days after publishing a report, must not trade against their own recommendation, and must not buy pre-IPO shares of similar issuers. Compensation and publication limits (regulations 17-18)Research entities must not pay analysts based on specific banking or broking deals, and quiet periods apply around public offers they manage. Every report needs adequate documentary basis. Disclosures (regulation 19)Financial interest, holdings of 1% or more, other material conflicts, compensation from the subject company, past roles and market making, and, since December 2024, the extent of use of AI tools. Website (regulation 19A)A functional website with the details SEBI specifies. Our guide to RA website requirements lists them. Report contents (regulation 20)Facts from reliable sources, defined and consistent terms and ratings, a price chart where a rating or target has run for a year, and recommendations corroborated by data and analysis. Public media and distribution (regulations 21-22)Disclose registration status and financial interest in public appearances. Do not release a report to some clients or internal traders ahead of others entitled to it, and review third-party reports you distribute. What does regulation 24 add?Regulation 24 is the general responsibility clause, and the December 2024 amendment loaded it with new duties.
What records must you keep, and for how long?Regulation 25 lists the records. Keep them in physical or electronic form for at least five years; records that must be signed and are kept electronically must be digitally signed. The same regulation requires an annual compliance audit by a member of ICAI, ICSI or the Institute of Cost Accountants of India. See record keeping and call recordings and the annual compliance audit guide. Compliance officer, disputes, grievances and segregationCompliance officer (regulation 26)A non-individual RA or research entity must appoint a compliance officer, or an independent ICAI, ICSI or ICMAI professional with NISM certification, in which case the principal officer gives an undertaking that they remain responsible for compliance. Disputes (regulation 26A)Disputes with clients go to a resolution mechanism that includes mediation, conciliation or arbitration, as SEBI specifies. For investors this is the SMARTODR platform. Grievances (regulation 26B)Resolve investor grievances promptly and within 21 calendar days of receipt. Complaints can be escalated through SCORES; see our guide to SCORES and ODR. Research and distribution (regulation 26C)An individual RA must not provide distribution services, and the RA's family must not distribute to the RA's research clients. Non-individual RAs must segregate research and distribution clients at group level. Chapters IV to VI: inspection, default and SEBI's powersInspection (regulations 27-31)SEBI can inspect your books, records and documents on its own or after a complaint, normally with at least seven days' notice, or without notice in investors' interest. You and your staff must produce documents and cooperate. After the report SEBI can bar you from giving recommendations for a period, order refunds with interest, or prohibit access to the capital market. Default (regulation 32)Breaching the Act, regulations or circulars, giving false information, missing periodic reports, not cooperating or failing to resolve complaints is dealt with under the SEBI Act and the Intermediaries Regulations. Sandbox (regulation 32A)SEBI can exempt participants in its regulatory sandbox from provisions for up to twelve months to test new products or services. Clarifications (regulations 33-34)SEBI may issue clarifications and guidelines through circulars, and may alter or overrule decisions of the supervisory body. Most RA circulars and FAQs are issued under regulation 33. What is in the three schedules?The First Schedule has Form A (the application, which now asks whether you apply as a part-time RA, about other business activities, qualifications of associated persons and a declaration of infrastructure) and the certificates in Form B and Form C, which carry an IN/RA registration number. The Second Schedule sets the fees in the table above. The Third Schedule is the Code of Conduct: honesty and good faith, diligence, conflict of interest, no insider trading or front running, confidentiality, professional standard, compliance and responsibility of senior management. What changed in the December 2024 amendment?The SEBI (Research Analysts) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2024, in force from December 16, 2024, rewrote much of the framework. SEBI followed it with a circular on January 8, 2025 setting out the detail. The main changes: What changed in 2025 and 2026?February 2025The Investor Charter amendment added regulation 24(9), making compliance with the Investor Charter a regulatory duty. August 2025The deposit rule was amended so the form of the deposit is specified by SEBI, which now allows liquid or overnight mutual fund units as well as bank deposits. November 2025Regulation 7 was simplified to a graduate degree in any discipline or a CFA Charter plus NISM certification, or the NISM post-graduate programme. Form A was also trimmed, and applications go to the supervisory body. October 2026The SEBI (Research Analysts) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 define "institutional investor" and make call recordings with institutional investor clients optional, with effect from November 9, 2026. Alongside these, SEBI consolidated its circulars into the February 6, 2026 master circular. Note one point to check: the master circular allows advance fees for up to one year if the client agrees, while the MITC text it reproduces still says "presently it is one quarter". Confirm the current position with RAASB before setting billing cycles; our guide to RA fee limits and payment rules covers this. How do the regulations, master circular and FAQs fit together?Think of three layers. The regulations create the obligation (for example, "maintain a deposit as specified"). The SEBI master circular for research analysts specifies how (the slabs, the form, the April 30 revision date). The FAQs, in Annexure I of the master circular and on RAASB's site, explain edge cases such as whether institutional clients must sign the MITC. Where a later circular amends the master circular, as the March 25, 2026 circular on cost accountant auditors did, the later circular wins. If you are starting out, read how to become a SEBI research analyst alongside this page. Keeping up with the RA regulations in your businessMost of the regulations translate into records: consent on terms before service, KYC, a client register with PAN and fees, research reports with rationale and disclosures, and communication logs kept for five years. A CRM for SEBI research analysts like Finuro keeps those records together, with KYC checks through CVL KRA and NDML KRA, MITC e-sign, recommendation records with disclaimers and an audit trail. Finuro does not file with RAASB or give legal advice, so check the current regulations and circulars on sebi.gov.in and take professional advice where you are unsure. Related Finuro features
Frequently asked questionsAnswers to common questions on this topic. Built for SEBI RAs and IAs Run your RA compliance records in one placeFinuro keeps KYC, consent, recommendations and client communication records together for SEBI-registered research analysts.  |
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