Reg 42 record date and corporate action intimation
Advance notice to the stock exchanges of the record date or book closure date fixed for a corporate action.
3 working days before the record date
Counted from the record date, counted backwards from that date
- SEBI
- SEBI events and governance
- Not specified
- 2026-09-01
Three working days, excluding the intimation date and the record date. The seven-working-day period survives only where the corporate action runs through a scheme of arrangement covered by Reg 37. Two record dates must also be at least five working days apart, down from thirty.
The general period is three working days, not seven. Seven working days now attaches only to a corporate action through a Reg 37 scheme of arrangement, and before 13 December 2024 that proviso covered rights issues at three working days instead. Two more figures moved on the same date: the minimum gap between record dates fell from thirty working days to five, and old Reg 42(3), which required a dividend or cash bonus to be declared at least five working days before the record date, was omitted outright.
Deadlines counted from an event
At least three working days in advance of the record date, excluding the date of intimation and the record date. Substituted from seven working days with effect from 13 December 2024. This is the period for the ordinary cases: dividend, bonus, rights, and the other corporate actions in Reg 42(1).
At least seven working days in advance of the record date, excluding the date of intimation and the record date, where the corporate action is carried out through a scheme of arrangement covered by Reg 37. The proviso was substituted with effect from 13 December 2024; before that the longer period attached to rights issues and ran to three working days.
The rule
At least three working days in advance of the record date, excluding the date of intimation and the record date. Substituted from seven working days with effect from 13 December 2024. This is the period for the ordinary cases: dividend, bonus, rights, and the other corporate actions in Reg 42(1).
At least seven working days in advance of the record date, excluding the date of intimation and the record date, where the corporate action is carried out through a scheme of arrangement covered by Reg 37. The proviso was substituted with effect from 13 December 2024; before that the longer period attached to rights issues and ran to three working days.
Who must comply
- Every entity with specified securities listed on a recognised stock exchange
- Each corporate action in Reg 42(1), including declaration of dividend, issue of bonus or rights, and any other action affecting the rights or interests of holders
- Reg 42(4) sets a minimum gap of five working days between two record dates, reduced from thirty working days with effect from 13 December 2024.
Statutory basis
Before you file
- Get the board to fix the record date or the book closure period.
- Decide whether the corporate action runs through a Reg 37 scheme of arrangement, because this sets the period.
- Check that at least five working days separate this record date from the previous one.
- Count the working days backwards from the record date, and exclude the record date and the intimation date.
How to file
- Prepare the intimation stating the record date and the purpose of the corporate action.
- Submit the intimation to each exchange where the securities are listed.
- Submit it at least three working days before the record date, or seven working days for a Reg 37 scheme.
- Save the acknowledgement for the compliance record.
Stock exchange electronic filing system
If you miss it
No per-day exchange fine is asserted here, because this provision is not on the fine table we have verified. SEBI adjudicates a late or missed disclosure under section 15A(b) of the SEBI Act, which reaches ₹1 lakh for each day the failure continues and is capped at ₹1 crore. Section 23E of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act is the other head, at not less than ₹5 lakh and up to ₹25 crore for a breach of listing conditions. Orders in this area normally land in lakhs rather than near the ceiling.
- The exchange records the default in the entity's compliance history, and a repeated default feeds SEBI's decision to adjudicate
- The disclosure still has to be made after the deadline passes, and it has to carry an explanation for the delay
- Disclosing favourable events on time while letting unfavourable ones slip is charged as a breach of Reg 4(1)(d) in its own right, alongside the specific provision
Recent changes affecting this
Relaxation from SEBI Master Circular for Minimum Public Shareholding Non-Compliance
Master Circular for compliance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 by listed entities
Master Circular for listing obligations and disclosure requirements for Non-convertible Securities, Securitized Debt Instruments and/ or Commercial Paper
Common questions
Is the record date notice seven working days?
Only for a corporate action carried out through a scheme of arrangement covered by Reg 37. For an ordinary dividend or bonus the period is three working days, substituted from seven with effect from 13 December 2024.
How far apart must two record dates be?
Five working days, under Reg 42(4). The gap was thirty working days until 13 December 2024.
Does a dividend still have to be declared five working days before the record date?
No. Old Reg 42(3) carried that rule and it was omitted with effect from 13 December 2024.