How to File an Investor Complaint With SEBI: A Guide to SCORES 2.0 and the ODR Portal

By S&S Co. Advocates & Solicitors · Published 13 September 2026 · Informational content, not legal advice — see our disclaimer

What SCORES Is For

A retail investor whose grievance sits with a listed company, a stock broker, a depository participant, a mutual fund or AMC, a registrar and transfer agent, an investment adviser or portfolio manager, or another SEBI-registered intermediary has a dedicated, free, online route before ever needing to think about a civil suit or a consumer complaint: the SEBI Complaints Redress System, or SCORES. The current version, SCORES 2.0, went live on 1 April 2024, replacing the earlier portal with a faster, more structured process built around defined response timelines, automatic escalation when those timelines are missed, and a direct link into SEBI's Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) mechanism for grievances that SCORES itself cannot fully resolve.

SCORES is not a forum for every kind of market-related unhappiness. It exists to address a genuine deficiency of service or a specific, identifiable grievance against a regulated entity — a listed company failing to process a share transfer or pay a declared dividend, a broker's unauthorised trade or delayed payout, an AMC's delay in processing a redemption, an RTA's failure to update KYC or issue a duplicate certificate, or a registered intermediary's non-compliance with SEBI's own conduct-of-business rules. It is not a substitute for a court, a claim already before an arbitral tribunal or another dispute-resolution forum, or a mechanism for resolving disputes over unlisted or delisted companies, companies under liquidation or resolution, or unclaimed dividends and shares that have already been transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund — those sit outside SEBI's remit entirely. A complaint that essentially disputes a company's or intermediary's legitimate commercial or investment decision, rather than pointing to an actual deficiency in service or a rule breach, is also unlikely to be entertained as a valid SCORES grievance.

Step One: Registering and Filing on SCORES 2.0

A complaint is filed directly on scores.sebi.gov.in (SEBI also runs a companion mobile app). New users register with basic personal details, or can use a faster PAN-and-date-of-birth verification route that pulls KYC details already on file with a KYC Registration Agency, cutting down on manual data entry. Once registered, the complainant selects the entity being complained against, describes the grievance, and uploads supporting documents — the portal is built entirely around online filing, and physical or postal complaints are not accepted under the current system. On submission, SCORES generates a unique complaint registration number that lets the investor track status online at every stage.

There is no fee for filing a SCORES complaint at any stage, and no requirement to engage a lawyer to file one, though taking advice on how to frame the grievance and what documentation to attach can materially improve the chances of a fast, favourable outcome — particularly for a complaint that turns on a technical point, such as whether a broker's conduct actually breached a specific SEBI circular.

Complaints should be filed reasonably promptly. SEBI applies a limitation period, understood to be in the region of one year from when the cause of the grievance arose, and a complaint filed well outside that window risks being treated as time-barred — so an investor sitting on an old, unresolved grievance should check the current position on the SCORES portal rather than assume it remains open indefinitely.

Step Two: How SCORES 2.0 Resolves — and Escalates — a Complaint

Once a complaint is lodged, the regulated entity is expected to investigate and upload its response — an Action Taken Report — within a defined window, understood to be 21 calendar days from receipt, a timeline SEBI shortened from the earlier 30-day standard as part of the SCORES 2.0 overhaul. If the investor is dissatisfied with that response, or the entity simply fails to respond in time, SCORES 2.0's structure is built around escalation rather than leaving the investor to chase the matter manually: the complaint moves up for a First Level Review by the relevant "Designated Body" — typically the stock exchange, depository or other self-regulatory body overseeing the entity concerned — and, if still unresolved, can be escalated further for a Second Level Review directly by SEBI. A defining feature of SCORES 2.0 is that this escalation is designed to trigger automatically where a deadline is missed, rather than depending on the investor filing a fresh request at each stage.

Because the exact number of days allowed at each review level, and the mechanics of automatic escalation, are the kind of procedural detail SEBI updates periodically through circulars, an investor relying on a specific timeline for a live complaint should always cross-check the current position directly on scores.sebi.gov.in rather than treat any single source — including this article — as the final word on the exact figure in force at the time of filing.

Step Three: Moving to Online Dispute Resolution (ODR)

Where a grievance survives the SCORES process without a satisfactory resolution, SEBI has built a second, linked mechanism specifically for the securities market: the Online Dispute Resolution framework, accessed through the SMART ODR portal. SEBI introduced this ODR mechanism through a circular in mid-2023, with further amendments since, precisely so that investors would not have to fall back on ordinary civil litigation as the only route once SCORES itself is exhausted.

The ODR process runs in two stages. The first is online conciliation — a facilitated negotiation aimed at a mutually acceptable settlement between the investor and the listed company, intermediary or market infrastructure institution concerned. If conciliation does not produce a settlement, the matter can proceed to online arbitration, which results in a binding arbitral award rather than a mere recommendation. A significant investor protection built into the framework is that the cost of the process is designed to fall on the market participant rather than the investor — an investor should not be asked to bear the intermediary's or company's share of ODR fees as a condition of participating.

SEBI has continued to refine the ODR framework since its introduction, including proposals to streamline how quickly an unresolved SCORES complaint can move into conciliation and to adjust which institutions administer the process. Given how actively this area is evolving, an investor considering ODR should check the live SMART ODR portal and SEBI's current circulars for the exact eligibility conditions, fee structure and timelines applicable at the time, rather than relying on a fixed description of the process.

Practical Points Worth Keeping in Mind

Documentation matters more on SCORES than the platform's simplicity might suggest. Keep dated records of the underlying transaction or account activity, any prior correspondence with the company or intermediary's own grievance cell, and screenshots or statements evidencing the deficiency complained of — a well-documented complaint is far more likely to be resolved quickly at the first level, without needing escalation at all. And because SCORES sits alongside, rather than displaces, other remedies in appropriate cases — a serious fraud may also warrant a criminal complaint, and a company law grievance may separately engage the National Company Law Tribunal — it is worth taking a considered view of which forum, or combination of forums, actually fits the grievance before filing, rather than defaulting to SCORES for every kind of securities-market dispute.

Frequently Asked Questions

References & Further Reading

This article references SEBI's SCORES and ODR frameworks in general terms. Timelines, fee structures and procedural detail are revised periodically by SEBI circular — readers should always verify the current position directly on scores.sebi.gov.in and smartodr.in before relying on a specific figure.

1. SEBI Complaints Redress System (SCORES) 2.0, launched 1 April 2024, and SEBI's master circulars on redressal of investor grievances through SCORES, as amended from time to time.
2. SEBI circular on redressal of investor grievances through SCORES and linking it to the Online Dispute Resolution platform, and subsequent amendments to the ODR framework, as amended from time to time.
3. SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 — underlying obligation on listed companies to maintain an investor grievance mechanism.