What do I need to do to send in common stock certificates to my broker?

CUWu answered one year ago …

You'll have to fill out the back of the certificate first - your broker should have some type of sample document to show you what to fill out and where. In fact, you could probably call them directly and get the best answer to this question...I'm just writing this based on what I've had to do before. Basically what you're doing is appointing the broker to hold the stock for you...they don't actually own it. So certain areas of the certificate should remain blank while others should be filled out.

Here's a sample I got off of a random brokerage on the web just so you can see what I mean:

http://www.mfglobalsecurities.com/pdf/samplestockcertificate.pdf

So after you fill out the back you'll need to send the certificates to the broker. I'd do a registered, priority mailing to them and you'll probably want to insure it with the post office (or whichever courier you use).

After that, the broker will deposit the certificates on your behalf and it should show up on your account statement within a few business days.

But make sure you speak with your broker before doing any of this! The last thing you want to do is mess up something important like the ownership of a stock certificate. :)

Good luck.