How do I check if old paper stock certificates are still valid?
Executors inherit physical stock certificates without knowing whether the shares are still active or were converted to book-entry form years ago. Verifying these holdings requires dealing with notoriously difficult transfer agents like Computershare and EQ, which stops family members from efficiently settling large estates.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Calling transfer agents like Computershare or EQ directly
- 2Checking state unclaimed property websites
- 3Transferring holdings over to a standard brokerage account like Fidelity
- 4Using a broker to handle the conversion of paper shares to electronic form
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I'm the executor of his estate and I’m trying to figure out the best way to see if this is still a valid/active certificate or if it was "cancelled" or moved to book-entry form years ago.”source ↗
“Computershare is the biggest pain in the ass company to deal with. I’m sorry you have to endure it.”source ↗
“I'm administering an estate right now and the decedent had close to a million in stock across tons of accounts and held in different companies. I thought Computershare was the bane of my existence until I had to deal with EQ.”source ↗
Where this came up
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