Article / GuideSME IPO

Migration from SME to Main Board Exchange

Last updated August 22, 2026

This IPO News guide/article covers “Migration from SME to Main Board Exchange”. The page is organized around types of migration from sme to mainboard exchange, 1. voluntary migration, 2. compulsory migration, bse sme migration to mainboard eligibility criteria, list of documents required to migrate to bse mainboard exchange. IPO News presents the structured facts and tables in its own layout and wording.

Topics Covered

Types of Migration from SME to Mainboard Exchange
1. Voluntary Migration
2. Compulsory Migration
BSE SME Migration to Mainboard Eligibility Criteria
List of documents required to migrate to BSE mainboard exchange
Fees for Migration from BSE SME to Mainboard
Migration from NSE SME to NSE Mainboard
List of documents required to migrate to the NSE mainboard exchange
SMEs migrated to Mainboard Exchange – Data so far
Benefits of SME Migration to Mainboard
Challenges for SMEs Migrating to Mainboard
SME IPO Enquiry
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How can SMEs migrate to the BSE and NSE main board exchange?−
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Key Facts

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When an SME’s paid-up equity capital exceeds Rs 25 crore, migration to the main board exchange becomes mandatory for them.
Once migrated, SME securities will be traded on the BSE and NSE exchanges.
The applicant company and/or promoters/promoter group have not received any significant regulatory action in the last 3 years.
Also, the company, promoters/promoter group, directors, or subsidiary (ies) have not been debarred or disqualified by SEBI or any other regulatory authority.
SMEs seeking migration have to obtain a certificate from a SEBI-registered credit rating agency to mention that funds raised through IPO/FPO were used for the stated objectives
Certificate from the company secretary/managing director for migration from SME to Mainboard exchange. The migration application must comply with Regulation 277 of SEBI ICDR Regulations 2018.
The applicant company’s last 3 years annual reports.
SEBI Scores screenshot to show no complaints or clean track record of the company.
SMEs seeking migration to the BSE main board have to make payment of a processing fee of Rs 2,00,000 or 0.05% of market capitalization, whichever is higher plus applicable taxes.
In addition, an initial listing fee of Rs 20,000 plus applicable tax shall be paid.
After BSE, in April 2024, NSE also issued new guidelines for companies seeking migration to the NSE Mainboard capital market segment.
Companies listed on the Emerge Segment of NSE wishing to migrate to the NSE Capital Market segment must submit the following documents to the Exchange along with the migration application.
Certificate of the company on compliance with SEBI (Listing and Disclosure Requirements) regulations
On migration to the Main Board exchange of BSE and NSE, the mainstream company has to comply with SEBI Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations 2015.
Is Migration Good for SMEs? Well, “Yes”, migration to the BSE and NSE mainline exchange has multifold benefits, including;
Wider Investor Base: Listing on mainboard platforms attracts a wider investor base, including institutional and non-institutional or retail investors, providing greater access to capital for expansion.
No Market Makers: Companies moved to the BSE and NSE witness high trading volume and thus liquidity increases without any market making arrangements.
Stock Performance: SMEs migrated to BSE or NSE exchange signals high growth potential and increases stock performance and market capitalization.
1 Share as Market Lot: After migration, SME shares are not traded in lots, and investors can buy and sell even one share, increasing retail investors' participation.
Though migration brings in numerous benefits to SMEs it also comes with regulatory challenges with stricter SEBI oversight and governance.
Ongoing compliance: Once migrated, meet SEBI and BSE/NSE regulatory requirements for the mainboard companies.
BSE SME IPO Eligibility Criteria
SME IPO Listing Platforms BSE SME and NSE Emerge
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SEBI's New Norms for SME IPOs: Key Changes and Implications on SMEs
NSE Emerge SME IPO Eligibility Criteria

Data Tables

Paid-up capital	SMEs paid-up equity capital should be minimum Rs 10 crore. The applicant company's issued, fully paid-up, and listed equity capital should be equal to more than Rs 10 crore.
Market Capitalization	The market capitalization required for migration is minimum Rs 100 crores How to calculate market capitalization? Market capitalization = Post-issue number of equity shares * price, For the purpose of calculating the average market cap, the aggregate of daily market cap on the days the scrip has traded, shall be divided by the total no. of trading days during the said 6 months period.
Listing track record on BSE SME	SMEs considering migrating to the main board exchange must be listed and traded under the BSE Segment for at least 3 years.
Financial Criteria or Profitability	The applicant company must have positive operating profit or EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, depreciation and tax) in any 2 Out of the last 3 financial years. And, also the company seeking migration must report positive PAT (profits after tax) in the preceding financial year of migration application to exchange.
Net worth	The minimum required net worth for migrating to BSE is Rs 15 crore for the 2 preceding full financial years. Note: The calculation of net worth will be as per SEBI ICDR regulations 2018
Minimum number of shareholders	Before shifting to the mainboard exchange, SMEs should have at least 1000 public shareholders in the company.
Promoters holding	When applying for migration, promoter(s) must have at least 20% of equity share capital.
Minimum public shareholders	SMEs have a minimum of 250 public shareholders to migrate to the BSE main board. Note: The applicant company's latest shareholding pattern for 250 shareholders should not be older than 15 days before applying for migration.
No Regulatory Actions	The applicant company and/or promoters/promoter group have not received any significant regulatory action in the last 3 years. Also, the company, promoters/promoter group, directors, or subsidiary (ies) have not been debarred or disqualified by SEBI or any other regulatory authority. No winding up petition has been filed against the SME by NCLT. No Legal proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code are against the applicant company and its promoting companies. The applicant company, promoters/promoter group/promoting companies, and subsidiary companies have not defaulted in payment of interest and principal to debentures, bonds, or fixed deposit holders. There are no pending investors' complaints against the company. SMEs seeking migration have to obtain a certificate from a SEBI-registered credit rating agency to mention that funds raised through IPO/FPO were used for the stated objectives
Cooling off period	The cooling off period for migration after an SME stock has come out of the Trade-to-Trade category or any other surveillance measure is 2 months.

Paid-up capital	Company looking to migrate to the NSE main board platform must have Rs 10 crore paid-up equity capital for migration to NSE.
Market Capitalization	Market capitalization of the company should be not less than Rs 25 crore. Market capitalization here will be the product of the number of post-issue equity shares and price Price = Average of the weekly high and low of the share's closing price during the last 3 months preceding the date of making the migration application
Listing history on NSE Emerge	To transfer securities from NSE SME to the mainboard, the company must be listed on the SME platform for at least three years.
Profitability Criteria; EBITDA and PAT	New migration guidelines of NSE Emerge require SMEs to have positive operating profits in each of the 3 full financial years preceding migration application. Additionally, the company must have positive net profits or profits after tax in the immediate financial year before applying for migration.
Net worth	SMEs required Rs 50 crore as minimum net worth to move to NSE mainboard.
Net Tangible Assets	SMEs must maintain net tangible assets of atleast Rs 3 crore in each of the 3 financial years.
Number of public shareholders	The company intending to move to the NSE mainboard must have at least 1000 public shareholders on the last day of the preceding quarter before submission of the migration application.
No Regulatory Actions	The applicant company desirous to migrate should not have been referred to the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR). No legal proceedings have been admitted against the issuer company and promoting companies under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. No winding up petition admitted by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Compliance with investor grievance redressal mechanism. The company has fully disclosed all material litigations, disputes, and other regulatory actions to the stock exchange.

SMEs Migrated to Mainboard	325
BSE SMEs Migrated to BSE Mainboard	185
NSE SMEs Migrated to NSE Mainboard	140

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