What is KYC in the stock market?

KYC, or Know Your Customer, is the identity and background verification process every SEBI-registered intermediary, brokers, depositories, mutual funds, is legally required to complete before letting you open an account or transact. It exists to prevent fraud, money laundering, and impersonation in the financial system, and it’s regulated centrally through KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs) that SEBI has authorised, meaning once your KYC is verified with one registered intermediary, it can often be reused across others without repeating the full process from scratch. My KYC record includes verified PAN, address proof, a photograph, bank account details, and increasingly a video-based In-Person Verification (IPV) step. KYC status can be marked as ‘validated,’ ‘registered,’ or ‘on hold’ depending on how thoroughly it’s been verified, and a lower KYC status can sometimes restrict certain account features until it’s upgraded.