If you hold your stock certificates in physical form, it is important to know how to fill out those stock certificates properly. If you plan to transfer your stock account to a new brokerage firm you will need to fill out the back of each stock certificate with the information the receiving firm will need to process those certificates, including your name as it appears on the account and other relevant information.
Step 1
Determine how your name appears on your account at the receiving firm. In order for the transfer to be processed you will have to complete your stock certificates with the exact name as it appears on your account at the brokerage firm that will be receiving your account.
Step 2
Enter the number of shares in the appropriate blank on your stock certificate. Enter the name of the receiving firm in the assignee section.
Step 3
Enter the date and sign using your name exactly as it appears on your account with the receiving firm.
Step 4
Check the current price of the stock you own so you can estimate how much your investment is worth. There are a number of places where you can check the value of your stock, including websites like Yahoo! Finance and Money.CNN.com. You can also check the previous day's close for your stocks by consulting the Wall Street Journal or the business section of your local newspaper.
Step 5
Determine whether or not you need to hire an attorney to help you with the transfer of your stock certificates. You may want to consider consulting an attorney if your stock holdings are significant, or if the stock transfer is being done as part of the settlement of an estate. It is also a good idea to hire an attorney if the transfer is part of a rollover IRA or 401(k); an attorney can guide you through the rollover process and help you avoid potential tax penalties.