Migration from SME to BSE and NSE Main Board Exchange | Eligibility Criteria, Process, Benefits, Challenges

Migration from SME to Mainboard exchange means moving from the SME exchange (BSE SME and NSE SME) to the BSE and NSE main board exchange. Thus, migration is a process whereby a company transfers its securities/shares from the SME segment to the capital market segment of BSE and NSE and becomes a mainstream company.

In 2023, BSE and NSE revised new guidelines for migration from SME to main board. The key migration criteria require companies to have at least 3 years of listing history on the SME platform, a minimum paid-up equity capital of Rs 10 crore, and market capitalization above Rs 25 crore can be migrated to the mainboard exchange.

Company promoters, looking to take their SMEs to the main board exchange must meet the exchange eligibility criteria regarding profitability, minimum net worth, number of public shareholders, no regulatory misconduct or violation, and much more.

Types of Migration from SME to Mainboard Exchange

Migration can be of two types based on the applicant company’s paid-up equity capital – Voluntary Migration and Compulsory/Mandatory Migration.

1. Voluntary Migration

When the SME’s paid-up equity capital is more than Rs 10 crore, but below Rs 25 crore, the company can opt for voluntary migration. To do so, SMEs can file migration applications to the exchange. Check the BSE and NSE migration criteria below on this page.

2. Compulsory Migration

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.

BSE SME Migration to Mainboard Eligibility Criteria

How can BSE SME-listed companies move to the BSE? Well, in Nov 2023, BSE revised migration criteria guidelines for SMEs seeking to move to the mainboard exchange, applicable from 1 Jan 2024 and few amendments are also introduced in August 2025.

The revised exchange migration policy was a welcome move that not only focused on market capitalization as the key criterion. BSE migration policy speaks out loud about the key conditions to be satisfied for shifting to the mainboard.

BSE SME Migration Criteria
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.

List of documents required to migrate to BSE mainboard exchange

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.
Certified copy of Board resolutions for the proposed migration from SME exchange to main board.
Certified copy of AGM/EGM notice and shareholders resolution to approve the migration.
The applicant company’s last 3 years annual reports.
Scrutinizer report to provide the postal ballot voting results by public shareholders.
Hard copy and soft copy of the information memorandum duly signed by the secretary/managing director.
SEBI Scores screenshot to show no complaints or clean track record of the company.
PAN and DIN details of company directors and promoters.
Corporate governance compliance report duly signed by the Chief Executive officer or compliance officer.
Confirmation from the Merchant banker or statutory auditor or compliance officer stating the company’s market capitalization based on weighted average price of the preceding 3 months before submitting migration application is equal to or more than Rs 25 crore.
Confirmation from the CS, MD, or compliance officer stating that promoters or directors are not in any violation of practices

Fees for Migration from BSE SME to Mainboard

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.
Here, market capitalization will be the number of equity shares multiplied by the closing price one day prior to the migration application.
In addition, an initial listing fee of Rs 20,000 plus applicable tax shall be paid.
Annual exchange listing fee to be paid as per the Exchange Listing Fee Schedule. Check here The SME will be charged for the difference amount between the Annual Listing Fee for the capital market and listing fee paid for the SME segment. If fees paid under the SME segment are higher, no additional fee will be charged on migration.

Migration from NSE SME to NSE Mainboard

After BSE, in April 2024, NSE also issued new guidelines for companies seeking migration to the NSE Mainboard capital market segment.

NSE SME Migration to NSE Mainboard Eligibility Criteria
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.

List of documents required to migrate to the NSE mainboard exchange

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.

Migration application in the exchange prescribed format.
Company details (SCORES authentication ID, Investor grievance redressal mechanism, change in company control since listing, etc.) in the prescribed format.
Auditor's certificate specifying the net worth of the company
Auditor's certificate on the details of the use of funds raised from public
Certified copy of the board members' resolution for the proposed migration from SME to the Main Board
Certificate of the company on compliance with SEBI (Listing and Disclosure Requirements) regulations
A certified copy of the postal ballot is needed to obtain shareholders' approval for the migration.
Information memorandum
Scrutinizer report providing the results of promoters and public voting
Certified copy of the shareholder resolution approving the migration.

SMEs migrated to Mainboard Exchange - Data so far

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

Data: As on Sep 10, 2024

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.

Benefits of SME Migration to Mainboard

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.
Increases business prestige and credibility: The decision to move to mainline exchange attracts media attention and analysts' coverage and thus, increases the company’s reputation and credibility.
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.
Better Valuation: Mainline companies operate in a stricter regulatory environment with a high level of transparency, which adds to higher valuation. Also, companies can be benchmarked against peers for clearer valuation analysis.

Challenges for SMEs Migrating to Mainboard

Though migration brings in numerous benefits to SMEs it also comes with regulatory challenges with stricter SEBI oversight and governance.

Increased Regulatory Compliance: Mainboard companies have comparatively stricter regulatory requirement than SMEs. SEBI and the mainline stock exchange have stringent regulatory norms such as filing quarterly reports, audited annual reports, and corporate events i.e., buyback, rights issues, etc.
High Financial Costs: SMEs preparing for migration have to pay the initial listing fee, legal fees, accounting fees, and annual listing fee. So the compliance cost will be high for SMEs migrated to the mainboard exchange.
Operational Pressure: Companies listed on the mainboard exchange are subject to increased scrutiny by investors, analysts, and media, which can put pressure on the company to deliver consistent financial results. Any non-compliance or violation practices can halt a business's reputation.
Governance and Control: The governance standards may require companies to change in board composition or structure such as creating independent boards, audit committees, etc. Also, institutional investors with majority stakes can impact business decision-making.
Market Conditions: Market volatility or negative investors’ sentiments at the time of migration can impact listing success. So, analyze the market to choose the right time for successful migration.

Migration from SME to Main Board Exchange