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Investor guide

How to check that a Research Analyst is actually registered

Four checks, on SEBI's own website, in about five minutes. You can run every one of them on us.

Published 1 September 2026 · Potoos Research Services

The short answer. Go to SEBI's public register of Research Analysts. Search the registration number the firm gave you. Now compare that record with the firm's own website. The name must match. The city must match. If the number returns nothing, stop. If it returns a different name, stop. The rest of this guide shows you how to do those three steps properly.

The four checks

  1. Find them on SEBI's register yourself

    Open SEBI's register of Research Analysts. It opens on a long list of every registered analyst in India. Do not scroll it. Use the search box at the top, and search the registration number you were given.

    A Research Analyst number begins with INH. An Investment Adviser number begins with INA. These are two different registrations, with different permissions. So check that the register you are on matches what you have been offered.

    A screenshot of a certificate is not a check. The register is the check. It is the only copy nobody can edit.

  2. Match the name and the city, not just the number

    A number on its own proves very little. Read what SEBI's entry says. Then compare it with the website you are on. The registered name and the city should be the same in both places. If the register returns a different name from the website, stop there and ask why.

  3. Check that a grievance route exists and is published

    Registered intermediaries take part in SEBI's complaint system. The firm's own website should carry a grievance route. Look for it. You can also escalate yourself, to SEBI SCORES or to the online dispute resolution portal. Check all of this before you pay, not after.

  4. Know what the rules already forbid

    Two rules are worth remembering. They let you judge what you are reading, without taking anyone's word for it.

    A registered Research Analyst may not publish past performance, returns, accuracy rates or win rates in public material. SEBI's advertisement code bans it. That code took effect on 1 May 2023. It also bans any promise of assured returns. So a public page showing a return figure is a page to ask questions about.

    There is a legal ceiling on fees. For individual and Hindu Undivided Family clients, a Research Analyst may charge at most ₹1,51,000 per family per year. SEBI revises that limit from time to time. Non-individual and accredited clients may negotiate different terms.

How to check a SEBI registration number (INH) online

The number itself tells you what you are dealing with. You can see that before you look anything up. A Research Analyst registration begins with INH. It runs to twelve characters, like INH000027380. An Investment Adviser registration begins with INA. Stock brokers, portfolio managers and the rest each carry a different prefix again. These are separate registrations with separate permissions. So if a firm quotes you a prefix that does not match what it is selling, look twice.

To check one online, open SEBI's register of Research Analysts. Put the number into the search box. Do not scroll the list. Then read the record that comes back. You are looking for three things. First, that the number returns a record at all. Second, that the name on the record is the person or firm you are talking to. Third, that the record is current. If the number returns nothing, the conversation is over.

Do it before you pay. Do it again at renewal. A number can outlive the registration behind it. And a certificate image is not evidence. Anyone with an image editor can make one.

Checking a research analyst in Chennai

There is no Chennai register. There is no local list either. SEBI keeps one national register for the whole country. So you check an analyst in Chennai by the number, exactly as you would one in Mumbai. What the city gives you is a second point to match. The address on the register should agree with the address on the website. If the site names a Chennai office and the register names another state, ask why before you go further.

A local address is not a credential either. Plenty of unregistered operators work from an address you could visit. So keep the order that protects you. The number first, then the name, then the city. The sales conversation comes last.

Ours reads: Vinoth Kumar S, INH000027380, Chennai, with BSE enlistment 7210. You can check every one of those without asking us. If you are looking in Chennai, the longer answer on finding and checking a registered analyst there is here.

Why this guide does not name anyone

We could have written this as a list of things bad firms do. We did not, for two reasons. First, the advertisement code does not allow us to describe other registered firms. Second, a list would help you less. A method you can use on anyone, including us, lasts longer than a list of examples.

Now run it on us

Here is what our own entry should return. Check each line against SEBI's register. If any line does not match, tell us before you pay us anything.

Registered name
Vinoth Kumar S
Trading as
Potoos Research Services
Registration
INH000027380
Type
Research Analyst
City
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
BSE enlistment
7210
Compliance officer
Vinoth Kumar S

You will also notice what is missing from this website. No track record. No win rate. No return figure. That is the rule in step four working as intended. We have written separately about where our record does live.

How do I check if a research analyst is genuinely SEBI registered before I pay them?

Here is the same method again, as the exact clicks. Use it the moment someone asks you to pay. You need the registration number they gave you, a browser and about five minutes. Do it before money moves, not after.

  1. Open SEBI's register of Research Analysts

    The register lives on sebi.gov.in, under Intermediaries recognised by SEBI, category Research Analyst. It lists every registered Research Analyst in India. There are more than two thousand of them. So search for the number. Do not scroll.

  2. Search the registration number you were given

    Put the INH number into the register's Registration Number field. Run the search. If you were not given a number, you can still search. The register also searches by name, contact person, email and location. So a missing number is not a dead end. It is, however, already an answer worth noting. A genuine service leads with its number.

  3. Read the entry SEBI returns

    A real entry shows the registered name and the registration number. It shows the address and location, the contact person, and how long the registration is valid. Read all of it. Do not stop just because something came back.

  4. Match the entry to whoever is asking for your money

    The name and city on SEBI's record should match the website. They should match the invoice. They should match the person on the phone. Stop if you get no result, a different name, or an expired registration. Ask them first. Then ask yourself whether you want to go on. Pay only after this check passes. And pay only through the published channels of the registered firm the register just showed you.

Are paid stock tip services in India a scam and how do I tell a genuine one?

Not all of them. Treating it as all-or-nothing is what costs people money. India has both kinds. There are registered Research Analysts working inside SEBI's rules. There are also unregistered operations using the same words. SEBI has passed orders against tip channels that made money by selling to their own followers. Reporters have documented "trading groups" where no trade was ever placed. We have set out those cases, with the orders, on a separate page. The fakes do not make the real category fake. Fake medicine does not make chemists a scam. It just means you have to tell them apart. The ways to do that are simple, checkable and free.

  • A genuine service is on the register. Run the four checks above on the number it publishes. Some operations have no INH number. For others, the register returns nothing. Those are not a weaker version of the real thing. They are a different thing.
  • A genuine service cannot promise you returns. The advertisement code stops registered analysts from publishing performance figures. It also stops them from promising returns. So "guaranteed monthly income", "95% accuracy" and "sure-shot calls" are not strong marketing. They tell you something else, as you read. The seller is either unregistered or breaking the rules.
  • A genuine service has a limited, published price. The law caps fees at Rs 1,51,000 per family per year. And you can read the price before anyone has your number. Rising "VIP" tiers and packages quoted only on calls are the other economy's cost structure.
  • A genuine service keeps its record. Every call is kept with its reasoning. Losses sit beside gains. The record sits where the author cannot quietly rewrite it. That is what replaces screenshots and highlight reels.
  • A genuine service has somewhere to complain. It publishes a grievance route. SEBI SCORES and SMART ODR sit behind it. If you cannot complain about a service, you cannot hold it to anything.
  • A genuine service never needs your login. No OTP. No broker password. No access to your account. No transfers to personal UPI handles suggested in a chat. Anyone who asks has ended the conversation for you.

Notice what the six tests have in common. None of them asks you to judge research quality. None asks you to predict the market, or to take anyone's word for anything. Each one is a plain fact that either exists or does not. You can check it from your own chair, before a rupee moves. That is deliberate. The scams are better than you at arguing about charts and screenshots. Manufacturing conviction is their full-time job. But they are helpless against a register they do not appear on. They are helpless against a fee cap they exceed, and a complaint route they cannot fake. Fight on that ground, not theirs.

Run those six against any service, ours included. The two kinds separate cleanly. Already paid someone who fails them? This page covers where to report it and what can realistically be recovered. Weighing a paid service against the free channels? The full comparison, with SEBI's orders as the evidence, is here.

Common questions

What is the difference between INH and INA?

INH is a Research Analyst registration. INA is an Investment Adviser registration. A Research Analyst writes research and gives recommendations. An Investment Adviser advises you on your own portfolio and your own situation. They are two separate registrations. Each carries its own set of duties. Holding one does not mean holding the other.

The firm sent me a certificate image. Is that enough?

No. An image can be edited or borrowed. The register on sebi.gov.in is the source. Checking it yourself takes a few minutes. Use the number on the certificate as your search term, not as your evidence.

Why does no registered analyst show returns on their website?

Because the advertisement code does not allow it. SEBI's circular has been in force since 1 May 2023. It bans statements of past performance in public material. It also bans any promise of returns. This applies to both Research Analysts and Investment Advisers.

Where do I complain if something goes wrong?

Start with the firm's own grievance route. Every registered intermediary must publish one. If that does not resolve it, escalate through SEBI SCORES at scores.sebi.gov.in. You can also use the online dispute resolution portal at smartodr.in.