Can You Transfer Stocks From One Brokerage to Another?

You can transfer stocks from one brokerage to another without selling them, and in most cases the move takes about six business days. The shares travel “in kind” through an industry-wide electronic system, so your positions, cost basis, and holding periods arrive at the new firm intact and no taxes are triggered by the move itself. A few types of holdings don’t make the trip cleanly, and a handful of prep steps prevent the most common delays.

How the Transfer Actually Works

Nearly all brokerage-to-brokerage moves in the United States run through the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service, known as ACATS. FINRA Rule 11870 sets the timelines and procedures both firms must follow.¹ The system moves stocks, bonds, ETFs, and most mutual funds in kind, meaning shares land in the new account in their original form rather than being sold and repurchased.

That in-kind movement is the reason a transfer isn’t a taxable event. Nothing is sold, so nothing is realized. Your original cost basis and holding period travel with each position, and your long-term capital gains clock keeps ticking at the new firm exactly where it left off.

Full Transfers Versus Partial Transfers

You can move everything at once or select specific positions. A full transfer closes the old account entirely and sends all eligible assets to the new firm. A partial transfer moves only the positions you pick and leaves the rest in place. Both can go through ACATS, but tell the new brokerage you want a partial transfer processed electronically so it doesn’t default to a slower manual method.²

One practical difference: a full transfer typically freezes trading in the old account while the move is underway. A partial transfer leaves the remaining positions untouched, so you can keep trading what stays behind.

What to Have Ready Before You Start

The process begins at the new brokerage, not the old one. You complete a Transfer Initiation Form (sometimes called a TIF or ACAT form), which the new firm submits on your behalf. Most brokerages offer this form through their website or app, and many let you finish it entirely online.

The details you provide must match your old account exactly:²

The full legal name on the old account, including any middle name or initial. Even a missing middle initial can trigger a rejection.
The exact account number at the current brokerage.
The account type (individual, joint, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or however it’s registered).
The Social Security or tax ID number on file at the old firm.

Account types also need to match on both sides. An individual brokerage account goes to another individual brokerage account, and a Traditional IRA must land in another Traditional IRA. Mismatches create tax complications or outright rejections. You can change account type or ownership during a transfer, but expect delays and extra documents like a marriage certificate or court order.²

For retirement accounts, a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer between IRAs of the same type is not the same as a rollover and does not count toward the IRS one-rollover-per-year rule.³ That distinction matters if you’ve already done a rollover in the past twelve months.

How Long It Takes, Step by Step

Once the new brokerage submits your form into ACATS, the clock starts, and the sequence is set by FINRA Rule 11870.⁴

Your old brokerage has three business days to validate the request or raise an objection. During this window the firm checks that your identity, account number, and listed holdings match its records. If everything lines up, it confirms the transfer. If something doesn’t match, the firm can reject the request, and the new brokerage would need to resubmit a corrected form.²

After validation, the old firm has another three business days to move the securities. For a full transfer, the account is frozen during this phase so no trades can alter the share counts mid-move. Once the assets arrive, the new firm activates them and restores full trading access. End to end, a clean ACATS transfer takes no more than six business days.²

If neither firm acts within six business days, the request gets purged from ACATS and the new firm must start over. That’s rare with accurate paperwork, but follow up if you haven’t seen movement after a few days.

Fees and Reimbursement

Most brokerages charge an outbound transfer fee when you move to a competitor, typically $50 to $100 per account. Vanguard, for example, charges a $100 processing fee for a full account transfer out.⁵ Some firms charge nothing, so check your old brokerage’s fee schedule first.

Many receiving brokerages will reimburse the outbound fee your old firm charges, especially for larger account balances. Ask the new brokerage upfront whether it will cover the fee and get the answer in writing before you initiate the transfer.

Holdings That Don’t Transfer Cleanly

Fractional Shares

ACATS cannot move fractional shares. If you own 10.37 shares of a stock, the 10 full shares transfer normally, but the 0.37 gets liquidated by your old brokerage at the current market price.⁶ The resulting cash is swept to your new account with the residual transfer.

That forced sale is a taxable event. You’ll owe capital gains tax (short-term or long-term, depending on your holding period) on any profit from the fractional piece. For most people the dollar amount is small, but with fractional shares across many positions the total can add up.

Proprietary Funds and Annuities

Many brokerages offer their own branded mutual funds or annuity contracts that other firms aren’t set up to hold. If the new brokerage can’t custody a particular proprietary product, you have two choices: sell the position before the transfer, or leave it behind in the old account. Leaving it behind means maintaining a small residual account at the old firm, which is fine from a regulatory standpoint.

Because of these limits, your transferred portfolio may arrive with a higher cash balance than you expected. Compare your final statement at the old brokerage against the opening statement at the new one to see what was liquidated and what came over in kind.

Margin Accounts and Open Options

Margin accounts add a wrinkle. The new brokerage must review the account against its own margin lending standards, which can differ from the old firm’s.² If the new firm is stricter, you could face a margin call immediately after the move or be required to deposit cash. Confirm in advance that the new brokerage will accept your current margin balance.

Open options positions raise a separate problem. When a full transfer freezes your account, open orders must be canceled. But options contracts expiring within seven business days of the transfer cannot be canceled and must stay at the old firm.⁴ If you have options near expiration, time the transfer so positions don’t end up split between two brokerages.

After the Transfer Arrives

The initial transfer moves the bulk of your account, but dividends, interest payments, and other credits may trickle into the old account afterward. FINRA Rule 11870 requires your old brokerage to forward these residual credits to the new firm, using the automated channel where ACATS supports it.⁴

Cost basis data should transfer with your shares, but this is where things occasionally go sideways. Check that every position in your new account shows the correct purchase date and cost basis. Errors won’t hurt you immediately, but they’ll create problems at tax time if the new brokerage reports the wrong gain or loss when you eventually sell. If anything looks off, contact the new firm’s support team with your old account statements as backup.

The Tax Picture

An in-kind transfer of stocks and ETFs between brokerage accounts is not a taxable event. You owe nothing to the IRS for moving shares between firms, because no sale has occurred. Your cost basis and holding period carry over intact, and any unrealized gains or losses remain exactly as they were.

The tax exposure shows up at the edges. Fractional shares that get liquidated create a taxable gain or loss. Proprietary funds you sell before the transfer are taxable sales too. If you’re moving a retirement account, matching the account type on both sides (Traditional IRA to Traditional IRA, Roth to Roth) keeps the move classified as a trustee-to-trustee transfer rather than a distribution.³ A misrouted retirement transfer could trigger income taxes and, if you’re under 59½, an early withdrawal penalty.

SIPC Coverage While You Wait

While your assets are in transit, SIPC coverage applies. The Securities Investor Protection Corporation protects up to $500,000 per customer, including a $250,000 limit for cash, in the event a member brokerage fails.⁷ Both firms are SIPC members if they’re registered broker-dealers, so your holdings are covered throughout the transfer window. SIPC does not cover market losses, but it does guard against the unlikely scenario of a brokerage going under while your assets are mid-move.

1
FINRA.org. Customer Account Transfers
2
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Transferring Your Brokerage Account: Tips on Avoiding Delays
3
Internal Revenue Service. Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions
4
FINRA.org. Customer Account Transfer Contracts
5
Vanguard. Brokerage Services Commission and Fee Schedules
6
Fidelity Investments. Fractional Share Trading
7
SIPC. For Investors – What SIPC Protects