To fill out a DWAC form, you enter six pieces of identifying information — CUSIP, security name, share quantity, account registration name, DTC participant number, and brokerage account number — sign it, add a Medallion Signature Guarantee if the transfer agent requires one, and submit it to the party that initiates your direction of transfer. The Deposit/Withdrawal at Custodian form itself is short. What makes it work or fail is matching every field exactly to the records held by the transfer agent and your broker, because the Depository Trust Company (DTC) rejects anything unmatched.
Know Which Direction You’re Moving Shares
Before you write anything, decide whether this is a deposit or a withdrawal. A DWAC deposit moves shares from a transfer agent’s books into your brokerage account, which is what you use when you hold shares in direct registration and want them in your brokerage for trading. A DWAC withdrawal does the reverse, pulling shares out of your brokerage and placing them on the transfer agent’s books in your name.
The form fields are largely the same either way, but the initiator differs. For deposits, the transfer agent contacts your broker’s DTC participant after receiving your paperwork, and the broker enters the transaction into DTC’s system. For withdrawals, your broker initiates the request and the transfer agent confirms it on their end. The paper form authorizes and instructs; the actual movement of shares happens electronically.
The Six Fields You Have to Get Right
Every DWAC form asks for the same core data regardless of which transfer agent or broker supplies the version you’re using. Any mismatch causes DTC to return the request as unmatched, and you start over.
- CUSIP number. The nine-character identifier for the security. It appears on account statements, prospectuses, and financial data sites. This is the single most important field because it tells DTC exactly which security is moving and prevents confusion between, for example, a company’s common stock and its preferred shares, which carry different CUSIPs.
- Security name. The full legal name of the issuing company, exactly as it appears on the transfer agent’s records. Abbreviations or trade names that don’t match the corporate charter cause a rejection.
- Share quantity. The exact number of shares. Partial shares generally cannot move through DWAC.
- Account registration name. Your full legal name as it appears on both ends. The name on the transfer agent’s records and the name on the brokerage account must match precisely.
- DTC participant number. Your broker’s four-digit number within DTC’s system, which functions as a routing address for the electronic transfer. Your brokerage’s back office or operations department can provide this, and DTC also publishes a participant directory.
- Brokerage account number. The specific account where shares will land (for a deposit) or where they currently sit (for a withdrawal).
Have a recent brokerage statement in front of you as you fill in the form. Compare the name spelling, account number, and DTC participant number against the statement before you sign. Some transfer agents and brokers also ask for a contact name and phone number at the brokerage so the operations teams can coordinate the electronic leg.
The Medallion Signature Guarantee
Most DWAC transfers require a Medallion Signature Guarantee stamped on the form. Transfers between accounts with identical ownership — same name, same registration — sometimes skip this step. When ownership differs between the sending and receiving accounts, the guarantee is mandatory. Transfer agents set their own policies, so confirm with yours before assuming you can skip it.
A Medallion Signature Guarantee is not a notary stamp. It is a specialized certification under SEC Rule 17Ad-15 in which the stamping institution verifies your identity, confirms you’re authorized to transfer the securities, and accepts financial liability if the signature turns out to be forged.
Where to Get One
Banks, credit unions, and broker-dealers that belong to a recognized Medallion program (STAMP, SEMP, or MSP) can issue the guarantee. Many institutions provide it free to existing account holders. Non-customers may pay a fee, often in the range of $10 to $100. Call ahead. Not every branch of a qualifying bank keeps the stamp on-site, and some institutions reserve the service for customers with an existing relationship.
Bring a valid government-issued photo ID and proof of ownership of the securities, such as a recent account statement showing the position and its current market value. The guarantor needs the market value to apply the correct stamp prefix.
Stamp Prefixes and Coverage Limits
Each Medallion stamp carries an alpha prefix that indicates the maximum transaction value the guarantor is willing to cover. If the market value of your shares exceeds the stamp’s coverage limit, the transfer agent rejects the form. The guarantor reviews your statement to match the prefix to the transaction size. For a large position, you may need an institution that carries a higher-tier stamp.
The stamp impression has to be clean and legible. Smudged or partially printed seals are a common rejection reason. Fill in every field on the form before your appointment, because any change made after the stamp is applied could invalidate the guarantee. The guarantor is certifying the document as it existed when they stamped it.
Where to Send the Completed Form
For a DWAC deposit, submit the completed form to the transfer agent, which processes it and coordinates the electronic side with your broker. For a DWAC withdrawal, your broker typically handles the submission and initiates the DTC transaction.
After the paperwork arrives, the broker or transfer agent (depending on direction) enters the transaction into DTC’s Securities Processing Application, which assigns a unique Transaction ID. The transfer agent then compares the electronic request against your paper form and their shareholder ledger. CUSIP, name, and share count must match exactly. If everything aligns, the agent approves the transaction and DTC credits or debits the broker’s account. If not, the agent cancels it and the initiating party has to resubmit a corrected request. Unapproved transactions can pend for up to three business days before automatically dropping.
Approved DWAC deposits can settle same-day. Transfer agents must process DWAC instructions by 5:30 p.m. ET on each business day they’re open. The bottleneck is almost always the human paperwork review, not the electronic settlement.
Fees
Both your broker and the transfer agent may charge for a DWAC transfer. Transfer agent fees commonly run between $75 and $175 per transaction, though this varies by agent and issuer. Brokerage fees vary widely: some charge nothing, others charge a flat fee per DWAC. Ask both parties about fees before submitting so you’re not surprised.
Check Eligibility Before You Start
Even a perfectly completed form fails if the security isn’t eligible. Confirm these boundary conditions before you invest time in the paperwork.
FAST Program Eligibility
The shares must be part of DTC’s Fast Automated Securities Transfer (FAST) program, a contract between DTC and the transfer agent under which the transfer agent acts as custodian for DTC’s holdings of that security. If the transfer agent for a particular stock hasn’t signed a FAST agreement with DTC, or the security was never added to the program, DWAC isn’t available. Contact the transfer agent or ask your broker’s operations desk to confirm FAST eligibility.
DTC Chills and Freezes
Even a FAST-eligible security can be temporarily or permanently blocked from DWAC transfers if DTC imposes a restriction. A chill limits specific services, for example blocking new deposits while still allowing withdrawals. A freeze shuts down all DTC services for that security. Either one stops your DWAC form cold. DTC imposes these restrictions when an issuer lacks a transfer agent or the agent isn’t complying with DTC rules, when DTC identifies a legal or operational problem with the security, when law enforcement or regulators flag potential securities-law violations, when DTC suspects some or all of its holdings in the security aren’t freely transferable, or during a corporate reorganization. DTC publishes a Participant Notice on the DTCC website whenever it imposes one. Ask your broker’s compliance department to check with their DTC account manager before you file.
Restricted Shares
Shares acquired through private placements, employee compensation plans, or other unregistered transactions often carry a restrictive legend, a notation indicating the shares can’t be freely resold. You cannot DWAC-deposit restricted shares into a brokerage for public trading until the legend is removed.
The most common path is SEC Rule 144. For securities of companies that file reports with the SEC, non-affiliates must hold the shares for at least six months before unrestricted resale, and one year clears all Rule 144 conditions. For non-reporting companies, the minimum holding period is one year. Affiliates (officers, directors, and holders of more than 10% of outstanding shares) face additional restrictions beyond the holding period, including volume limits, manner-of-sale requirements, and filing Form 144 with the SEC.
To remove a legend, contact the transfer agent or the issuing company. The transfer agent won’t remove the legend without the issuer’s consent, which typically comes as a legal opinion letter from the issuer’s counsel confirming that the resale exemption applies. The SEC generally won’t intervene in disputes over legend removal; those fall under state law.
If You’re Transferring After a Death
Transferring a deceased shareholder’s securities through DWAC requires documents beyond the standard form. Transfer agents typically need a certified death certificate, proof of the successor’s legal authority to act (such as letters testamentary from a probate court, or a small estate affidavit where applicable), and a Medallion Signature Guarantee from the authorized representative. The exact requirements vary by transfer agent and by state law governing the estate. Contact the transfer agent early. Most provide a transfer package listing every document they need, which prevents multiple rounds of rejection.