Accredited investors in India: meaning, who qualifies and why it matters

An accredited investor is someone the regulator treats as able to understand and absorb the risks of private, unlisted investments. In India the idea was brought into the SEBI Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) Regulations, 2012 through an amendment in 2021. It sits beside the older rule that most people can only put money into an AIF if they invest at least ₹1 crore.

The thinking is simple. A person with a large income or a large pool of assets can afford a loss on a risky startup fund, and is presumed to need less hand-holding. So the rules give that person more freedom, in exchange for a certificate that proves they qualify.

As of November 2026, an individual, a Hindu undivided family, a family trust, a sole proprietorship or a body corporate can apply, each with its own test. For an individual the commonly quoted routes are any one of three: annual income of at least ₹2 crore, or net worth of at least ₹7.5 crore with at least ₹3.75 crore in financial assets, or annual income of at least ₹1 crore with net worth of at least ₹5 crore and at least ₹2.5 crore in financial assets.

Net worth is counted without the person's primary home. Companies and other bodies corporate face a higher bar: a net worth of at least ₹50 crore is the figure for a body corporate, against ₹10 crore or more for an angel investor under the older angel-fund rules. SEBI has also consulted on widening eligibility, for example by counting a large securities portfolio, but that is a proposal. Check the current regulation text before relying on any threshold.

• Individual, route one: annual income of ₹2 crore or more.
• Individual, route two: net worth of ₹7.5 crore or more, with ₹3.75 crore or more in financial assets.
• Individual, route three: income of ₹1 crore or more, net worth of ₹5 crore or more, and ₹2.5 crore or more in financial assets.
• Body corporate: net worth of ₹50 crore or more.
• Primary residence is left out of net worth.

The person applies to an accreditation agency recognised by SEBI. These agencies are typically group companies of depositories and exchanges. The applicant submits identity and proof of income or net worth, such as tax returns, a chartered accountant's certificate and statements of financial assets. Documents like a net-worth certificate usually must be recent, often within about six months.

If the agency is satisfied, it issues an accreditation certificate. The certificate is not forever. One law-firm note says it must be renewed every three years, so a holder should keep an eye on the date. The agency charges a fee, which the applicant pays. After accreditation, the investor can show the certificate to a fund manager as proof of status, and the manager records it in the fund's files.

The biggest change for startups is angel funds. Under the 2025 amendments, angel funds registered after 10 September 2025 can only take money from accredited investors, and existing angel funds were given until 8 September 2026 to move over, as of this writing. Because every investor is accredited, the old minimum cheque per investor no longer applies, so there is no minimum corpus and a member can put in any amount.

A second use is the accredited-investors-only AIF scheme. Such a scheme must still raise a minimum corpus of ₹20 crore, but the ₹1 crore per-investor minimum that applies to ordinary AIF investors does not apply to accredited investors. A third use is the large value fund for accredited investors, where each investor puts in ₹25 crore or more, a figure that was cut from ₹70 crore. Accredited investors can also use some portfolio management products on relaxed terms.

• Angel funds: no investor minimum, accredited investors only for new funds.
• Accredited-investors-only AIF schemes: ₹20 crore minimum corpus, no ₹1 crore minimum per investor.
• Large value funds: ₹25 crore or more per accredited investor.
• Some portfolio management and co-investment routes on lighter terms.

An angel fund is a type of Category I AIF that pools money from accredited investors and invests in early-stage startups. Under the 2025 changes, the fund's investment in one startup is allowed to be as low as ₹10 lakh and as high as ₹25 crore, where the old floor was ₹25 lakh. Anyone reading an older article should check the date, since the older figure appears widely and some websites still repeat it.

For a startup founder, this means that the angel investor writing a cheque through a fund is a verified, accredited person. For the investor, it opens a pooled route, so money can be spread across several startups rather than placed in a single one. See the guides on angel networks and on AIF categories for how these structures differ.

Accreditation is a legal status, not a quality mark. It says the person has money, not that a fund is good. Startup investing is risky: many portfolio companies return little, and unlisted shares are hard to sell. A pool of accredited investors can still lose most or all of what it commits, and the money is usually locked in for years.

Accreditation also does not remove the fund's obligations. AIFs register with SEBI, report to it and follow its conduct rules. What the status changes is who may invest and at what minimum, not whether the investment can go wrong. A person who is not accredited can still back startups, for example through a regular AIF with the ₹1 crore minimum or directly as an angel.

An angel investor is a role: someone who backs early startups with personal money. An HNI, or high-net-worth individual, is a loose market label for a wealthy person. An accredited investor is a defined legal category with a certificate. A person can be all three, but being wealthy does not make someone accredited until the certificate is issued.

For readers following funding news, a story saying that a fund is raised from accredited investors only means the fund is built on this framework. A story about a large value fund points to the ₹25 crore per-investor rule.

When a headline says a startup raised from an angel fund, the money came from a pooled vehicle and the individual names may not be listed. When it says SEBI has changed the accredited investor rules, look for the date and whether the change is final or only a proposal. This page is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice, so check with a professional before acting.