Before filing a complaint on SEBI SCORES, most investors want to know one thing first: does it cost anything?
The short answer is no.
Filing on SCORES is completely free, no matter the complaint category, the dispute amount, or which type of intermediary you’re complaining against.
But the process doesn’t end at SCORES.
It can escalate through SMART ODR and, eventually, exchange arbitration, and knowing what’s free and what isn’t at each stage helps you plan without surprises.
Is SEBI SCORES Complaint Free in India?
Yes. Filing a complaint on SEBI SCORES at scores.sebi.gov.in costs nothing.
There is no registration fee to create an account on the portal. There is no filing fee when you submit a complaint.
There is no charge for tracking your complaint status using your reference number. There is no fee for escalating within the SCORES 2.0 two-level review system.
And there is no cost for receiving the intermediary’s response or for marking it as unsatisfactory.
Every step within the SCORES portal is free from start to finish.
This applies whether you are complaining against a stockbroker, a research analyst, an investment adviser, a mutual fund, a depository participant, or a listed company.
SEBI made the portal free deliberately. The intent is to ensure that the complaint amount does not determine whether an investor can access the regulatory system.
A complaint about Rs. 3,000 in excess brokerage gets the same free access as a complaint about Rs. 30 lakh in advisory fraud.
Is SMART ODR Free After SCORES?
Largely yes, with one qualification.
The SMART ODR portal operates in stages, and the cost structure is different at each stage.
Pre-conciliation is free. This is the first stage in SMART ODR, where a structured online negotiation happens between the investor and the intermediary.
No fees apply here for either party.
Conciliation is free for investors. If pre-conciliation does not produce a settlement, a formal conciliator is appointed.
The conciliator facilitates structured mediation between the parties. Investors pay nothing at this stage.
Arbitration has a fee structure, but retail investors are protected. If conciliation fails and the matter goes to formal arbitration, fees apply.
However, SEBI has specifically structured the fee slabs to protect small retail investors.
For claims up to Rs. 10 lakh, there is no filing fee for the investor in exchange arbitration proceedings. The intermediary bears the fee.
For claims between Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 25 lakh, a nominal investor fee applies.
For claims above Rs. 25 lakh, the fee increases on a slab basis. The exact fee schedule is published on the relevant exchange arbitration portal.
The practical outcome is that the vast majority of retail investor disputes, which involve amounts below Rs. 10 lakh, can go through the entire process from SCORES through SMART ODR through arbitration without the investor paying a single rupee.
What About Lawyer Fees?
This is the one cost area where investors need to be realistic.
The SCORES portal, SMART ODR pre-conciliation, and SMART ODR conciliation do not require legal representation.
You can file, participate in pre-conciliation, and attend conciliation sessions yourself without a lawyer.
The platforms are designed to be accessible to individual investors without professional intermediaries.
For the arbitration stage, legal representation is not mandatory, but it makes a significant practical difference.
An arbitration hearing involves submitting a formal statement of claim, responding to the intermediary’s defence, presenting evidence in a structured format, and potentially cross-examining witnesses.
Doing this without professional support is possible but significantly harder than the earlier stages.
If you engage a lawyer for arbitration, their fees are a private arrangement outside the SEBI or exchange fee structure. These vary widely depending on the lawyer, the city, and the complexity of the case.
Some investor protection services, including this team, represent investors through the arbitration process without requiring a separate legal engagement.
SEBI SCORES & SMART ODR: Cost Breakdown at Each Stage
| Stage | Who pays | Investor cost |
|---|---|---|
| Internal grievance to intermediary | No fee involved | Free |
| SEBI SCORES filing | No fee | Free |
| SCORES Level 2 Review | No fee | Free |
| SMART ODR Pre-Conciliation | No fee | Free |
| SMART ODR Conciliation | No fee for the investor | Free |
| SMART ODR Arbitration (claim below Rs. 10L) | Intermediary pays | Free for the investor |
| SMART ODR Arbitration (claim Rs. 10L to Rs. 25L) | Shared | Nominal investor fee |
| SMART ODR Arbitration (claim above Rs. 25L) | Slab basis | Increases with claim size |
| Optional legal representation at arbitration | Private arrangement | Varies |
Why SEBI Keeps SCORES Free: Protecting the Small Retail Investor
The no-fee structure at the SCORES and SMART ODR stages reflects a deliberate regulatory philosophy. If investors had to pay to file, smaller disputes would simply not get filed.
An investor who lost Rs. 15,000 in advisory fees to a SEBI-registered research analyst would not pay Rs. 5,000 to file a complaint about it.
The complaint would go unfiled, the intermediary would face no accountability, and the pattern would continue.
By making SCORES and the early SMART ODR stages free, SEBI lowers the barrier enough that investors do file even for smaller amounts.
This creates a complaint record that SEBI can use to identify patterns across intermediaries and prioritise enforcement.
For investors, free access means there is no financial reason not to file. If you have a legitimate grievance against a SEBI-registered entity, the cost of using the regulatory system to address it is zero.
The only cost you might incur is time.
Organising your evidence, writing the complaint description, and tracking the process across multiple stages takes effort.
This is where professional complaint support makes the practical difference without changing the underlying fee structure of the regulatory platforms themselves.
For a complete walkthrough on filing a complaint on SEBI SCORES, including the correct intermediary category and required documents, read the step-by-step guide here: SEBI SCORES complaint portal.
Common Questions About SEBI SCORES Fees
One question that comes up is whether there is a minimum dispute amount to file on SCORES.
There is no minimum. You can file a complaint about any amount as long as the dispute is genuine and against a SEBI-registered intermediary.
Another question is whether NRI investors can file on SCORES for free.
Yes. NRI investors who hold securities accounts in India and have disputes with SEBI-registered entities can use SCORES under the same free access terms as resident investors.
A third question is whether professional complaint filing services charge fees even if SCORES itself is free.
This depends on the service. Some charge a flat fee for complaint drafting and filing support. Some, like this team, work on a case-by-case basis where the structure is discussed during the free initial consultation.
For the full explanation of who qualifies to file on SEBI SCORES and which types of complaints the portal accepts, the eligibility guide covers every category, including what happens when the entity is unregistered: who can file SCORES SEBI complaint?
SCORES Complaint Closed Without Resolution? How to Move to SMART ODR
The free nature of SCORES does not guarantee resolution. An intermediary can respond with a generic reply that technically closes the SCORES complaint without actually resolving the investor’s grievance.
This is why understanding what comes after SCORES matters as much as understanding SCORES itself.
SMART ODR’s conciliation and arbitration stages exist precisely for this situation.
The intermediary cannot ignore an independent conciliator or arbitrator the way it might be tempted to dismiss a SCORES complaint with a standard reply.
If your SCORES complaint produced a response that did not address your actual grievance, moving to SMART ODR is the right next step.
The process remains free through conciliation and costs nothing through arbitration for disputes below ₹10 lakh.
To understand the differences between SEBI SCORES and SMART ODR and when investors should use each process, read our complete guide on SEBI SCORES vs SMART ODR.
Need professional help fighting your dispute with an intermediary?
We manage the entire process from drafting the SCORES complaint to representing you in arbitration.
Register with us for a free consultation and let our team review your dispute today.
Conclusion
Filing a complaint on SEBI SCORES is completely free. SMART ODR pre-conciliation and conciliation are free for investors.
Arbitration for disputes below Rs. 10 lakh costs the investor nothing.
The entire formal escalation chain from SCORES through SMART ODR to an arbitration award is accessible to every retail investor without a filing fee at the stages that matter most.
The only costs a retail investor might encounter are optional legal representation at the arbitration stage and professional complaint support services, both of which are outside the regulatory platform fee structure.
The free access is intentional.
It ensures that the size of a dispute does not determine whether an investor can use the system designed to protect them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Filing a complaint on SEBI SCORES at scores.sebi.gov.in is completely free for all investors. There is no registration fee, no complaint filing fee, and no charge for tracking, escalating, or responding within the SCORES portal at any stage.
Yes, for the pre-conciliation and conciliation stages. SMART ODR pre-conciliation and conciliation cost investors nothing. For formal arbitration, investors with claims below Rs. 10 lakh pay no filing fee. Nominal fees apply for larger claims on a slab basis as published by the relevant exchange.
No. There is no minimum dispute amount to file a complaint on SEBI SCORES. Investors can file for any amount as long as the dispute is genuine and the entity being complained against is registered with SEBI.
Yes. NRI investors who hold Indian securities accounts and have disputes with SEBI-registered entities can file on SEBI SCORES under the same free access terms as resident Indian investors.
No lawyer is required for SCORES filing or for SMART ODR pre-conciliation and conciliation. These stages are designed for direct investor participation without professional intermediaries. For the formal arbitration stage, legal representation is optional but practically helpful, and fees for that are a separate private arrangement outside the platform's own fee structure.
The entire SCORES portal including registration, filing, tracking, Level 2 review, and escalation is free. SMART ODR pre-conciliation and conciliation are free for investors. Arbitration for claims below Rs. 10 lakh is free for investors at the exchange level. The full path from internal grievance through SCORES through SMART ODR conciliation costs the investor nothing in platform fees.
