Where Can You Get a Medallion Signature Guarantee? What to Do If Your Bank Says No

You have the transfer form. You have your identification. You know you need a Medallion Signature Guarantee.

Then your bank tells you:

“We don’t do those.”

Or perhaps the bank does offer them, but not at your branch. Or only for customers who have been there for six months. Or not for securities held somewhere else. Or the employee you speak with has no idea what a Medallion Signature Guarantee is.

This is a surprisingly common problem.

A Medallion Signature Guarantee is used in securities transfers to protect against fraudulent transfers. It is considerably more serious than notarizing a signature: the institution providing the guarantee can assume financial liability if the endorsement turns out to be wrongful.

That explains why banks are often reluctant to provide one.

It does not mean you are stuck if your bank says no.

Quick Answer: Where Can You Get a Medallion Signature Guarantee?

I would try, roughly in this order:

1. Your brokerage firm
2. Your primary bank
3. Your credit union
4. Another financial institution where you already have an established relationship
5. The financial institution receiving the securities
6. The transfer agent handling the shares
7. A legitimate specialized Medallion Signature Guarantee provider

Before paying anyone, however, there is another question worth asking:

Do I actually need a Medallion Signature Guarantee for this particular transaction?

That question becomes especially important if the securities are worth only a few hundred dollars.

If you need the basics first, see our guide to what a Medallion Signature Guarantee is and why you might need one.

Start With a Financial Institution That Already Knows You

Your best choice usually isn’t the closest bank.

It is a financial institution where you already have an account.

That might be your bank, credit union, brokerage firm or wealth-management company.

The reason is simple. A Medallion guarantor isn’t merely checking your driver’s license.

The institution may need to become comfortable with:

• your identity;
• your ownership of the securities;
• your legal authority to transfer them;
• the value of the transaction;
• where the securities are going;
• and the documents supporting the transfer.

An institution that has known you for years is much more likely to undertake that review than a bank where you opened an account yesterday solely because you need a stamp.

Can You Get a Medallion Signature Guarantee at a Bank?

Yes. Some banks provide them.

But knowing that a particular bank offers Medallion guarantees does not mean you can walk into any branch and get one.

A bank may restrict the service based on:

• how long you have been a customer;
• the type of accounts you maintain;
• the value of the securities;
• the type of transaction;
• where the assets are currently held;
• or which branch you visit.

Bank of America provides a useful real-world example. Its current policy says Medallion services are available to qualifying Bank of America, Merrill and Private Bank clients, and generally requires each signer to have been a client for at least six months.

The bank also requires documents supporting the transaction and sends many requests to a Medallion specialist for review.

You can see its current requirements on the Bank of America Medallion Signature Guarantee page.

That is why a search for “Medallion Signature Guarantee near me” can produce disappointing results.

A bank branch can be three blocks away and still be useless for your particular transaction.

Call Before You Go

Do not spend Saturday morning driving from bank to bank carrying stock-transfer paperwork.

Call first.

Ask:

• Do you currently provide Medallion Signature Guarantees?
• Is the service limited to existing customers?
• Is there a minimum length of customer relationship?
• Can this branch handle the request?
• Do I need an appointment?
• What documentation should I bring?
• Is there a maximum transaction value?
• Will you guarantee a transfer involving securities held at another institution?

That last question is particularly important.

An institution that technically offers Medallion guarantees may still refuse to guarantee a transaction involving assets with which it has no connection.

Try Your Brokerage Firm

If your bank cannot help, I would call your brokerage firm next.

This is particularly logical when the securities are:

• being transferred into a brokerage account;
• being transferred out of one;
• being gifted;
• being re-registered;
• or otherwise involved in a transaction the brokerage can verify.

Sometimes the broker’s own procedure can also eliminate the need to obtain a separate Medallion guarantee.

Fidelity provides a good illustration.

For certain transactions, Fidelity requires a Medallion Signature Guarantee when paperwork is mailed but permits the transaction to be completed at a Fidelity Investor Center without one. Its requirements vary by transaction.

For gifts of securities, Fidelity also currently says a signature guarantee is required only when the gift is worth $10,000 or more.

See Fidelity’s current instructions for gifting shares.

This is why you should ask the institution actually handling the transaction instead of assuming the stamp is unavoidable.

A Notary Is Not a Medallion Signature Guarantee

This is an easy way to waste an afternoon.

A notary and a Medallion guarantor are doing different jobs.

A notary generally verifies the identity of someone signing a document.

A Medallion guarantor is participating in a securities-transfer guarantee system and can assume financial responsibility associated with the signature it guarantees.

If your paperwork specifically requires a:

Medallion Signature Guarantee

do not substitute:

• a normal notary stamp;
• online notarization;
• a bank employee’s ordinary signature;
• or another generic signature certification.

Unless the organization receiving the paperwork tells you otherwise, the wrong certification can simply result in the form being returned.

What If Your Bank Refuses?

Find out why.

“We can’t do it” can actually mean several different things.

The Branch Doesn’t Handle Medallion Guarantees

Ask whether another branch does.

Some institutions centralize the service or limit it to employees who have been trained and authorized to provide the guarantee.

You Haven’t Been a Customer Long Enough

There may be nothing you can do about that institution’s policy.

Try a brokerage, credit union or another institution where you have a longer relationship.

The Bank Won’t Guarantee Securities Held Somewhere Else

Call the institution receiving the securities.

If you are moving stock into a brokerage account, for example, the receiving broker may have a procedure that solves the problem more easily.

The Bank Doesn’t Understand the Transaction

This happens with inherited securities, old stock certificates, transfer-agent paperwork, trusts, estates and obscure securities that have been sitting around for decades.

Bring the documents that explain the transaction rather than simply telling the bank employee that you need a stamp.

What Documents Should You Bring?

Requirements differ, so ask the institution in advance.

Commonly requested documents can include:

• government-issued photo identification;
• the document requiring the Medallion guarantee;
• a recent statement showing ownership of the securities;
• documentation for the account receiving the securities;
• the stock certificate, if one exists;
• instructions from the transfer agent;
• documentation showing the approximate value of the securities;
• and documents showing your legal authority to act if you are not the original owner.

An executor, trustee or person acting under another form of legal authority may also need estate, trust, court or other supporting documents.

Do not assume that possession of the stock certificate is enough to establish authority to transfer it.

Don’t Sign the Form Before the Appointment Unless You’re Told To

The financial institution may need to witness the signature it is guaranteeing.

Showing up with the document already signed can therefore create another unnecessary problem.

Ask first.

If you are unsure, bring the completed but unsigned document.

Why Are Banks So Difficult About This?

Because the stamp creates real responsibility.

The Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program, commonly called STAMP, is one of the recognized signature-guarantee programs used by the securities-transfer industry.

The Securities Transfer Association explains that the system protects transfer agents against financial losses resulting from wrongful endorsements when they rely on guarantees from participating institutions.

You can read the Securities Transfer Association’s explanation of STAMP.

The institution isn’t simply saying:

Yes, that looks like Neal’s signature.

There can be financial liability attached to the guarantee.

Once you understand that, the customer-history requirements, documentation requests and transaction limits become less mysterious—even if they remain annoying.

Medallion Signature Guarantees Have Dollar Limits

The value of the securities matters.

Medallion guarantees have transaction-value limits associated with the particular guarantee.

That means an institution authorized to guarantee a relatively small transaction may not be able to guarantee a transfer worth several million dollars.

If the securities have substantial value, tell the bank or brokerage the approximate amount when making the appointment.

Otherwise, you can successfully make it through every other requirement only to discover that the available guarantee is not large enough.

We will cover the Medallion stamp prefixes and transaction limits separately because they deserve their own explanation.

Can You Get a Medallion Signature Guarantee Online?

Yes, there are now specialized services that allow much of the process to be handled remotely.

One example is eSignature Guarantee.

The company says it is a participating institution in the STAMP program and provides Medallion Signature Guarantees online throughout the United States. Its current published price starts at $300 per stamp, covering transfers up to $500,000, and it says completed guarantees are generally stamped within five business days.

That may solve a genuine problem for someone who has already been rejected by several banks.

It is also expensive enough that I would not begin there.

First see whether your own bank, broker, credit union, receiving institution or transfer agent offers a free or cheaper way to complete the transaction.

And before paying an online provider, confirm with the transfer agent or institution receiving your documents that the form of guarantee you will receive is acceptable for your transaction.

Disclosure: At the time this article was published, Inelegant Investor had no financial relationship with eSignature Guarantee and receives no compensation if you use its service.

What If You Only Have $100 Worth of Stock?

This is where the whole process can become absurd.

Imagine that you inherit $100 worth of stock.

The transfer agent asks for a Medallion Signature Guarantee.

Your bank says no.

You find a specialized service willing to provide the stamp for $300.

You now have the opportunity to spend three times the value of your investment merely to move it from one place to another.

That usually makes no economic sense.

For a small holding, stop looking for a stamp for a moment and ask:

Is there another way to accomplish what I am trying to do?

Ask Whether the Medallion Requirement Can Be Waived

Contact the transfer agent and explain the size of the holding.

Ask specifically:

“The shares are worth approximately $100. Is there a small-value transfer procedure or a way to waive the Medallion Signature Guarantee requirement?”

Some transfer agents have procedures specifically for smaller holdings.

Equiniti, for example, currently publishes a Medallion Signature Guarantee waiver procedure for qualifying transfers worth $10,000 or less.

There is still a fee: Equiniti currently lists a $100 waiver fee for market values below $5,000 and $200 for values from $5,000 through $10,000.

You can see the current terms in Equiniti’s shareholder-services information.

A $100 fee still makes very little sense for $100 of stock.

But the broader point is important: the full-price Medallion stamp may not be the only procedure available.

Ask the Receiving Broker Whether It Can Handle the Transfer Differently

If your goal is simply to move the stock into Fidelity, Schwab or another brokerage account, call the receiving brokerage before paying anybody.

Ask whether the transfer can be initiated through:

• DRS;
• another book-entry transfer;
• the brokerage’s transfer-of-assets procedure;
• or another process that doesn’t require you personally to obtain the Medallion stamp.

The answer will depend on how the shares are currently registered and held.

If You Just Want the Money, Ask Whether You Can Sell the Stock Instead

Sometimes transferring the shares is solving the wrong problem.

If the stock is readily marketable and your actual objective is simply to obtain its value, ask whether it can be sold where it currently sits.

If it is already held at a brokerage, selling the shares and transferring cash may be much easier than re-registering the stock.

If the shares are held directly through a transfer agent, ask whether the issuer’s shareholder plan permits the transfer agent to sell them.

There can be tax and investment consequences to selling, so it is not automatically the correct choice.

But spending $300 to move a $100 investment should at least make you consider the alternatives.

Check the Actual Transaction Rules

A signature guarantee is not required in every circumstance.

Requirements can vary based on the transaction, value, account ownership and institution.

Fidelity’s current gifting rules provide an unusually clear example: for certain gifts of securities from a Fidelity account, it says a signature guarantee is required only when the gift is worth $10,000 or more.

That does not create a universal $10,000 exemption.

It demonstrates why a person with $100 of stock should ask about the actual rules governing the transaction rather than automatically buying a Medallion guarantee.

Ask the Transfer Agent Before Spending Money

If the shares are registered directly in your name, the transfer agent may be the most useful organization to call.

The transfer agent maintains the issuer’s shareholder records and processes changes in ownership.

Tell it exactly what has happened:

“Your paperwork asks for a Medallion Signature Guarantee, but my bank will not provide one. What alternatives do you accept?”

Then ask:

• Is the Medallion guarantee definitely required for my transaction?
• Is there a waiver for a small-value holding?
• Can the shares be transferred electronically?
• Can my receiving broker initiate the transfer?
• Can the shares be sold through the transfer agent?
• Do you accept an online Medallion provider?
• If so, which types of guarantees do you accept?

Getting the answer from the organization that will actually accept or reject the paperwork is much more useful than guessing.

You May Not Actually Need the Medallion

Read the instructions carefully.

The presence of a large box labeled:

MEDALLION SIGNATURE GUARANTEE

does not necessarily mean every person completing the form must fill that box.

Some transactions have exceptions depending on who signs, where proceeds are sent, the value involved and how ownership is being changed.

If the instructions are unclear, call the transfer agent.

Do not spend hundreds of dollars obtaining a guarantee merely because you assumed an unused box on a form applied to you.

What About a Medallion Signature Guarantee “Near Me”?

This is one financial service for which a map search can be misleading.

The fact that a participating bank has a branch nearby does not tell you:

• whether that branch has an authorized employee;
• whether the bank serves only existing customers;
• whether your account relationship qualifies;
• whether your transaction exceeds the branch’s limit;
• or whether the bank will guarantee securities held somewhere else.

I would call the institutions where you already have financial relationships before searching randomly for nearby banks.

What If You Live Outside the United States?

This can be considerably harder.

A bank in another country may know you perfectly well but not participate in a Medallion program recognized by the U.S. transfer agent processing your securities.

A foreign notarization also should not be assumed to substitute for a Medallion guarantee.

Contact the transfer agent first.

Ask what it accepts from shareholders in your country and whether it has a cross-border or remote procedure.

Depending on the transaction, an affiliated financial institution, specialized provider or another authentication process may be available.

What If the Stock Is Old or the Company No Longer Exists?

Before spending money on a Medallion guarantee, make sure you know what you actually own.

This is particularly important with:

• old stock certificates;
• inherited securities;
• companies that merged decades ago;
• bankrupt companies;
• inactive CUSIPs;
• non-transferable securities;
• and mysterious positions that have been sitting in a brokerage account displaying $0.00.

A certificate bearing the name of a once-public company does not necessarily represent shares of that company today.

The company may have merged, split, reorganized, distributed another security or canceled the shares entirely.

Determine what happened before paying someone to guarantee a transfer.

If the problem is a security that appears to be worthless but refuses to disappear, see our guide to getting worthless stocks out of a brokerage account.

If the mysterious security ends in CVR, see our guide to Contingent Value Rights before assuming the displayed $0 value means it is actually worthless.

A Practical Order of Operations If Your Bank Says No

1. Find out why the bank refused.
2. Ask whether another branch can provide the guarantee.
3. Call your brokerage firm.
4. Try a credit union or other institution where you already have an established relationship.
5. Contact the institution receiving the securities.
6. Call the transfer agent and ask about alternatives or waivers.
7. If the holding is small, compare the cost of the process with the value of the stock.
8. Confirm that a Medallion guarantee is actually required for your particular transaction.
9. Only then consider paying a specialized Medallion provider.

I would not begin by opening accounts at random banks in the hope of immediately obtaining a stamp.

A bank that requires six months of customer history is unlikely to be impressed that you deposited $25 yesterday.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I get a Medallion Signature Guarantee?

Start with a brokerage firm, bank or credit union where you already have an established relationship. You can also ask the institution receiving the securities or the transfer agent handling the transaction. Specialized online providers are another option when traditional institutions cannot help.

What if my bank refuses to give me a Medallion Signature Guarantee?

Ask why. The problem may be the branch, length of your customer relationship, transaction value or type of securities involved. Try your brokerage, another institution where you already have an account, the receiving institution and the transfer agent before paying for a private service.

Can I walk into any bank and get a Medallion Signature Guarantee?

No. Banks frequently restrict the service to existing customers and particular branches or transactions. Call first.

Can a notary give me a Medallion Signature Guarantee?

No. A normal notarization is not a substitute for a Medallion Signature Guarantee when the securities-transfer instructions specifically require one.

Can I get a Medallion Signature Guarantee online?

Yes. Specialized services now handle the process remotely. eSignature Guarantee, for example, says it is a STAMP-participating institution and currently offers online Medallion guarantees starting at $300. Confirm acceptance with the recipient before paying for the service.

What if my stock is only worth $100?

Do not automatically spend hundreds of dollars obtaining a Medallion guarantee. Ask the transfer agent about a waiver or small-value procedure, ask the receiving broker whether it can facilitate the transfer another way, and determine whether the shares can simply be sold where they are currently held.

Do all stock transfers require a Medallion Signature Guarantee?

No. Requirements vary by transaction and institution. Some transfers require one and others have exceptions or alternative procedures. Check the instructions for your exact transaction.

How much does a Medallion Signature Guarantee cost?

A bank, credit union or broker may provide one without a separate charge to qualifying customers. Specialized services can be much more expensive. eSignature Guarantee currently advertises pricing starting at $300. Equiniti currently offers certain small-transfer waivers for $100 or $200, depending on value.

Does Bank of America provide Medallion Signature Guarantees?

Yes, for qualifying clients and transactions. Bank of America currently says each signer generally must have been a Bank of America or Merrill client for at least six months. Check its current requirements before scheduling an appointment.

Does Fidelity require a Medallion Signature Guarantee?

It depends on the transaction. Fidelity requires guarantees for some securities transfers and other transactions while providing alternatives in others. For example, its current gifting instructions state that a signature guarantee is required only for gifts worth $10,000 or more.

Should I sign the form before going to the bank?

Not unless the institution tells you to. The guarantor may require you to sign the document as part of its verification process.

Are there limits on a Medallion Signature Guarantee?

Yes. Guarantees have transaction-value limits. If you are transferring a substantial amount of securities, tell the financial institution the approximate value before your appointment.

Sometimes the Stamp Is the Wrong Problem to Solve

A Medallion Signature Guarantee looks simple: a small green stamp on a piece of paper.

The system behind it is not simple at all.

That is why banks can be frustratingly reluctant to provide one.

If your bank says no, work outward from the institutions that already know you. Try your broker. Try your credit union. Talk to the institution receiving the shares. Most importantly, talk to the transfer agent that requested the guarantee.

And keep the economics in mind.

Paying $300 to complete a $100 stock transfer is a good sign that you should stop searching for the stamp and start searching for another way to complete the transaction.

The objective is to move, sell or properly register the security.

The Medallion Signature Guarantee is merely one piece of plumbing used to get there.