Many shareholders will be interested using the Direct Registration System (DRS) administered by the Depository Trust Company (DTC). The DTC provides the DRS system to facilitate faster, lower cost stock transfers. Shareholders can mail their physical stock certificates to West Coast Stock Transfer, Inc. (WCST) to convert their shares into “book-entry” form. Book-entry shares remove many postage related costs, and allow for transfers to take place electronically. After shares are in a book-entry position at a transfer agent, shareholders receive a Statement of Account evidencing the shares held as book-entry shares. The Statement of Account may be requested by your broker under a different name such as a DRS Statement, Book Advise, or DRS Advice.

Electronic shares greatly reduce the overhead costs of the shipping and handling of physical certificates. Shares can be transferred into book form at DRS, or back into certificate form. Shareholder voting rights remain intact while in book entry. Gifting or inheriting book entry stock can take place without waiting for the paper certificates to be mailed in. A Medallion Signature Guarantee stamp is not required. Corporate actions from issuers, such as reverse splits or mergers, become less costly. Fewer fees are charged because transfers are easier to do. Higher levels of security are available over electronic medium which reduce fraud and increase shareholder confidence.

Either the shareholder or the Broker-Dealer can request shares to be converted to book-entry form. Shareholders can request WCST directly to convert their shares into a DRS format by providing a Direct Registration System (DRS) Request Form. This form will authorize WCST to deliver shares to your brokerage account if we receive a DRS transfer request.

WCST does not require that the shares are moved in a DRS location but the depositing Broker-Dealer may.

IMPORTANT: Restricted shares are NOT eligible for transfer using DRS. WCST will transfer book-entry shares that are in either an Unrestricted Book-Entry Position or within a DRS Balance as shown on your Statement of Account.

⇾ For more information about Restricted Stock, click HERE.

⇾ For information about How to read your Statement of Account, click HERE

Depending on your brokerage account, there may be forms to complete and provide to them. Every brokerage firm is different. The best approach to getting your stock transferred into your brokerage account is to obtain a recent Statement of Account and contact your broker and simply ask:

“What do I need to provide or complete in order to get my shares described on the Statement of Account from West Coast Stock Transfer, Inc., a transfer agent, transferred into my brokerage account?“