Can a distributor with an ARN sell any fund house’s schemes?

Lesson 46 of 50 for advisers · KYD and empanelment · 3 min read · Reviewed 13 Nov 2026

Quick answer

No. An ARN registers you with AMFI, but you must be empanelled with each fund house separately. Business sent under an ARN a fund house hasn’t empanelled is processed in the Direct plan, so no commission is paid. Larger distributors also go through the fund house’s own due diligence at empanelment and at each review.

Know Your Distributor is done once, when you first register with AMFI, using Aadhaar and PAN or a KYC Validated status. Since 1 Oct 2024 it is online only.

CAMS runs ARN and EUIN registration and renewal for AMFI.

Each fund house empanels you separately. Without it, your clients’ purchases go to Direct.

Due diligence applies if you have over 20 locations, over ₹100 crore of non-institutional assets, over ₹1 crore of commission a year, or over ₹50 lakh from one fund house.

Key idea: The fund house’s due diligence covers your business model, record of penalties and suits, and whether risk profiling is kept apart from sales.

Sources

Try the short quiz on this page to check what stuck.

Common questions

Can a fund house hand due diligence to someone else?

No. It stays solely the fund house’s responsibility.

Do I get an ID card?

Yes, the ARN comes with a PDF photo ID card.

Is the old biometric check still needed?

No. The check at a CAMS service point was dropped when KYD moved online.

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