No, to apply for IPO (Initial Public Offering) it is mandatory to hold a demat account. If an investor is willing to apply for an IPO, they must hold a demat account, if the shares are allotted under the IPO investment process, the shares will get credited directly in the demat account. Therefore, an investor must responsibly enter the correct details i.e. DP ID and client ID at the time of form filling and bidding for an IPO. Also, it is easy to trade shares in electronic form. Open Demat Account