# Good Delivery: What It is, How It Works, Criteria

## What Is Good Delivery?

Good delivery refers to the unhindered transfer of ownership of a [security](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/security.asp) from a seller to a buyer, with all necessary requirements having been met. This used to be a rather complex process, although nowadays, thanks to electronic exchanges that facilitate the digital transfer and [clearing](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/clearing.asp) of many securities, good delivery has become automated and generally much more straightforward.

### Key Takeaways

*   Good delivery refers to the unhindered transfer of ownership of a security from a seller to a buyer, with all necessary requirements having been met.
*   The criteria for what constitutes good delivery varies from market to market or from security to security, but it is a prerequisite to settling a transaction.
*   Prior to the advent of computers, good delivery included physical inspections by transfer agents to ensure that certain endorsements were authenticated and registration requirements were met in order for the buyer to take the delivery.

## Understanding Good Delivery

Good delivery occurs when a security's transfer is unimpeded by restrictions or other issues that would prevent its physical or virtual [delivery](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/delivery.asp) to the buyer. Nowadays, good delivery is, usually, determined by computers. However, in the past, securities were inspected by a [transfer agent](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/transferagent.asp) to ensure that individual paper certificates were authenticated and registration requirements were met in order for the buyer to take the delivery.  

> **Fast Fact**
>
> To qualify for good delivery, stock certificates must be in good physical condition, be endorsed by the seller or seller's agent, and be delivered in the correct denomination that matches the exact number of shares to transfer.

Historically, good delivery of securities from a seller to a buyer had been an issue in financial markets. The buyer needed to know for sure that they would receive the correct [stock certificates](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/stockcertificate.asp), that the certificates were indeed authentic, and that they would actually get physical delivery after paying the seller for them. Regulated stock [exchanges](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/stockmarket.asp) and [clearing houses](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/clearinghouse.asp) sprang up as trusted third parties to facilitate trading and standardize the requirements for making good delivery.

Today, with electronic exchanges, computerized settlement, and clearing facilities, these issues are largely a thing of the past. However, the presence of share transfer restrictions can still hurt the possibility of a stock's good delivery.

For example, insider stock, such as that issued directly to a company's executives, may have certain restrictions that disallow sale outside the company without first having offered the shares for sale to existing shareholders. [Rule 144](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rule144.asp) can allow for the sale of some restricted securities if they meet certain conditions.

## Good Delivery Criteria

The criteria for what constitutes good delivery varies from market to market or from security to security, but it is a prerequisite to settling a transaction. Many stock markets today allow for easy trading in [odd lots](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/oddlot.asp) or even [fractional](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fractionalshare.asp) shares. But, for stock markets that enforce [round lots](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/roundlot.asp), there may be restrictions on how to deliver those lots. Because the most commonly traded unit of stock has traditionally been 100 shares (a round lot), stock certificates should be denominated in one of the following:

*   Multiples of 100 shares—100, 200, 300, etc.
*   Divisors of 100 shares—1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, or 100
*   Units that add up to 100 shares—40 + 60, 91 + 9, 80 + 15 + 5, etc.

For [bond markets](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bondmarket.asp), good delivery should be made using multiples of $1,000 (or sometimes $5,000) [par value](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/parvalue.asp), sometimes with a maximum par value of $100,000. For an unregistered [bearer bond](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bearer_bond.asp) to be in good delivery form, it must be delivered with all unpaid [coupons](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/coupon.asp) still attached.

For [commodities markets](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/commodity-market.asp), good delivery criteria are spelled out by the exchange and incorporated explicitly into [futures contracts](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/futurescontract.asp) specifications. For example, the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) specified good delivery in physical gold as:   

*   **Fineness**: Minimum of 995.0 parts per thousand fine gold
*   **Marks**: Serial number, refiner's hallmark, fineness, year of manufacture
*   **Weight**: 350–430 troy ounces (11–13 kg)
*   **Recommended Dimensions**: Length (top): 250 mm +/- 40 mm, width (top): 70 mm +/- 15 mm, height: 35 mm +/- 10 mm. For the length and width, a degree of slope, known as the undercut, is permitted from 5º to 25º

> **Article Sources**
>
> 1.  U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "[Rule 144: Selling Restricted and Control Securities](https://www.sec.gov/reportspubs/investor-publications/investorpubsrule144htm.html)." Accessed Aug. 26, 2021.
>     
> 2.  The London Bullion Market Association. "[Good Delivery List](https://cdn.lbma.org.uk/downloads/GDL-Assets/Good-Delivery-List-Rules-Jan-2021-FINAL.pdf)," Pages 10 and 11. Accessed Aug. 26, 2021.