If I buy on the ex-date, do I get the dividend?

No. Buying on the ex-date or later means the seller receives it. You must own the share before the ex-date.

Can I sell on the ex-date and still get the dividend?

Yes. Entitlement is settled by who owned the share before the ex-date, so selling on or after it does not forfeit the payout.

Why does the share price fall on the ex-date?

Because the buyer no longer receives the upcoming dividend, the price typically opens lower by roughly that amount. It is an adjustment, not a loss of value.

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Ex-date vs record date

This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in dividend investing, and it costs people money every week. Under T+1 settlement the two dates are now almost always the same day — 90% of the payouts in our own data have an identical ex-date and record date — and only one of them matters to a buyer.

The short answer

You must own the share before the ex-date. Buy on or before the last trading day preceding it and the dividend is yours; buy on the ex-date itself and it belongs to the seller.

The record date is the day the company looks at its register to see who to pay. By then it is far too late to act — settlement has already decided the answer.

Why there are two dates at all

Indian equities settle on a T+1 basis: a trade today shows up in the register tomorrow. Since the move to T+1 the exchange normally sets the ex-date on the record date itself — buy on that day and your trade only settles the following day, by which time the register has already been read. Older filings, and a minority of current ones, still show the ex-date one working day earlier; either way the rule for a buyer is the same.

That is also why the share price typically opens lower on the ex-date by roughly the dividend amount. Nothing has gone wrong — the buyer is no longer paying for a payout they will not receive.

What this looks like in practice

If a company sets an ex-date of Thursday, the last day to buy is Wednesday. Selling on Thursday or later still leaves the dividend with you, because you owned the share when it went ex.

Every instrument page here states the last qualifying day in words rather than making you work it out from two dates.

Common questions

If I buy on the ex-date, do I get the dividend?: No. Buying on the ex-date or later means the seller receives it. You must own the share before the ex-date.
Can I sell on the ex-date and still get the dividend?: Yes. Entitlement is settled by who owned the share before the ex-date, so selling on or after it does not forfeit the payout.
Why does the share price fall on the ex-date?: Because the buyer no longer receives the upcoming dividend, the price typically opens lower by roughly that amount. It is an adjustment, not a loss of value.

General information about how the rules work, not tax or investment advice. Rates and thresholds change with each Finance Act — check the current position for your situation.