What Is an ISIN? (And How It Differs from a Ticker)
An ISIN — International Securities Identification Number — is a globally unique 12-character code that identifies a specific security (a share, bond, or fund unit). Unlike a ticker, it's the same everywhere in the world.
How an Indian ISIN is structured
An Indian equity ISIN starts with the country code IN, followed by characters that encode the issuer and security, ending in a check digit. Company shares begin INE; mutual-fund and ETF units begin INF — a quick way to tell a stock from a fund unit by its ISIN alone.
ISIN vs ticker vs scrip code
- ISIN — globally unique, permanent, identifies the security itself.
- Ticker — the exchange's trading symbol (e.g. RELIANCE); can differ between NSE and BSE and can change on a rename.
- BSE scrip code — a numeric code the BSE uses internally.
Why it matters for data
ISIN is the stable key that links a company across exchanges and name changes, and it's how holdings data (mutual funds, shareholding) is matched to the right company. When a ticker is renamed, the ISIN stays constant. For day-to-day API calls you still pass the ticker.