You still own them. What changes is where, and whether, they can trade.
Delisting sounds like your shares vanished. They did not. You still own exactly what you owned before. What changes is the market those shares trade in, and sometimes whether they can trade publicly at all.
When a stock is removed from an exchange like Nasdaq or the NYSE, it often continues trading over the counter. That alone does not trap you. The thing that traps you is a separate step: if the company also stops filing current information with the SEC, brokers can no longer quote it under Rule 15c2-11, and it moves to the restricted Expert Market where most investors cannot buy or sell.
Your ownership is still on the books, either with your broker in street name or with the company's transfer agent if you hold a certificate. Confirming that record in writing is a sensible first step, especially if your broker now shows the position as unpriced.
Depending on the company's status you may be able to document a worthless-securities tax loss, request your holdings records from the transfer agent, and search your state's unclaimed-property database for anything tied to your account. The right first move is to confirm whether the company is still filing, which decides everything else.
Start here, free. Check whether a ticker is still filing with the SEC and see why it may have lost its quote. No signup, no card.
If the position looks stuck, the Trapped Shareholder Toolkit ($29.99) gives you the document templates and step by step guidance to document a worthless-securities tax loss, request your records from the transfer agent, and search state unclaimed property. Information and templates only, not legal, tax, or investment advice.
This guide is general information and document education only. It is not legal, tax, or investment advice, and nothing here is a promise that any security can be sold or recovered. Talk to a qualified professional about your own situation.
Each week: the micro and small-caps now showing dilution or paid-promotion signals, with the SEC filing behind every flag. No recommendations, no price targets.