A negotiable instrument certifying that a stated number of securities have been deposited with the depositary (usually a bank) issuing the certificate. The certificate represents ownership of a certain number of a company's securities (usually shares), but the depositary receipt itself is a separate instrument from the securities. The shares are registered in the depositary's name which has voting rights attaching to the shares. The depositary exercises these voting rights in accordance with the wishes of the holders of the depositary receipts, as set out in the deposit agreement.

A depositary receipt in the UK is often referred to as a Global Depositary Receipt (GDR). In relation to standard listed depositary receipts, Listing Rule 18 applies.

For more information, see Practice note, Depositary receipts.