Vesting Schedules Guide

How to create vesting schedules, materialize vesting events, vest or forfeit shares, and handle termination and acceleration scenarios.

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What is vesting?

Vesting is a mechanism that distributes equity ownership over time. Instead of receiving all shares immediately, a recipient earns them incrementally according to a schedule. Unvested shares can be forfeited if the recipient leaves the company, aligning long-term incentives between the company and its equity holders.

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1. Create a vesting schedule

Attach a vesting schedule to an existing equity grant.

CLI

corp cap-table create-vesting \
  --grant-id $GRANT_ID \
  --total-shares 1000000 \
  --start-date 2026-04-01 \
  --template "4yr/1yr cliff" \
  --cliff-months 12 \
  --total-months 48

API

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/v1/entities/$ENTITY_ID/vesting-schedules \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CORP_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "grant_id": "'$GRANT_ID'",
    "total_shares": 1000000,
    "vesting_start_date": "2026-04-01",
    "template": "standard_4y_1y_cliff",
    "cliff_months": 12,
    "total_months": 48
  }'

Save the returned vesting_schedule_id.

Parameters

Parameter	Description
grant_id	The equity grant this schedule applies to
total_shares	Total number of shares that will vest over the schedule
vesting_start_date	Date vesting begins (typically the hire date or grant date)
template	Predefined vesting pattern (see below)
cliff_months	Months before the first vesting event occurs
total_months	Total duration of the vesting schedule

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2. Standard 4-year / 1-year cliff template

The standard_4y_1y_cliff template is the industry default for startup equity:

• Cliff: 12 months. No shares vest during this period. If the recipient departs before the cliff, they receive nothing.
• Cliff vest: 25% of total shares vest on the 1-year anniversary.
• Monthly vesting: The remaining 75% vests in equal monthly installments over the next 36 months (approximately 2.08% per month).

Example with 1,000,000 shares starting 2026-04-01:

Date	Event	Shares	Cumulative
2027-04-01	Cliff vest	250,000	250,000
2027-05-01	Monthly vest	20,833	270,833
2027-06-01	Monthly vest	20,833	291,666
…	…	…	…
2030-04-01	Final vest	20,839	1,000,000

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3. Materialize vesting events

After creating a schedule, materialize it to generate individual vesting events:

CLI

corp cap-table materialize-vesting \
  --schedule-id $VESTING_SCHEDULE_ID

API

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/v1/entities/$ENTITY_ID/vesting-schedules/$VESTING_SCHEDULE_ID/materialize \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CORP_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{}'

This creates individual vesting event records, each with a date and share count. All events start in the Scheduled state.

List materialized events:

corp cap-table vesting $ENTITY_ID

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4. Vest events

As each vesting date passes, transition events from Scheduled to Vested:

CLI

corp cap-table vest-event $EVENT_ID

API

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/v1/entities/$ENTITY_ID/vesting-events/$EVENT_ID/vest \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CORP_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{}'

Vested shares become part of the holder’s exercisable or owned position on the cap table.

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5. Forfeit events

When a recipient departs the company, all remaining Scheduled events are forfeited:

Forfeit is currently API-only — no CLI subcommand exists yet.

API

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/v1/entities/$ENTITY_ID/vesting-events/$EVENT_ID/forfeit \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CORP_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{}'

Forfeited events transition from Scheduled to Forfeited. Already-vested events are not affected.

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6. Terminate a vesting schedule

To terminate the entire schedule on departure, which forfeits all remaining scheduled events in bulk:

Terminate is currently API-only — no CLI subcommand exists yet.

API

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/v1/entities/$ENTITY_ID/vesting-schedules/$VESTING_SCHEDULE_ID/terminate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CORP_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "termination_date": "2027-09-15"
  }'

This vests all events with dates on or before the termination date and forfeits all events after it.

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7. Acceleration provisions

Acceleration allows some or all unvested shares to vest immediately upon a triggering event.

Acceleration provisions are configured when creating the vesting schedule via the acceleration_single_trigger and acceleration_double_trigger boolean fields. When an acceleration event occurs, the company vests all remaining scheduled events manually or via the API.

Single trigger

All unvested shares vest upon a single event, typically an acquisition (change of control). Enable by setting acceleration_single_trigger: true when creating the schedule.

Double trigger

Unvested shares vest only when both conditions are met: (1) a change of control occurs, and (2) the holder is terminated without cause within a defined window (typically 12 months after closing). Enable by setting acceleration_double_trigger: true when creating the schedule.

Type	Trigger	Common use
single_trigger	Change of control alone	Founders, key executives
double_trigger	Change of control + involuntary termination	Employees with equity grants

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8. Early exercise

Some grants allow recipients to exercise unvested shares before they vest. Early-exercised shares are still subject to the vesting schedule but are already purchased.

Early exercise uses the same exercise-option command. The grant’s vesting schedule must have early_exercise_allowed: true set when created.

CLI

corp cap-table exercise-option \
  --grant-id $GRANT_ID \
  --holder-id $HOLDER_ID \
  --shares 250000

API

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/v1/entities/$ENTITY_ID/grants/$GRANT_ID/exercise \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CORP_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "holder_id": "'$HOLDER_ID'",
    "shares_to_exercise": 250000
  }'

Early-exercised but unvested shares are automatically subject to a company repurchase right. If the holder departs before vesting, the company can buy back the unvested portion at the original strike price.

83(b) Election

Recipients who early exercise should consider filing an 83(b) election with the IRS within 30 days of exercise to potentially reduce their tax burden. This is a tax decision outside the scope of the platform, but it is standard practice.

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Vesting event lifecycle

Scheduled → Vested      (normal vesting or acceleration)
Scheduled → Forfeited   (termination or departure)

Events can only transition forward. A Vested event cannot be forfeited, and a Forfeited event cannot be vested.

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Summary

Action	CLI	API
Create schedule	corp cap-table create-vesting	POST /v1/entities/{id}/vesting-schedules
Materialize events	corp cap-table materialize-vesting	POST /v1/entities/{id}/vesting-schedules/{id}/materialize
Vest event	corp cap-table vest-event	POST /v1/entities/{id}/vesting-events/{id}/vest
Forfeit event	API only	POST /v1/entities/{id}/vesting-events/{id}/forfeit
Terminate schedule	API only	POST /v1/entities/{id}/vesting-schedules/{id}/terminate
Exercise options	corp cap-table exercise-option	POST /v1/entities/{id}/grants/{id}/exercise