How do I register a company in India online?

1Choose your structure first

Before registering, decide the structure. A Private Limited Company suits founders who want to raise funding or issue ESOPs. An LLP suits a low-compliance partnership. An OPC suits a single founder. A proprietorship is quickest for testing an idea. This guide covers the most common choice — a Private Limited Company.

2What you need to get ready

For a Private Limited you need:

• At least 2 directors (one must be resident in India) and 2 shareholders (they can be the same people)
• PAN and Aadhaar of every director/shareholder, plus passport-size photos
• A registered office address with proof (utility bill not older than 2 months) and a No-Objection Certificate from the owner
• Two or three unique proposed company names
• There is no minimum paid-up capital — you can start with ₹1, though ₹1 lakh authorised capital is common

3Step by step: the SPICe+ process

Incorporation is done on the MCA portal through the integrated SPICe+ form:

1. Get a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) for each director — needed to sign forms electronically.
2. Apply for a Director Identification Number (DIN) — this can be done within SPICe+ itself.
3. Reserve the company name in SPICe+ Part A (give 1–2 options and a business description).
4. File SPICe+ Part B with the MOA (objects) and AOA (rules), and the AGILE-PRO-S form for GST, EPFO, ESIC, professional tax and bank account.
5. Pay the fees and stamp duty; the Registrar reviews and issues the Certificate of Incorporation with PAN and TAN.

4Cost and timeline

Government fees vary by authorised capital and state stamp duty — often ₹1,500–₹10,000 for a small Private Limited, plus DSC costs (₹1,000–₹2,000 per director). Many states charge zero MCA incorporation fee for authorised capital up to ₹15 lakh.

Once all documents are correct, incorporation typically takes 7–15 working days. Delays usually come from name rejections or mismatched address/identity documents.

5What to do right after incorporation

Getting the Certificate of Incorporation is not the end — a few things must follow:

• File INC-20A (declaration of commencement of business) within 180 days, after depositing the subscription capital
• Open the company current account and deposit the paid-up capital
• Appoint an auditor (Form ADT-1) within 30 days
• Register for GST if applicable, and complete Udyam (MSME) registration if eligible

6What SPICe+ actually bundles into one filing

SPICe+ is not only an incorporation form. It is a single application that returns several registrations at once, which is why the process looks shorter than the list of things you end up holding.

Part A reserves the name. Part B does the rest: incorporation itself, allotment of DIN for directors who do not already have one, PAN and TAN, EPFO and ESIC registration, profession tax registration where the state requires it, opening of the bank account, and GSTIN if you opt for it in the same filing.

The linked forms AGILE-PRO-S and INC-9 are submitted alongside, and eMoA and eAoA replace the physical memorandum and articles for most companies.

7The obligations that begin on the day of incorporation

Incorporation is the point at which compliance starts, not the point at which paperwork ends. Several clocks begin immediately.

• Form INC-20A, the declaration of commencement of business, must be filed within 180 days, and the company cannot borrow or commence business until it is
• The first auditor must be appointed by the board within 30 days of incorporation, and reported in Form ADT-1
• The registered office must be capable of receiving communication from that date, with Form INC-22 filed if the address was not given at incorporation
• The first board meeting must be held within 30 days

8Why applications stall, and it is rarely the form

Rejections and resubmissions almost never turn on the incorporation form itself. They turn on inconsistency between documents.

The recurring causes are a name that differs between PAN and Aadhaar, an address proof older than the permitted window, a utility bill not in the owner's name without a matching NOC, a photograph that fails the portal's specification, and a proposed name that conflicts with an existing company or a registered trademark.

Checking the proposed name against both the MCA register and the trademark register before filing Part A removes the single largest cause of delay.

9Directors, shareholders and residency

The structural requirements are modest but specific, and getting them wrong is a rejection rather than a fix-later matter.

A private limited company needs at least two directors and two shareholders, and the same people may hold both roles. A One Person Company needs one of each, plus a compulsory nominee.

At least one director must have stayed in India for 182 days or more in the previous financial year. This residency requirement is what non-resident founders most often miss, and it cannot be satisfied by a nominee shareholder.

• Every director needs a DIN, which SPICe+ allots to those who do not already hold one
• Every director and subscriber needs a valid digital signature certificate before filing
• A director may hold directorships in up to twenty companies, of which no more than ten may be public companies