How much does Company Registration cost in India? Fees and charges explained

The cost of Company Registration in India has four parts: government fees (often small — the MCA charges no incorporation fee when authorised capital is up to ₹15 lakh), third-party costs such as Digital Signature Certificates, professional fees (set freely by whoever does the work), and first-year compliance costs that every company must bear after Registration. Only the government fees are fixed by law; the rest are where most of the difference between offers comes from.

Most people who ask "How much does Company Registration cost in India?" only hear about the first number. This post looks at the total picture for a Private Limited Company (PVT. LTD.) — what you pay to the government, what you pay for help, and what the first year will cost even if you do nothing unusual. For a line-by-line breakdown of only the statutory fees, read our post on Private Limited Company Registration cost: government fees, stamp duty and DSC. Figures here are as of October 2026 and can change, so confirm them on the MCA portal before you file.

What are the parts of Company Registration cost?

Layer	What it covers	Who decides the amount
1. Government and statutory fees	MCA fees, state stamp duty on the MoA and AoA, PAN and TAN charges, optional RUN name fee	Law and state stamp rules
2. Third-party costs	Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs), notarisation or apostille for foreign documents, courier	The market (certifying authorities, notaries)
3. Professional fees	Preparing and filing SPICe+, drafting the MoA and AoA, handling queries from the Registrar	The professional you choose
4. First-year compliance	Statutory audit, annual filings, INC-20A, DIR-3 KYC, income tax return, bookkeeping	Partly law (filing fees), mostly professional fees

The first three together are the "Company Registration Process and Cost" most people compare. The fourth is often left out of advertisements, but it is not optional.

What are the government fees and charges for Company Registration?

Company Registration fees and charges paid to the government are modest for a small company:

• MCA fee for SPICe+ (the single online incorporation form, short for "Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Company Electronically Plus"): nil when authorised capital — the maximum share capital the company may issue — is up to ₹15 lakh. Above that, the fee rises with capital.
• RUN (Reserve Unique Name): ₹1,000 if you reserve the name separately. You can skip it and apply for the name inside SPICe+ Part A at no separate fee.
• Stamp duty on the Memorandum and Articles of Association (MoA and AoA): set by the state of the registered office, and in many states linked to authorised capital. It is calculated and paid online through SPICe+.
• PAN and TAN of the company: small fixed charges collected through SPICe+.

In other words, for a typical two-founder company with ₹1 lakh or ₹10 lakh authorised capital, the government's share is usually stamp duty plus a small PAN/TAN charge. That is why the statutory part of an "Affordable Company Registration" can genuinely be low.

What third-party costs should you expect?

A Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is an electronic signature on a USB token. Every proposed director and subscriber signs the incorporation forms with a Class 3 DSC. DSCs are issued by certifying authorities licensed by the Controller of Certifying Authorities, and their price depends on the provider and the validity period. A founder who already has a valid Class 3 DSC can reuse it.

If a director or shareholder is a foreign national or an NRI, their identity and address documents usually need to be notarised or apostilled abroad, which adds cost and time. See our post on NRI and foreign national directors.

What does the professional fee pay for?

You are allowed to file SPICe+ yourself on the MCA portal. However, Section 7 of the Companies Act needs a declaration by a professional engaged in forming the company — an advocate, or a Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant or Company Secretary in practice — and that declaration is part of SPICe+. Most founders therefore hire someone. The professional fee typically pays for:

• checking the name against existing companies, LLPs and trademarks;
• drafting the MoA (objects of the company) and AoA (internal rules);
• filling SPICe+ and its linked forms (e-MoA, e-AoA, AGILE-PRO-S for EPFO, ESIC, bank account and, optionally, GST), and certifying them;
• answering resubmission queries from the Registrar.

There is no official rate. Fees vary with the professional's experience, city and what is included. When comparing, compare the scope, not just the headline figure — our post on Registration packages and pricing lists the questions to ask.

What does a company cost in its first year after Registration?

This is the part most "Low-Cost Company Registration" offers do not mention. A Private Limited Company has these obligations from day one, whatever its turnover:

Item	When	Cost driver
Appointment of first auditor by the board	Within 30 days of incorporation	Audit fee for the year
Share certificates (with stamp duty on issue of shares)	Within 2 months of incorporation	State stamp duty; preparation
Form INC-20A (declaration of commencement of business)	Within 180 days of incorporation	MCA filing fee; professional fee
Board meetings and minutes	First within 30 days, then through the year	Your time, or a professional's
Bookkeeping and statutory audit	Every year	Accountant and auditor fees
AOC-4 (financial statements) and MGT-7A or MGT-7 (annual return)	Within 30 and 60 days of the AGM	MCA filing fee; professional fee
Income tax return	Every year, by the due date for companies	Professional fee
DIR-3 KYC of each director	Once every three financial years, by 30 June	Late fee if missed

Missing these is expensive. A late INC-20A can lead to a penalty of ₹50,000 on the company, and late annual forms attract additional fees of ₹100 per day per form under the company rules. The audit is compulsory for every company, even one with zero sales. So the honest answer to "how much does a company cost?" includes at least one year of accounting, audit and filing — often more than the Registration itself. The Life after Registration lessons explain each filing.

Why do ₹999-type offers often cost more in the end?

Very low advertised prices are not necessarily dishonest, but they usually leave things out. Common exclusions are:

• Government fees and stamp duty — charged "at actuals" on top.
• DSCs — priced separately per director.
• Authorised capital limits — the price may assume ₹1 lakh capital; higher capital means more stamp duty.
• State limits — some states have higher stamp duty, so the offer may apply only to certain states.
• Post-Registration items — share certificates, INC-20A, auditor appointment and bank account help are often extra.
• Bundled annual compliance — a low Registration fee is sometimes recovered through a fixed yearly compliance contract.

Ask for a written list of what is included and excluded before you pay. Cheap is fine if the scope is clear; cheap with surprises is not.

How does the cost differ for an LLP or OPC?

An LLP is registered through FiLLiP, with fees based on the partners' contribution, plus a stamped LLP agreement filed in Form 3. Its yearly compliance is usually lighter because an LLP needs an audit only above certain turnover or contribution limits. See LLP Registration process and cost. A One Person Company uses SPICe+ like a PVT. LTD. and has similar costs, with a few compliance relaxations — the OPC lessons cover them. If you are still choosing, the PVT. LTD. vs LLP vs OPC guide compares all three.

How can you keep the total cost low, honestly?

• Keep authorised capital at or below ₹15 lakh unless you truly need more.
• Use SPICe+ Part A for the name instead of a separate RUN application if you are ready to file.
• Get documents right the first time — clean address proofs and matching names avoid resubmissions.
• Budget for the first year's audit and filings at the start, not when they fall due.
• Choose the structure that fits your plans; a PVT. LTD. you do not need costs more each year. The Before you register lessons help you decide.

Key takeaways

• Company Registration cost has government fees, third-party costs, professional fees and first-year compliance.
• There is no MCA incorporation fee up to ₹15 lakh authorised capital; stamp duty varies by state.
• Professional fees are not regulated, so compare written scope rather than headline prices.
• Every PVT. LTD. needs an audit and annual filings from year one, whatever its turnover.
• Very low offers usually exclude government fees, DSCs or post-Registration work — ask what is left out.