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One Person Company

Running a company alone: the nominee, the limits, and moving up to a Private Limited.

5 lessons · read in order, or jump to what you need

MCA data · Financial Year basis

OPC in No’s

Registered since FY 2016-17
96,482
(4.5%) of all 21,61,174 companies and LLPs
FY 2025-26
15,363
(4.5%) of that year's registrations
FY 2026-27 so far (Apr–Sep)
7,955
(4.1%) of registrations this year

OPCs are a small but steady choice: about 4 to 5 in every 100 registrations in most years since FY 2016-17, mostly by solo founders who want limited liability.

See the year-by-year table and charts →Which businesses register in India →

Source: Ministry of Corporate Affairs monthly incorporation data. FY 2021-22 excludes three months the MCA did not publish (Nov 2021, Jan 2022, Mar 2022).

Lessons

  1. 1What is a One Person Company?A One Person Company (OPC) is a company with a single member who must be an Indian citizen, formed under the Companies Act, 2013. It give...
  2. 2OPC Nominee: Role in One Person Company RegistrationThe nominee is the Indian-citizen individual named at incorporation who becomes the OPC's member if the sole member dies or becomes incap...
  3. 3One Person Company Rules: OPC Eligibility and RestrictionsAn OPC cannot carry on non-banking financial activities, cannot become a Section 8 company, and a person can be member or nominee of only...
  4. 4OPC Annual Compliance: Audit, ROC Forms, Due Dates and ChecklistUnderstand OPC annual compliance, exemptions, audit, AOC-4, annual returns, tax filings, late fees and obligations in a zero-business year.
  5. 5Converting an OPC into a PVT. LTD.An OPC can convert into a Private Limited Company at any time by altering its MoA and AoA, increasing members and directors to at least t...

Registering a One Person Company (OPC)? What to expect from your service provider

When you register a One Person Company, you can expect at least the following from your service provider, in the order each happens.

17 items

Before incorporation

Digital signatures and name approval, so the forms can be filed.

  1. 1
    2 Class 3 Digital Signature Certificates (DSC)Valid for 2 years, used to sign the incorporation forms on the MCA portal.
  2. 2
    Company Name Approval Letter from the MinistryThe name is approved by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs through SPICe+ Part A.

At incorporation

Director IDs, the company's legal documents and tax numbers.

  1. 3
    Director Identification Number (DIN)Allotted to the sole director at the time of incorporation, through the SPICe+ form.
  2. 4
    Memorandum of Association (MoA)Sets out what the company will do, its share capital and the nominee.
  3. 5
    Articles of Association (AoA)The internal rules for running the company.
  4. 6
    Company Registration CertificateThe Certificate of Incorporation issued by the Registrar of Companies, with the company's CIN.
  5. 7
    Permanent Account Number (PAN)The company's income tax number, issued with incorporation.
  6. 8
    Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN)Needed to deduct tax at source (TDS), issued with incorporation.

Registrations with incorporation

Applied for together through the AGILE-PRO-S form.

  1. 9
    EPFO RegistrationEmployees' Provident Fund registration.
  2. 10
    ESIC RegistrationEmployees' State Insurance registration.
  3. 11
    PTEC RegistrationProfessional Tax Enrolment Certificate, for the company's own professional tax, in states such as Maharashtra.
  4. 12
    PTRC RegistrationProfessional Tax Registration Certificate, for deducting professional tax from employees' salaries.

After incorporation

The first steps every new company must complete.

  1. 13
    Appointment of the first auditorThe Board appoints the first auditor within 30 days of incorporation.
  2. 14
    Documents for opening the bank accountPapers the bank needs to open the company's current account.
  3. 15
    Form INC-20A (commencement of business)Declares that the member has paid for the shares. Due within 180 days of incorporation.
  4. 16
    Stamp duty on share certificatesPaid at the rate set by the state where the company is registered.
  5. 17
    Share certificatesIssued to the sole member within 2 months of incorporation.

The lessons above explain each step. For the full process, read the OPC Registration step-by-step guide. To prepare, read the documents checklist, and if you are deciding, read OPC vs Sole Proprietorship.

Compare with the other structures

PVT. LTD. 15,19,996 registered since FY 2016-17 · (70.3%) of all Start Learning LLP 5,18,847 registered since FY 2016-17 · (24.0%) of all Start Learning

Still deciding? Read PVT. LTD. vs LLP vs OPC: which one should you choose?

CS. Bhavik Hariyani

About the author

CS. Bhavik Hariyani

Working with Startups on Corporate Law and Compliance since 2009.

If you’re a First-Time Founder, choose a structure that suits your Business. Before registering, understand how much you will need to spend every year on Annual Maintenance and Compliance.