Private Limited Company Incorporation
What each director and shareholder must provide for SPICe+ incorporation: identity and address proofs, photographs, the registered office proof and NOC, name options, capital and shareholding, plus the apostille and notarisation rules for foreign nationals and NRIs.
Incorporation usually takes about seven to ten working days once the name is approved, depending on MCA processing and any queries. The list below is what the MCA portal and the DSC vendor will ask for.
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Each director and shareholder
- PAN (Indian nationals) and Aadhaar
- Passport (mandatory for foreign nationals; optional for Indians), voter ID or driving licence
- Address proof not older than two months — bank statement, electricity, telephone or mobile bill
- Passport-size photograph
- Email and mobile number (unique to the person, for DSC and OTP)
- Educational qualification and occupation for the DIN application
- Digital signature certificate — we arrange it; video verification is required
Foreign nationals and NRIs
- Passport and address proof notarised and apostilled in the home country (or attested by the Indian embassy)
- Documents of a foreign company shareholder — certificate of incorporation, board resolution and the authorised representative's ID, apostilled
- Proof of the source of investment for the FC-GPR filing after allotment
- Business visa or OCI card if the foreign director will be resident in India — the company also needs at least one director who stays in India for 182 days or more in the financial year
Registered office
- Electricity bill, gas bill or property tax receipt of the premises, not older than two months
- Rent agreement or lease deed in the company's proposed name, or the owner's NOC where the premises are owned by a director or relative
- The office can be a residential address; a co-working agreement also works
About the company
- Two name options in order of preference, with the meaning if it is not an English word
- Main business activity in one paragraph (drives the MOA objects and the NIC code)
- Authorised and paid-up capital (₹1 lakh is typical; no minimum) and the shareholding split
- Whether the company needs GST, EPFO/ESIC, profession tax and a bank account at incorporation — SPICe+ can apply for all together
- Auditor's name and consent within 30 days of incorporation
Before you send
- Incorporate with the bank account and GST in the same SPICe+ form; opening them later takes longer.
- Foreign investment in most sectors is under the automatic route, but the FC-GPR must be filed within 30 days of allotment.
- Start-ups should consider DPIIT recognition after incorporation; it is needed for the section 140 (80-IAC of the 1961 Act) tax holiday, which also requires separate certification.
Disclaimer. This page is a general reference prepared from the law and notifications as we understand them on the date shown. It is not legal, tax or professional advice and does not create a client relationship; rates, thresholds and due dates change and your position depends on facts we have not seen. Please confirm with us before acting on anything here. I. H. Khan and Associates accepts no liability for decisions taken on the basis of this page. Section numbers are those of the Income-tax Act, 2025, in force from 1 April 2026, with the 1961 Act number in brackets (pages about the FY 2025-26 return, which the 1961 Act still governs, quote that Act first) — see our section map.
Questions we are asked
What documents are needed to register a private limited company in India? SPICe+ incorporation needs each director's and shareholder's PAN and Aadhaar, identity proof, address proof not older than two months, photograph, own email and mobile, and a digital signature certificate, plus registered office proof, two name options, the main business activity, and the capital and shareholding split.
What extra documents do foreign nationals and NRIs need to incorporate an Indian company? Foreign nationals and NRIs need their passport and address proof notarised and apostilled in the home country or attested by the Indian embassy, apostilled documents for any foreign company shareholder, and proof of the source of investment for the FC-GPR filing. Separately, every Indian company needs at least one director who stays in India for 182 days or more in the financial year (proportionately in the year of incorporation).
Can a residential address be a private limited company's registered office? Yes. A residential address or a co-working space can be a private limited company's registered office, supported by an electricity bill, gas bill or property tax receipt not older than two months and the rent agreement or the owner's NOC.
How long does private limited company incorporation take and what follows? Incorporation usually takes about seven to ten working days once the name is approved, depending on MCA processing and any queries. The auditor's name and consent are needed within 30 days of incorporation, and for foreign investment the FC-GPR must be filed within 30 days of allotment.
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