How Much Does It Cost to Register a Private Limited Company in India?

Ask five people what it costs to register a company and you will hear five numbers. One friend paid ₹7,000. An ad says ₹999. A CA quotes ₹15,000. All of them can be true, because “the cost” is really four or five separate charges, and only some of them are fixed. This guide breaks every one of them down, shows how much your state changes the total, and walks through a full worked example for a two-founder startup in Hyderabad. By the end you should be able to check any quote line by line. The short answer: For a typical two-director startup with ₹1 lakh of authorised capital, the government side of a Pvt Ltd registration is small: the MCA filing fee is nil, and state stamp duty ranges from a few hundred rupees to around ₹1,500 in most large states. Most of what you actually pay goes to Digital Signature Certificates and your provider’s professional fee. In our Hyderabad example, the total lands at roughly ₹6,100 to ₹9,500 before GST. The five parts of the cost Every Pvt Ltd registration in India is made up of the same pieces. Two are paid to the government, one to a certifying authority, and one to whoever files for you.

1. MCA filing fee — paid to the central government through SPICe+
2. State stamp duty — paid to your state on the incorporation form, MOA and AOA
3. Name reservation — only if you reserve the name separately first
4. Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs) — one for each director and subscriber
5. Professional fee — your CA, CS or online provider, if you use one The first three are set by law. The last two are market prices, which is why quotes vary so much. Government fees: why the MCA part is usually zero MCA filing fee. For a company with authorised capital up to ₹15 lakh, the SPICe+ filing fee is nil under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014. Above ₹15 lakh, a fee applies and rises with capital. Since most startups begin with ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh of authorised capital, most pay nothing here. Name reservation. If you reserve your company name on its own through SPICe+ Part A before filing the rest, the fee is ₹1,000, and the name is held for 20 days. Many providers file Part A and Part B together instead. PAN, TAN and DIN. These are applied for inside the same SPICe+ form. First-time directors get their DIN through it; you don’t apply separately. Expect nil or a nominal charge here; your SPICe+ payment summary shows the exact figure. What about EPFO, ESIC and the bank account? They are applied for through the AGILE-PRO-S form that goes with SPICe+, and there is no government fee for including them. Authorised capital is the one number you control. It decides whether you pay an MCA fee at all, and in most states it also drives your stamp duty. Choose it based on the shares you expect to issue in the next year or two, not “just in case”. You can raise it later. Stamp duty: the cost that depends on your state Stamp duty is a state levy, so the same company costs a different amount to register in Hyderabad, Bengaluru or Ahmedabad. It is charged on three things: the incorporation form, the MOA and the AOA. You don’t buy stamp paper; the MCA portal calculates it from your state and authorised capital and collects it with the filing. Here is what the MCA’s own state-wise table works out to for a company with share capital, at ₹1 lakh and ₹10 lakh of authorised capital: • Telangana: ₹1,520 at ₹1 lakh · ₹2,020 at ₹10 lakh • Andhra Pradesh: ₹1,520 · ₹2,020 • Karnataka: ₹1,520 · ₹1,520 • Maharashtra: ₹1,300 · ₹2,300 • Tamil Nadu: ₹520 · ₹520 • Delhi: ₹360 · ₹1,710 • Gujarat: ₹620 · ₹5,120 • Uttar Pradesh: ₹1,010 · ₹1,010 • Rajasthan: ₹1,010 · ₹5,510 • Kerala: ₹3,025 · ₹3,025 A few states sit well above this range even at ₹1 lakh: Madhya Pradesh works out to ₹7,550 and Punjab to ₹10,025. How Telangana and Andhra Pradesh calculate it. ₹20 on the incorporation form, ₹500 on the MOA, and 0.15% of authorised capital on the AOA, with a minimum of ₹1,000 and a maximum of ₹5 lakh. At ₹1 lakh, 0.15% is only ₹150, so the ₹1,000 minimum applies. That is why the total is ₹1,520. Why the ₹10 lakh column matters. In Telangana, raising your starting capital from ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh adds only ₹500. In Gujarat or Rajasthan, the same change adds about ₹4,500, because the AOA is charged at 0.5% of capital. If you are deciding how much authorised capital to start with, check your own state’s rule first. These figures come from the MCA’s published state-wise stamp duty table. The MCA itself advises checking the relevant state Stamp Act for the authoritative version, and the portal shows the exact amount before you pay. Digital Signature Certificates Every director and subscriber signs the incorporation forms electronically, so each one needs a Class 3 DSC. It is bought from a licensed certifying authority or one of its resellers, not from the MCA. Prices depend on the provider and how long the certificate is valid. Providers commonly quote somewhere between about ₹800 and ₹2,500 per person for two-year validity. For two directors, budget roughly ₹1,600 to ₹5,000. A director who already holds a valid Class 3 DSC can usually reuse it. Some incorporation packages include DSCs and some don’t. It is one of the main reasons two quotes that look similar end up thousands of rupees apart. Professional fees You can file SPICe+ yourself on the MCA portal. Most founders don’t, because a rejected filing costs time and, in most cases, the stamp duty you already paid. Online providers’ entry-level professional fees for Pvt Ltd registration commonly start somewhere between about ₹1,500 and ₹3,000, plus GST and government fees. CA and CS firms offering more hands-on advice usually charge more. Founding Legals charges a flat ₹1,999 professional fee plus government fees. When you compare quotes, ask the same five questions of each:
6. Are government fees and stamp duty included, or charged at actuals?
7. Are DSCs for all directors included?
8. Is GST added on top of the professional fee?
9. Who answers if the ROC raises a query, and does that cost extra?
10. What happens after the certificate: INC-20A, auditor appointment, share certificates? The costs nobody quotes you The certificate is not the last bill. Plan for these in your first year: • Statutory audit. Every Pvt Ltd must have its accounts audited every year, whatever its turnover. The auditor’s fee is usually the biggest recurring cost. • Annual ROC filings. AOC-4 (financial statements) and MGT-7 or MGT-7A (annual return) each carry a small MCA fee, linked to your capital, plus your CA or CS’s charges. • INC-20A. The commencement-of-business declaration, due within 180 days of incorporation. • Stamp duty on share certificates. Payable in your state when you issue them. • Bookkeeping and tax returns. Monthly books, the company’s income tax return, and GST returns if you register for GST. None of these is optional, and none is in a “₹999 registration” price. Our compliance calendar for private limited companies lists the dates. (Link to Day 18 when live.) Worked example: a two-founder startup in Hyderabad A fictional example. Remember Aisha and Rahul from our Private Limited Company registration guide? Here is what their registration costs. Aisha and Rahul are registering their SaaS company with a registered office in Hyderabad, so Telangana stamp duty applies. They choose ₹1 lakh of authorised capital, two directors, and reserve their name first through SPICe+ Part A. • MCA filing fee: ₹0 (authorised capital is under ₹15 lakh) • Telangana stamp duty: ₹1,520 (₹20 form + ₹500 MOA + ₹1,000 minimum on the AOA) • Name reservation: ₹1,000 • Two DSCs: about ₹1,600 to ₹5,000, depending on the provider • PAN and TAN: nil or nominal • Professional fee: ₹1,999 with Founding Legals Total: roughly ₹6,100 to ₹9,500, before any GST on the professional fee and DSCs. Three things would change that number: • Filing Part A and Part B together removes the separate ₹1,000 name reservation. • Starting at ₹10 lakh instead of ₹1 lakh adds just ₹500 in Telangana. The same company registered in Gujarat would pay ₹5,120 in stamp duty at ₹10 lakh instead of ₹620 at ₹1 lakh. • A rejected filing can mean paying stamp duty again on the resubmission. Then, in their first year, they budget separately for the statutory audit, AOC-4 and MGT-7 filings, INC-20A and monthly bookkeeping. How to keep the cost down without cutting corners
11. Choose authorised capital for the next year or two, not the next decade. It is easy to increase later when you actually issue shares.
12. Get the documents right before you file. A utility bill older than two months or a missing owner NOC are classic reasons for an ROC query, and a resubmission can cost you stamp duty again.
13. Ask for an itemised quote. Government fees, stamp duty, DSCs and the professional fee should each be a separate line.
14. Reuse valid DSCs. If a director already holds a valid Class 3 DSC, you may not need a new one.
15. Don’t pay for registrations you don’t need yet. GST, for example, depends on your turnover and the kind of supplies you make. Many service startups register later. Frequently asked questions Is company registration free in India? No. The MCA filing fee is nil for authorised capital up to ₹15 lakh, but you still pay state stamp duty, DSCs and any professional fee. Is stamp duty refunded if my application is rejected? Generally not. Stamp duty already paid is usually lost on a rejected filing, which is one more reason to get documents right the first time. Can I register a company without a CA or online provider? Yes. You can file SPICe+ yourself on the MCA portal. You will still need DSCs and correctly drafted MOA and AOA. Does a higher authorised capital cost more? Yes. Above ₹15 lakh an MCA fee applies, and in most states stamp duty also rises with capital, though by very different amounts. Is GST charged on registration? GST applies to the professional fee and usually to the DSC purchase. Government fees and stamp duty are not subject to GST. Is an LLP or OPC cheaper to register? The registration costs are often similar; the bigger difference is the yearly compliance cost. Our Pvt Ltd vs LLP vs OPC comparison covers both. (Day 3) Before you pay anyone The registration itself is rarely where founders lose money. It is the surprises: a DSC that wasn’t in the package, a stamp duty bill from the wrong capital choice, a filing that bounces and has to be paid for twice. If you want one clear quote, Founding Legals incorporates your company for a flat ₹1,999 professional fee, with government fees and stamp duty shown as separate lines on your invoice. And if you’re still choosing a structure, start with our guide to Private Limited Company registration. Sources for the reviewer (not for the article) Have your CA or CS confirm these before publishing; the MCA portal shows the exact stamp duty at filing. • MCA state-wise stamp duty table (eStamp rates) — every stamp duty figure in the article was calculated from this table • Government fee structure for Pvt Ltd registration — nil MCA fee up to ₹15 lakh; ₹1,000 name reservation, valid 20 days • IncorpX, Rajasthan cost breakdown — indicative DSC price range (₹800–₹2,500 per director) • Professional fee range (₹1,500–₹3,000): Razorpay Rize ₹1,499, Founding Legals ₹1,999, IndiaFilings ₹2,899 + GST, all checked 19 October 2026 Open points: confirm whether Founding Legals’ ₹1,999 includes DSCs and GST, and update the worked example if it does.