Company registration cost in India — what it actually adds up to.

What you're actually paying for

Company registration cost has three components, and founders often only budget for one. Understanding all three avoids an unpleasant surprise mid-process.

• Government fees — MCA filing fees, stamp duty (which varies by state and authorised capital), and name-reservation fees. These are fixed by regulation, not negotiable.
• Professional fees — what you pay a CA, CS or registration provider to prepare and file everything correctly. This is where providers differ most.
• Post-incorporation costs — DSC issuance, PAN/TAN (usually bundled), and the first year's compliance retainer, which most founders forget to factor in until it arrives as a surprise bill.

Indicative cost by entity type

As a directional guide — always confirm with an itemised quote, since state stamp duty and authorised capital shift the number:

• Sole Proprietorship — the lowest cost route; mainly GST/MSME registration fees, no MCA incorporation cost at all.
• Partnership Firm — low cost; deed drafting, stamp duty on the deed, and optional Registrar of Firms filing.
• OPC and LLP — moderate; MCA fees plus professional fees, generally lower than a Pvt Ltd due to lighter drafting.
• Private Limited — the highest of the standard structures, reflecting more extensive MoA/AoA drafting and higher stamp duty on authorised capital.
• Section 8 Company — higher than a standard Pvt Ltd due to the Central Government licence application step.

Costs founders forget to budget for

• Stamp duty on higher authorised capital — if you set your authorised capital high "just in case", stamp duty rises with it, often unnecessarily.
• The first year of compliance — ROC filings, statutory audit, GST/TDS returns don't stop after incorporation; see our compliance service for what this typically runs.
• Trademark registration — a separate cost from company name approval, worth budgeting for if your brand matters.
• Bank account and initial accounting setup — usually modest, but easy to overlook when budgeting only for "incorporation".

Where founders overpay — and where not to cut corners

The two most common ways founders overspend: setting authorised capital far higher than needed (which raises stamp duty for no real benefit early on), and paying for "packages" that bundle services you don't need yet. The two places we'd never recommend cutting corners: MoA/AoA drafting — generic templates cause problems at fundraising — and getting a qualified CA to actually review your filing, rather than a purely automated service with no professional sign-off.

Frequently asked questions