How Much Does Company Registration Cost in India in 2026? Pvt Ltd, LLP and OPC — Government Fees, Stamp Duty, and What the Professional Fee Should Include

Ask three providers what it costs to register a company and you will get three numbers that are not comparing the same thing. One quotes the professional fee alone. One bundles government charges at the lowest possible capital. One shows a headline price with the digital signatures, the stamp duty, and every post-incorporation filing as extras. The honest answer has three layers, and only when all three are on the table can two quotes be compared.

This guide sets out each layer for 2026 — for the private limited company, the LLP, and the OPC — states the ranges we quote, explains why Punjab and Chandigarh stamp duty differ, and then makes the point that matters more than any of it: the incorporation fee is the smallest cheque you will write for the company in its first year.

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The three layers of an incorporation cost

Layer	What it is	Who sets it
1. MCA fees	Name reservation, the incorporation form (SPICe+ or FiLLiP), DIN allotment, PAN and TAN — paid to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs	Fixed by the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules; scaled to authorised capital
2. Stamp duty	Duty on the memorandum, articles or LLP agreement, and on the incorporation form itself	The state of the registered office — not the MCA
3. Professional fee	Entity advice, drafting, filing, resubmissions, digital signatures, and whatever post-incorporation work is included	The firm

Layers 1 and 2 are the same whoever files. Layer 3 is where quotes diverge — and where the cheapest quote is usually the one that has quietly moved items from layer 3 into a list of extras.

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Layer 1: MCA fees in 2026

The government’s own charges are modest and, for small companies, largely waived:

• Name reservation (RUN / Part A of SPICe+): ₹1,000 per application, two names per application.
• Incorporation of a company with authorised capital up to ₹15 lakh: nil MCA filing fee — the government waived it to encourage small-company formation. Above ₹15 lakh, the fee scales with capital.
• Incorporation of an LLP: ₹500 to ₹5,000 depending on the contribution — ₹500 up to ₹1 lakh, ₹2,000 up to ₹5 lakh, ₹4,000 up to ₹10 lakh, ₹5,000 above.
• DIN, PAN and TAN: allotted through the incorporation form at no separate MCA charge (PAN and TAN carry a nominal statutory fee of about ₹150 together).
• Digital signature certificates (Class 3): issued by certifying authorities, not the MCA — ₹800 to ₹2,000 per person for a two-year certificate, and every director or designated partner needs one.

For a two-director private limited company at ₹1 lakh authorised capital, the government’s take before stamp duty is about ₹3,000 to ₹5,000, most of it the two DSCs.

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Layer 2: stamp duty — the layer that depends on where you register

Stamp duty is a state levy, charged on the memorandum, the articles, and the SPICe+ form for a company, and on the LLP agreement for an LLP. It varies widely, and it is the reason a “pan-India price” is never quite true.

State of registered office	Company (MOA + AOA + form) at ₹1 lakh authorised capital, approximate	LLP agreement, approximate
Punjab (Mohali, Kharar, Zirakpur, Ludhiana)	₹10,000 or more — Punjab charges duty on the articles as a percentage of authorised capital, with a substantial minimum	1% of contribution, minimum ₹1,000
Chandigarh (UT)	₹1,000 to ₹2,000	₹1,000 or more
Delhi	₹350 to ₹1,500	1% of contribution
Maharashtra	₹1,500 to ₹2,500	1% of contribution, capped
Karnataka	₹1,500 to ₹3,000	₹1,000

The figures above are indicative — schedules are revised, and several states charge on a slab — but the shape is the point: Punjab is one of the more expensive states in which to incorporate a company, and Chandigarh is one of the cheaper. A founder choosing between a Mohali and a Chandigarh registered office for a company with ₹10 lakh authorised capital can see a five-figure difference in stamp duty alone. We compute both before capital is set; our Tricity company registration service covers the mechanics.

This is also the reason to set authorised capital deliberately rather than at a round number. Duty in Punjab scales with it; a company that will not need ₹10 lakh of authorised capital for two years should not pay duty on it today.

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Layer 3: the professional fee, and what it should include

Our fees, quoted as fixed ranges — the actual figure depends on authorised capital, the number of directors or partners, and the state’s stamp duty:

Entity	Professional fee plus government charges, typical	Time
Private limited company	₹12,000 to ₹20,000	5–10 working days
LLP	₹10,000 to ₹15,000	7–12 working days
OPC	₹10,000 to ₹15,000	5–10 working days
Registered partnership firm	₹3,000 to ₹6,000	1–7 days

These are estimates. Every engagement is quoted as a fixed fee before work starts, and the quote states what is inside it. For a company, that is:

• A written entity-choice comparison against your funding and profit-extraction plan — because the cheapest incorporation is the one you do not have to undo
• Name shortlisting ranked by approval likelihood, and every resubmission handled
• Class 3 digital signatures for all directors, DINs, PAN and TAN
• MOA and AOA drafted for the business — objects clause, capital structure, and articles written for the founders’ real arrangement, not the portal template
• Stamp-duty computation and capital set with it in mind
• First board meeting minutes, auditor consent and Form ADT-1
• Share certificates issued and stamped within the 60-day window
• Form INC-20A, the commencement declaration, filed within 180 days
• GST registration and the TDS setup, so the first invoice and first salary are compliant
• A twelve-month compliance calendar handed over at the end

For an LLP, the equivalent list swaps the memorandum and articles for an LLP agreement drafted and filed in Form 3 within 30 days, and the board meeting and share certificates for the partners’ capital and profit-share records.

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What a ₹4,999 quote leaves out

Portal prices are real, and they are not dishonest — they are simply the professional fee for filing the form, with everything else either excluded or extra. Reading the fine print of a typical low-cost package:

Item	Portal package	Where it reappears
Digital signatures	Usually extra, ₹1,500–2,000 each	Before filing
Stamp duty	”As applicable” — not in the headline	At filing, as a surprise for Punjab founders
MOA/AOA	Template objects clause	At the first funding round or licence application, when it has to be amended
Authorised capital	Set at the minimum	When it has to be raised for an investor, with fresh stamp duty
Resubmissions	Often charged per round	When the registrar queries the name or documents
First board meeting, ADT-1	Not included	30 days later, when the auditor appointment is overdue
Share certificates	Not included	At due diligence, when the register is empty
INC-20A	Extra, or not mentioned	180 days later, with a ₹50,000 penalty attached
GST and TDS setup	Extra	At the first notice

Add the extras back and the ₹4,999 package lands in the same range as a full-service fee — with the difference that the founder has done the project management. The fee difference between a portal and a CA is not the price of the form. It is the price of the eight things above being someone’s responsibility.

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The number that matters more: the first year

The incorporation fee is paid once. The compliance that follows is paid every year, and for a private limited company it is larger than the incorporation fee within the first twelve months:

First-year obligation	Private limited, typical	LLP, typical
Statutory audit	₹15,000–₹40,000 (mandatory regardless of turnover)	Nil until ₹40 lakh turnover or ₹25 lakh contribution
Annual ROC filings (AOC-4, MGT-7A / Form 8, Form 11)	₹5,000–₹12,000 plus MCA fees	₹4,000–₹8,000 plus MCA fees
Director / partner KYC (DIR-3 KYC)	Nominal, but ₹5,000 to reactivate a lapsed DIN	Same
Income-tax return	₹5,000–₹15,000	₹4,000–₹10,000
Bookkeeping	₹15,000–₹60,000 a month if outsourced, by volume	Same
GST returns, if registered	₹1,500–₹5,000 a month	Same
TDS returns, if a deductor	₹1,500–₹3,000 a quarter	Same — and every LLP paying partners is a deductor under Section 194T

A private limited company that costs ₹15,000 to incorporate can cost ₹40,000 to ₹80,000 in its first year of compliance before a single rupee of bookkeeping. That is not an argument against the company — investability is worth far more than that — but it is the number to plan for, and it is why the entity decision should be made on the four questions that actually decide it rather than on the incorporation quote. The deadlines behind those first-year figures are set out in our guide to the first 90 days after incorporation.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to register a private limited company in India in 2026?

Professional fee and government charges together typically run ₹12,000 to ₹20,000 at standard authorised capital, plus state stamp duty, which ranges from about ₹1,500 in Chandigarh or Delhi to ₹10,000 or more in Punjab. The MCA’s own incorporation fee is nil for authorised capital up to ₹15 lakh; the main government cost is the digital signatures.

How much does LLP registration cost?

Typically ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 including government charges, varying with the number of partners and the contribution, plus stamp duty on the LLP agreement — generally 1% of contribution, with state-specific minimums and caps.

Why is stamp duty different in Punjab and Chandigarh?

Stamp duty is a state levy, and each state sets its own schedule. Punjab charges duty on a company’s articles as a percentage of authorised capital with a substantial minimum, making it one of the costlier states; the Union Territory of Chandigarh charges a flat, much lower amount. The registered office’s location, not the founders’ residence, decides which applies.

Is the government fee for company registration really zero?

The MCA’s filing fee for incorporating a company with authorised capital up to ₹15 lakh is nil. Name reservation (₹1,000), PAN and TAN (about ₹150), digital signatures (₹800–₹2,000 each, from a certifying authority) and state stamp duty are still payable.

What does a ₹4,999 company registration include?

Usually the professional fee for filing the incorporation form, with a template MOA/AOA and minimum authorised capital. Digital signatures, stamp duty, resubmissions, the first board meeting, auditor appointment, share certificates, INC-20A, and GST or TDS setup are typically extra or excluded. Added back, the total lands near a full-service fee.

What is the annual cost of maintaining a private limited company?

Typically ₹40,000 to ₹80,000 a year for the statutory audit, ROC filings, director KYC and income-tax return, before bookkeeping and GST or TDS return filing. An LLP below the audit threshold runs at roughly a quarter of that. The running cost, not the incorporation fee, is the number to plan the entity decision around.

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Related reading

• Pvt Ltd vs LLP vs OPC vs Partnership: which entity to register in 2026
• The first 90 days after incorporation, by deadline
• Company Registration in Chandigarh, Mohali & the Tricity — our service
• Private Limited Company Registration — our service
• Startup India DPIIT Registration — our service