Private Limited Company Registration Process and Timeline: Step by Step After You Hire a CA

Last updated 26 September 2026

What is the private limited company registration process after you hire a CA?

The process is a fixed sequence of about eight steps: your documents are verified, DSC and DIN are obtained, the name is checked and filed, the incorporation form is prepared and signed, fees are paid, and the Registrar of Companies (ROC) approves it. The result is a Certificate of Incorporation with your company's CIN, plus PAN and TAN.

Take Meera in Jaipur. She books a call on Monday, sends her and her co-director's PAN, ID and address proofs and the office utility bill by Wednesday, and then mostly waits for OTPs and sign-offs. The CA does the rest on the MCA V3 portal. She never visits an office.

Everything below is described as of September 2026. For the structure overview, see private limited company registration; for a general walkthrough of any company type, see company registration process step by step.

What are the steps, in order?

There are eight steps, and only steps 1 and 6 need much from you. The forms named here are all MCA forms filed online, and your CA handles the technical parts.

1. Kick-off and documents. You request a free callback or pay the ₹1,999 online, then share PAN, ID, address proof and office papers. A practising CA verifies them. See the documents checklist.
2. DSC and DIN. The CA obtains a Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate for each director and a Director Identification Number (DIN) for anyone who does not yet have one.
3. Name check and reservation (SPICe+ Part A). Up to two names are proposed. The MCA reserves an approved name for 20 days. Part A can be filed alone or together with Part B.
4. MoA and AoA. The Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association are prepared and filed as e-forms (INC-33 and INC-34), with the declaration in INC-9. Business objects should be specific.
5. SPICe+ Part B with AGILE-PRO-S. The incorporation form, SPICe+ (INC-32) Part B, is filed with AGILE-PRO-S (INC-35), which starts EPFO and ESIC registration and bank account application in the same filing.
6. Signing. Directors and subscribers sign with their DSC, and the professional signs the mandatory declaration.
7. Payment. Stamp duty is paid online inside the form, along with any MCA fee that applies. Up to ₹15 lakh of authorised capital the MCA filing fee is nil.
8. ROC review and certificate. The ROC checks the file. If it is clean, the Certificate of Incorporation is issued with PAN and TAN. If not, a resubmission is requested.

The fee for each step is broken down in the cost and fees guide.

How long does private limited company registration take, working day by working day?

Expect roughly one to two weeks end to end when documents are clean. Shunya's standard turnaround is 7 to 10 working days from the date you submit complete documents. MCA publishes no fixed service level, so these are planning ranges, not promises from the government.

Vendors elsewhere publish ranges of about 10 to 12 working days for well-prepared files; this is consistent with the 7 to 10 planning figure once you allow for queue times. If it runs past 15 working days from complete documents, Shunya waives the professional fee. For a wider view, see how long company registration takes in India.

What delays private limited company registration?

Almost every delay is a resubmission: MCA sends the file back and the clock effectively restarts for that step. MCA allows up to two resubmissions, so a clean first filing is the biggest time saver.

• Name rejected as similar to an existing company, LLP or trademark. Read name availability and approval before choosing.
• Address or NOC problems, such as an old utility bill or a bill not in the owner's name.
• Vague business objects or a missing regulatory approval for certain activities.
• DSC or OTP issues when a director is slow to sign.
• Special cases such as a foreign director, where documents are notarised and apostilled and the file cannot take the standard e-route. See the NRI and foreign national guide.

A practical habit helps here: send everything at once, checked. A file with a wrong utility bill can lose a week, while the same file with the right bill goes through in the standard range. Name choice matters just as much, because a rejected name means re-filing Part A and waiting again.

One more point on the 20-day name reservation: once a name is approved the clock runs, so do not reserve a name until your documents and signatures are ready. If the reservation lapses, you pay again to extend or re-file.

For the reasons in more detail, see registration rejection reasons.

What do you do, and what does the CA do?

You supply documents and sign; the CA does everything else. That split is why a fully online registration works without an office visit.

You

• Choose the name and describe the business honestly.
• Share clear scans and get the landlord's NOC and bill.
• Keep your phone and email open for OTPs.
• Approve the drafts of the MoA and AoA and sign with your DSC.

Your CA

• Verifies documents and checks name availability.
• Obtains DSC and DIN for directors.
• Drafts the MoA and AoA and prepares SPICe+ with AGILE-PRO-S.
• Handles ROC and officer queries and any resubmission.
• Delivers the Certificate of Incorporation, PAN and TAN.

What happens after you get the Certificate of Incorporation?

The certificate is the start of your compliance calendar, not the end of the work. Within days you will open the bank account, and within set deadlines the company has its first board meeting and first auditor appointment.

Two items catch new companies out. The first board meeting is due within 30 days of incorporation, and the first auditor is appointed within the same 30 days. A director declaration (INC-20A) is due within 180 days of incorporation, confirming that subscribers have paid for shares and the registered office is verified. Missing INC-20A carries penalties, and the ROC can strike off the company.

The full list, with what to file and when, is in post-incorporation compliance. If you also want to understand whether a Private Limited is the right choice at all, see Private Limited vs LLP vs OPC.

This article is for general information only. For your specific situation, consult a practicing CA.