Startup India eligibility criteria — the complete checklist
To be eligible for DPIIT recognition under Startup India, an entity must be a Private Limited Company, LLP, or registered Partnership Firm; incorporated within the last 10 years; with turnover not exceeding Rs 100 crore in any financial year since incorporation; and working towards innovation, development of new products/processes/services, or a scalable business model with high potential for employment or wealth creation — without having been formed by splitting up or reconstructing an existing business.
Condition 1 — eligible entity type
Only Private Limited Companies, LLPs, and registered Partnership Firms qualify. One Person Companies (OPCs) are generally treated as falling within the Private Limited Company category for this purpose in most cases, but sole proprietorships and unregistered partnerships do not qualify at all.
Condition 2 — the 10-year incorporation window
The entity must not have completed 10 years from the date of incorporation or registration. This is calculated from the original incorporation date, not from any later date of business commencement or pivot — so a company that pivoted its business model five years after incorporation still has its eligibility clock running from the original incorporation date.
Shunya's CA team prepares and files your Startup India recognition application — documentation, self-certification, and follow-up with DPIIT.
Talk to a CA →Condition 3 — the Rs 100 crore turnover ceiling
Turnover must not have exceeded Rs 100 crore in any financial year since incorporation. Unlike some other thresholds that look only at the most recent year, this condition looks at every year since incorporation — a single high-turnover year, even an anomaly, can permanently disqualify the entity.
Condition 4 — genuine innovation or scalability
The entity must be working towards innovation, development, or improvement of products, processes, or services, or have a scalable business model with high potential for employment generation or wealth creation. This is the most subjective condition and the one most often challenged or questioned during application review — a generic trading or reselling business without any distinguishing innovation angle is unlikely to satisfy this condition.
The anti-restructuring rule
An entity formed by splitting up or reconstructing an already existing business is not eligible, regardless of how it otherwise meets the age, turnover, and entity-type conditions. This rule exists specifically to prevent an established business from technically re-incorporating as a 'new' entity purely to access Startup India benefits.
If my company had one year of high turnover due to a one-time large contract, does that disqualify me permanently?
Yes, potentially. The Rs 100 crore turnover condition looks at every financial year since incorporation, not just the most recent one — so even a single anomalous year exceeding Rs 100 crore, even if turnover has since normalised to a much lower level, can make the entity ineligible for DPIIT recognition going forward. This is worth checking carefully with a CA before applying if your company has had any unusually large revenue year.
This article is for general information only. For your specific situation, consult a practicing CA.
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