Formation, governance and post-registration preparation.
Our fee
Society registration: ₹11,999 + GST professional fee
Government fees are extra and separate from our professional fee, paid at actual cost to the authority or portal.
Who it suits: groups forming a new society, or existing societies needing a renewal or change, under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or the State law that applies.
What we deliver: classification of the society and State; a map of members and governance; memorandum and rules prepared for review; verification of the State procedure; and a handover with the certificate, filed memorandum and rules, and a renewal and annual-obligation calendar.
What you supply: the founders or subscribers list, the governing body and offices, agreed objects and rules, and office address evidence. The members adopt and sign the governing documents; the Registrar decides registration.
Expected working time: timeline confirmed after document review. The authority decides the application and its timing; we do not guarantee approval.
Next step: tell us on WhatsApp your State or UT and whether this is a new society, a renewal or a change.
What is included: our professional fee for document preparation and filing support for this service.
What is extra: State registration fee and stamp duty extra, at actual cost. Government fees, stamp duty and DSC are always extra at actual cost.
This is document and filing support, not legal or tax advice. Registration/approval is decided by the government authority; we do not guarantee approval.
Important: NGOGrant.in does not award or guarantee grants. Our guides and the official portal links are open to read at no charge. Our professional fee (shown above) is separate and is only for preparation and filing help, never for “sanctioning” a grant or approval. Beware anyone who takes money to guarantee funding.
Society registration: the practical answers
- Who qualifies
- Under section 1 of the Societies Registration Act, 1860, any seven or more people associated for a literary, scientific or charitable purpose, or a purpose listed in section 20, can form a society. Many States and UTs have their own Act or amendments, so confirm the law that applies where your office will be.
- Who should consider another structure
- If you do not have seven founding members ready to sign, a trust or a Section 8 company may suit you better. Compare them in our structure guide.
- What to prepare
- The memorandum of association with the names, addresses and occupations of the founding members, the rules and regulations (bye-laws), office address proof, and identity proof for the members, as your Registrar requires.
- What happens next
- After registration, you file a list of your governing body with the Registrar every year (section 4). Get a PAN for the society, then apply for provisional 12A/80G registration in Form 104 and sign up on NGO Darpan.
Real examples from official sources
- The yearly governing-body list. Section 4 of the 1860 Act requires the list of names, addresses and occupations of the governing body to be filed once a year, on or before the fourteenth day after the annual general meeting. If the rules do not provide for an annual general meeting, it is filed in January. Source: Societies Registration Act, 1860, copy on the High Court of Tripura website (PDF).
- A society as a tax applicant. The Income Tax Department’s Form 105 manual lists “a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or under any law in force in India” (section 332(1)(b)) as an applicant type. This covers societies registered under a State’s own Act. Source: Form 105 & 107 user manual, incometax.gov.in.
Sources checked 22 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; check the current official text before you file.
On this guide Browse sections
From founders to a checked society file
To register a society, first identify the State or Union Territory route. Confirm the required members and documents. Agree the objects and governance rules. Prepare the memorandum, rules, office evidence and filing authorisation. Then submit through the competent authority’s current process and keep the acknowledgement.
Choose your society registration route
Open the State note that matches the proposed registered office. Each note links to its official source. Check that source for current forms, charges and submission instructions before filing.
For your State or UT, start with the official instructions of its Registrar of Societies.
What to do before the first submission
- Identify the transaction. Is this a new society, a renewal, or a change to an existing society? If a certificate already exists, find that record first. Use the appropriate existing-organisation procedure.
- Separate members from the governing body. List the founders or subscribers required for formation. Then identify the people who will govern under the rules. The two lists serve different purposes.
- Make governance decisions before drafting. Agree the objects, membership process, governing-body roles, meetings, quorum and decision rules. Keep the memorandum and rules consistent with those decisions and the applicable requirements.
- Check one complete signing set. Compare names, office address, roles and authorisation across every record. Use the worked mismatch check to see how an incomplete file should be held and corrected.
- Keep the submission record. Save the exact files submitted, fee evidence, acknowledgement and any query. Answer a query against that version. After registration, record the next applicable filing or renewal dates.
Founding members are not the same as office bearers
Keep two lists: the people who join together to form the society, and the smaller group who will run it under your rules. Note which governing-body members hold each office. Don’t drop names from one list just to make the two look the same. The law that applies in your state sets how many founding members you need, so check it before you finalise either list.
Need the cost breakdown? Use the NGO registration cost guide to separate government charges, stamp or document costs where relevant, and professional preparation fees.
NGOGrant workflow example added 10 October 2026. The State notes below retain their own source dates. Editorial details and corrections.
Confirm the governing law before relying on any member count or form list.
The central Act and your State’s law
Society registration starts with one central law, the Societies Registration Act, 1860, but it does not end there. Each State or Union Territory runs its own Registrar of Societies, and some have amended the 1860 Act or replaced it. So read what follows as the common base, then check your own State.
What kind of group can register? The Act covers persons “associated for any literary, scientific, or charitable purpose”, or for a purpose listed in section 20 (s.1). Section 20 includes charitable societies, “the promotion of science, literature, or the fine arts”, “instruction, the diffusion of useful knowledge”, “the diffusion of political education” and “the foundation or maintenance of libraries or reading-rooms”. Illustrative examples only: a village library committee in Nagaland, a free coaching group in Odisha or a group that runs a public reading room in Tamil Nadu could fall within these purposes, depending on their objects and State law.
How many people do you need? The central Act’s minimum, and why your State’s rule may differ, is answered in the FAQ below. Confirm the number with your State or UT Registrar of Societies before you finalise your founder list.
Memorandum, objects and governance
The memorandum of association is the society’s founding paper. Under section 2 of the 1860 Act it “shall contain” three things:
- the name of the society;
- the objects of the society;
- the names, addresses and occupations of the governors, council, directors, committee or other governing body to which its management is entrusted.
Alongside it you file a copy of the society’s rules and regulations (often called bye-laws), “certified to be a correct copy by not less than three of the members of the governing body” (s.2).
A practical tip: write the objects as specific activities, not a list of every good cause you can think of. “Running a free evening study centre for Class 8–12 students in our block” tells the Registrar – and later a donor – far more than “upliftment of society in all fields”. And make sure the names and addresses in the memorandum match the ID documents exactly; small spelling differences can lead to queries.
Your State may prescribe its own format, signatures, attachments or online process on top of this, so check before you print anything.
The society’s objects matter. A trade body, union, political organisation, sports association, religious/community body or other association may be registrable under an applicable State framework, but the specific object and current local law must be checked instead of being assumed from a label.
Choose the governing body deliberately. Record the proposed office bearers, management structure, elections or appointment method, tenure, meetings, quorum, voting, member admission/removal, financial controls, amendment process and dissolution provisions. NGOGrant can organise and draft these facts, but it does not certify that a clause is valid under every State law.
Office and State procedure
A registered office is more than a text field. The competent Registrar may require current address evidence, local confirmation, owner permission or other State-specific material. This page asks only for the occupancy category and keeps the actual evidence list under review.
State and UT framework
Many States and UTs use the 1860 Act with their own amendments, and some have their own Act. Amendments can change who the Registrar is, add yearly filings and set penalties. Check the Act, fees and filing method with your State or UT Registrar of Societies before you apply. This is general information, not legal advice.
Existing records and continuing duties
Existing societies need a chronology before any fresh filing. Preserve the registration certificate, memorandum, rules, governing-body lists, renewal history, amendments, office changes, correspondence and tax/NGO registrations. A lapsed or disputed record should be reviewed as existing-record work rather than replaced with a duplicate society.
Registration is not a one-time job. Section 4 of the 1860 Act requires a list to be filed with the Registrar “once in every year” giving “the names, addresses and occupations of the governors, council, directors, committee, or other governing body”. The timing in the central Act is: on or before the fourteenth day after the annual general meeting, or, if your rules do not provide for an AGM, in the month of January (s.4).
So the simplest habit is this: hold the AGM, update the governing-body list the same week, and file it within fourteen days. Some State amendments add more – rule-change filings, renewals, accounts or returns – so check your State’s rules and add those dates to your compliance calendar.
Separate NGO approvals and special cases
Entity registration is separate from tax and programme registrations. PAN, bank arrangements, 12AB/80G, NGO Darpan, CSR-1, FCRA, GST and activity-specific licences each have their own eligibility and evidence. None is automatically granted because the society is registered.
Society registration also does not resolve land title, employment law, school/health licensing, sports affiliation, church governance, professional-body recognition or other sector-specific approvals. Those issues must be scoped separately when relevant.
If the organisation is deciding between a society, public trust and Section 8 company, compare governance, State administration, intended membership, property model, funding/compliance needs and professional advice before filing. Do not choose a structure solely because one form appears shorter.
Handover and evidence
The handover should distinguish what was drafted, signed, filed, registered, renewed or amended, what remains pending, and which later registrations are outside the engagement. A checklist completion bar is not proof of registration, continuing validity or compliance.
New society
Prepare members, objects, governance, memorandum, rules and the State-specific registration route.
Existing or renewal case
Review the certificate, governing-body and amendment history before renewal, change or fresh filing.
Unclear or specialist structure
Route replacement-law, disputed, political/union, multi-State or special-purpose cases for legal review.
Prepare first, verify the governing route, then decide whether to file.
- 1 Classify the society and State Identify the purpose, jurisdiction, new/existing stage and whether a replacement State Act may govern.
- 2 Map members and governance Record member count/category, governing body, offices, elections, meetings and decision rules without collecting identities here.
- 3 Prepare memorandum and rules Organise the name, objects, governing body and internal rules for legal and authority review.
- 4 Verify State procedure Check the competent Registrar, local verification, office evidence, forms, fees, signatures and current filing method.
- 5 Applicant/professional review Resolve legal, governance, dispute, property and continuing-filing issues before execution or submission.
- 6 File only after approval Use the genuine government channel and authorised applicant/representative; this guide does not submit an application.
- 7 Handover and calendar Keep the certificate, filed memorandum/rules, renewal/annual obligations and later NGO registrations clearly separated.
NGOGrant prepares and coordinates; State and legal decisions remain with the responsible parties.
NGOGrant can organise facts, draft agreed records and coordinate an application. The applicants adopt and sign their governing documents. The Registrar decides registration or renewal. Where interpretation, disputes, property, representation or specialised drafting requires a qualified professional, that professional reviews or acts in their own capacity.
No NGOGrant checklist determines the operative State law, validates a member election, settles an internal dispute, guarantees registration or substitutes for a lawyer/other regulated professional where one is required.
Society registration questions that need State-aware answers.
What is the Societies Registration Act, 1860?
The central law under which a group associated for literary, scientific, charitable or other section 20 purposes can form a society by filing a memorandum of association with the Registrar (s.1). Some States have amended this Act or passed their own law, so check the rule that applies in your State or UT.
How many members are needed to register a society?
Under the central Societies Registration Act, 1860 (section 1), seven or more persons can form a society by subscribing their names to a memorandum of association and filing it with the Registrar. Some States have amended this Act or passed their own law, so State rules may differ. Check the current rule with your State or UT Registrar of Societies before you finalise your founder list. This is general information, not legal advice.
What documents are needed for society registration?
A memorandum and rules/bye-laws are core records in the 1860 Act framework. Exact forms, member evidence, office proof, NOCs, signatures and attachments are State-specific.
Can NGOGrant draft our memorandum and rules (bye-laws)?
Yes, within an agreed preparation scope and subject to applicant and legal/authority review. Drafting does not itself register the society or certify every clause.
What must a society’s memorandum of association contain?
The society’s name, its objects, and the names, addresses and occupations of its governing body (s.2), filed with a copy of the rules certified by at least three governing-body members. State rules may add their own format and requirements.
Does a society have to file a list of its governing body every year?
Under the central Act, yes: a list of the governing body, filed within fourteen days after the AGM, or in January if the rules have no AGM (s.4). State rules may add more.
Our society registration has lapsed. Should we register a new society?
Do not assume that. Review the existing certificate, governing documents, renewal history and State remedy before creating a duplicate registration.
Does society registration also give us income-tax registration?
No. Income-tax registration/approval is separate and has its own eligibility, forms and evidence.
Does registering a society also get us an NGO Darpan ID?
No. Darpan is a separate NITI Aayog process and should be handled separately.
Does registering a society make us eligible for CSR funds?
Registration alone does not establish CSR eligibility or funding. CSR-1 and substantive eligibility are separate matters.
Can a registered society receive foreign contributions straight away?
No. FCRA registration or prior permission is separate and should not be inferred from State society registration.
Can a sports or cultural club be registered as a society?
Potentially, depending on its objects and the law that applies in your State. Check with your State’s Registrar of Societies.
Can a society registered in one State work in other States?
Record the proposed area of operation, but do not assume one registration automatically resolves every State-specific issue. Governing law, office, activities and later permissions may need additional review.
Can NGOGrant help with a governance dispute in our society?
NGOGrant can organise records, but contested governance, removal, expulsion, election or litigation should be referred to the appropriate legal professional.
Does completing the preparation checklist on this page mean our society is ready to register?
No. It only organises preparation. Current State law, documents, authority, fees, signatures, existing history and applicant facts still require review.
Primary sources separate the central baseline from State-specific rules.
Central Act statements are based on the Societies Registration Act, 1860. State and UT rules vary; check your Registrar of Societies.
Societies Registration Act, 1860 — India Code
The central Act, applied in some States with State amendments and replaced by a State Act in others. Check the law that applies in your State.
Registered societies can apply to some government grants, for example the NCPUL seminar grant for Urdu events (after three years of registration) and the Mizoram grant-in-aid for voluntary organisations, which accepts societies registered under the Mizoram Societies Registration Act, 2005 or the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
Current source notes
The Societies Registration Act, 1860 remains an important baseline in some jurisdictions, but States and UTs may amend it extensively or operate replacement legislation. The current State/UT law must therefore be checked before relying on a member minimum, filing list, fee, renewal rule or turnaround.