India Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify an Indian Business

TL;DR. India’s official business registry is MCA21, run by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Foreign buyers can search by company name, CIN, or director name after creating a free account. Basic master data is free; document downloads cost INR 50 to INR 500 (~USD 0.60 to USD 6.00) per item. The portal is in English, no Indian identity document is required, and there is no public API.

What is the official India business registry?

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) maintains India’s central company registry under the Companies Act 2013. The public-facing system is called MCA21, accessible at mca.gov.in. The portal is named after the e-governance project launched in 2006 to digitise India’s company registration and compliance infrastructure. The third-generation system, referred to as MCA21 V3, began a phased rollout from 2022 and handles company filings, director KYC, and public document access.

All companies incorporated in India are assigned a Corporate Identity Number (CIN) at registration. This 21-character alphanumeric code encodes the entity’s listing status, industry classification, state, year of incorporation, company type, and registry sequence number. CIN is the primary identifier in MCA21 and the anchor for all searches.

The Registrar of Companies (ROC) operates under MCA and processes all incorporations, annual filings, and charge registrations. There are 25 ROCs across India, with jurisdiction allocated by state or union territory. MCA21 presents a unified national view across all ROCs.

What can you search?

MCA21 supports the following search dimensions on its public interface:

• Company name (partial match supported; returns a list of matching entities)
• CIN (exact match; returns the full company master data record)
• Director Identification Number (DIN) for individual officers
• Director name (returns a list of directorships held across all entities)
• Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) identification number (LLPIN)
• Charge ID (for registered charges and hypothecation)

The free Master Data view returns: registered name, CIN, entity type (public or private limited, OPC, Section 8, etc.), date of incorporation, registered office address, email, principal business activity (NIC code), authorised capital, paid-up capital, company status (active, struck off, under liquidation, amalgamated), and the name of the last filing ROC.

Paid document downloads include:

• Certificate of Incorporation
• Memorandum and Articles of Association
• Annual returns (Form MGT-7)
• Financial statements (Form AOC-4)
• Director-related forms (DIR-12 for appointments and resignations)
• Charge documents (CHG-1, CHG-4)
• Any other eForm filed with MCA

The free search does not return detailed shareholding, financial figures, or historical officer changes. Those require downloading the underlying forms.

How much does it cost?

Prices are as of May 2026 per MCA published fee schedule. INR/USD conversion used: 84 (approximate; verify at point of purchase). Payment accepts credit card, debit card, net banking, and UPI via the MCA21 portal payment gateway.

For foreign buyers without a UPI or Indian bank account, international credit cards (Visa, Mastercard) work on the payment gateway in most cases.

Do you need a local account or ID?

A registered user account on MCA21 is required to purchase and download documents. Account creation requires an email address and mobile number; no Indian government-issued identity document (Aadhaar, PAN, or passport) is required at the account registration stage.

Basic name and CIN search (master data view) is available without logging in. Document purchase requires login.

Foreign buyers can create an MCA account using any international mobile number for OTP verification. In practice, OTP delivery to non-Indian mobile numbers can be unreliable. Using a local Indian SIM or requesting OTP via email (where offered) avoids this friction. If SMS OTP fails repeatedly, the MCA helpdesk at mca.gov.in accepts email-based support requests.

Is the website in English?

Yes. MCA21 operates entirely in English. All search interfaces, form names, status labels, and downloaded documents are in English. There is no Hindi or regional language interface variant for the public search portal, consistent with MCA’s policy of using English as the working language for all statutory filings.

What’s the turnaround time?

Document download is instant once payment clears and the relevant form exists in the MCA21 system. There is no manual fulfilment step for standard eForm downloads.

For older documents filed before MCA21’s digitisation (pre-2006 filings in some states), physical records may not be available digitally. In those cases, the portal indicates “not available” and you would need to approach the relevant ROC office directly, which may take 1 to 4 weeks.

Certified copies with a digital signature from the ROC typically process within 1 to 3 business days when ordered through the official certified copy request module.

Is there an API?

No public API is available for MCA21 as of May 2026. MCA has announced API-based access as part of the V3 roadmap but has not opened a developer programme for external compliance buyers.

Some government-to-government integrations exist (for example, MCA data is accessible to GSTN and SEBI systems through a backend data-sharing arrangement), but these are not open to commercial third parties.

For compliance platforms needing structured, machine-readable Indian company data, the practical options are: use a properly licensed third-party aggregator (Tofler, Zauba Corp, or similar) that repackages MCA21 data, or wait for MCA to open an API programme.

What you legally cannot do

MCA’s Terms of Use and the Companies Act 2013 prohibit:

• Bulk automated scraping of MCA21 public interfaces
• Republishing or reselling MCA documents as a data product without authorisation
• Representing downloaded documents as “certified” unless they carry the ROC’s digital signature
• Using director data for unsolicited marketing or solicitation

Section 399 of the Companies Act 2013 governs the right of inspection of documents. Any person may inspect documents on payment of the prescribed fee. Bulk systematic extraction for commercial redistribution is not covered by this right and may constitute a breach of MCA’s terms.

Compliance buyers conducting CDD, UBO verification, or KYC for their own counterparty review are within the intended use. Compliance buyers should document the stated purpose of each fetch as part of their internal audit trail.

Practical tips for foreign users

• CIN is the anchor. If you have a CIN, use it directly. Name searches in India return multiple entities with similar names, and the disambiguation step adds time. Request the CIN from your counterparty before starting the search.
• Check company status first. The master data view is free and shows whether the company is active, struck off, or under winding-up. Run this check before paying for any documents.
• Annual returns vs. financial statements. Indian private companies file MGT-7 (annual return) and AOC-4 (balance sheet and P&L) as separate forms. You need both for a complete financial picture. MGT-7 shows shareholding; AOC-4 shows financials.
• Section 8 companies (Indian equivalents of non-profit companies) have “not for profit” in their object clauses. Their financials are filed but may not show trading revenue. Verify if your counterparty is Section 8 before interpreting the accounts.
• DIN lookup for directors shows all current and past directorships. Useful for mapping group structure and identifying common control. Search is free; available by DIN or director name.
• Charges register shows all registered liens and hypothecations against company assets. A company with many open charges may have leveraged assets. Download CHG-1 forms for lender identity and amount.
• CIN vs LLPIN. Companies registered under the Companies Act 2013 carry a CIN (21 characters, starting with the listing status indicator L or U). Limited Liability Partnerships registered under the LLP Act 2008 carry an LLPIN (starting with “AAA” followed by four digits and two check characters). These are distinct identifiers for distinct legal forms; confirm which entity type you are searching before querying.
• OTP issues. If you cannot receive SMS OTP on a foreign number, the MCA helpdesk at mca.gov.in can assist. Some aggregators such as Tofler also maintain registered MCA accounts and can retrieve documents directly.

Alternatives if you cannot access MCA21 directly

• Tofler (tofler.in). A commercial aggregator that repackages MCA21 data into structured company reports. Useful for quick access without navigating the MCA portal. Data lags the primary source by 1 to 2 days.
• Aggregator search (free, indicative). OpenCorporates indexes Indian company data sourced from MCA. Lags official data; useful for a quick name or status check, not for compliance-grade verification.

Local data suppliers

If you need a packaged report rather than a raw MCA21 extract, India has a set of established providers:

• Tofler (tofler.in). Operated by TWS Systems Private Limited. Provides structured Indian company intelligence including financial trend analysis, director networks, charge data, and “Company 360” reports sourced from MCA filings. Covers over 200,000 active companies. Targets SMEs and compliance buyers who want a formatted report rather than raw MCA downloads.

• CRIF High Mark (crifhighmark.com). An RBI-licensed credit information company and subsidiary of CRIF S.p.A. (Italy). Provides business credit scores, commercial credit reports, and lending market intelligence across banks, NBFCs, and financial institutions. Use when you need payment behaviour, credit facilities outstanding, and risk scoring layered on top of the MCA registration extract.

• Dun & Bradstreet India (dnb.co.in). Part of the global D&B network. Issues D-U-N-S Numbers for Indian entities, provides company intelligence reports, supplier risk assessments, and trade credit reference reports. Use for counterparty due diligence in supply chain and procurement contexts, or when a counterparty requires a D-U-N-S-based credit assessment.

• Experian India (experian.in). Indian subsidiary of Experian plc. Licensed credit information company under the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act 2005. Provides commercial credit reports alongside consumer bureau services. Use when you need a formal bureau-issued credit score for a commercial entity rather than the self-reported financial data in MCA filings.

Use MCA21 for the authoritative legal filing record. Use a credit bureau (CRIF High Mark or Experian India) when you need payment behaviour, credit facilities, or risk scoring. Use Tofler or D&B when you want the registry data packaged into a formatted report with benchmarking or enrichment.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access India’s MCA21 registry?

Yes. Any person, including a foreign individual or entity, can search MCA21 by company name or CIN without an account. Purchasing documents requires creating a free MCA account using an email address and a mobile number capable of receiving OTP. No Indian government identity document is required. International credit cards are accepted for payment, though OTP delivery to foreign mobile numbers can sometimes fail.

What is a CIN number and how do I find it?

A Corporate Identity Number (CIN) is the 21-character alphanumeric code assigned to every Indian company at incorporation. It encodes listing status, state, year, company type, and registry sequence. The fastest way to find a CIN is to ask the Indian company directly; it should appear on their letterhead, invoices, and website footer as required by Section 12 of the Companies Act 2013. You can also search MCA21 by company name to retrieve the CIN.

Is the free MCA21 search enough for basic due diligence?

The free master data view confirms that the company exists, is active, holds the claimed registered address, and has the authorised capital the counterparty stated. For basic counterparty checks, this is often sufficient. For credit, AML, or UBO-level verification, you also need the financial statements (AOC-4) and annual return (MGT-7), which require paid downloads.

How current is the data on MCA21?

MCA21 reflects filings as processed by the ROC. Companies are required to file annual returns within 60 days of the AGM and financial statements within 30 days of the AGM. In practice, many private companies file late or receive extensions. Data for a given financial year may not appear on MCA21 until 6 to 12 months after the year-end. The free master data (status, address, capital) updates more quickly, typically within a few days of the ROC processing a change form.

Is FATF relevant to Indian company registry access?

Yes. India is a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and underwent a mutual evaluation in 2023. FATF’s 2024 India assessment noted progress on beneficial ownership registration, with MCA21 serving as the primary UBO registry. Under Companies Act amendments in 2020 and 2022, Indian companies must now file BEN-2 declarations for qualifying beneficial owners (those holding 10% or more of shares, voting rights, or economic interests, defined under the SBO Rules 2018). These filings are available as downloadable forms in MCA21, making it possible to trace disclosed UBO chains through the portal.

What happens if a company is “struck off” from the MCA register?

A company struck off under Section 248 of the Companies Act 2013 has been removed from the register, typically for failure to commence business or persistent non-filing of annual returns. A struck-off company can no longer enter contracts or conduct business. Directors of struck-off companies may be disqualified for up to 5 years. Restoration is possible through an application to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) within 20 years of the strike-off for a defunct company, or under a shorter window for restoration by the ROC.

Are LLPs and partnership firms on MCA21?

Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) are registered on MCA21 under the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2008 and are searchable by LLPIN. General partnerships and sole traders are not on MCA21; they register with state-level authorities and have no central national registry. For those entity types, state commercial tax registrations or GST registration (GSTIN) are the closest public identifiers available.

Last verified: May 2026. Source: Ministry of Corporate Affairs MCA21 (mca.gov.in). For FATF context see FATF India Mutual Evaluation 2024 (fatf-gafi.org).