Director Identification Number (DIN): Rules, Forms, Fees and KYC 2026

A Director Identification Number (DIN) is the eight-digit identity the Ministry of Corporate Affairs allots to every company director under sections 153 to 159 of the Companies Act, 2013. First directors get it through SPICe+; others file Form DIR-3. Since 31 March 2026 the DIR-3 KYC filing is due once every three years by 30 June, and a missed filing deactivates the DIN until a ₹5,000 fee is paid.

What a DIN is and where the law sits

A DIN is an eight-digit number allotted by the MCA to an individual who holds or intends to hold a directorship. It is allotted once and stays with the person for life, whatever companies they join or leave^[1]. Section 153 requires every individual intending to be appointed as a director to apply to the Central Government for one^[2]. The Companies (Amendment) Act, 2017 added, with effect from 9 February 2018, that the government may prescribe another identification number to serve as the DIN^[3].

The rest of the chapter sets the mechanics. The government must allot the number within one month of the application^[4]. No one who already holds a DIN may apply for, obtain or possess another^[5]. A director must tell every company on whose board they sit within one month of receiving the number^[6].

The company must pass it to the Registrar within fifteen days; if it does not, the company and each defaulting officer face a fine of ₹25,000 to ₹1 lakh^[7]. Every return or document that refers to a director must quote the DIN^[8]. Contravening sections 152, 155 or 156 attracts a penalty of up to ₹50,000, plus up to ₹500 for each day the default continues^[2].

Who needs a DIN

Every proposed or serving director of a company needs one, whether the company is private, public, one-person or Section 8. Designated partners of a limited liability partnership (LLP) need a Designated Partner Identification Number (DPIN) under section 7 of the LLP Act, 2008^[9]. The MCA runs the two through the same process and accepts an existing DIN as a DPIN^[1].

The number does not expire when a directorship ends. The KYC duty follows the DIN, so a person with no current board seat, a designated partner or a disqualified director must still file^[10]. Only surrender or cancellation ends the duty^[10].

A DIN does not remove the cap on board seats. Section 165 limits a person to twenty companies at a time, of which no more than ten may be public companies^[11]. The same number ties every appointment, resignation and filing to one individual, which is what makes directorships searchable.

How to get a DIN in 2026

New company: through SPICe+

Since the MCA re-engineered the process in January 2018, a first-time director of a new company gets the DIN through the incorporation form itself^[12]. Rule 9 of the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014 allows up to three proposed directors without a DIN to be listed in SPICe+ (Form INC-32)^[13]. Their numbers are allotted with the certificate of incorporation^[13].

No separate DIN fee is charged in this route^[1]. A fourth or later director must obtain a DIN first.

Existing company: Form DIR-3

A person joining the board of an existing company applies in Form DIR-3 on the MCA V3 portal^[13]. The form carries the applicant's photograph, proof of identity, proof of residence and a board resolution proposing the appointment^[13]. The applicant signs it with a digital signature certificate (DSC).

A practising chartered accountant, company secretary or cost accountant then verifies it digitally; the company's managing director, a director, the company secretary, the CEO or the CFO may do so instead^[13]. Indian residents must attach their PAN; foreign nationals use a passport, with documents notarised and apostilled^[1].

1. Obtain a digital signature certificate in the applicant's name and register it on the MCA portal.
2. Collect self-attested PAN (or passport), an address proof such as Aadhaar, voter ID, driving licence or a utility bill not older than two months, and a JPEG photograph under 2 MB.
3. Get the company's board resolution proposing the appointment.
4. Fill DIR-3 online, attach the documents, sign with the DSC and have a practising professional certify it.
5. Pay the ₹500 government fee; approval usually takes three to seven working days.

The document list, the ₹500 fee and the three-to-seven-day approval window are as reported by practitioners in June 2026^[1]. Once allotted, the director informs each company within a month and the company files Form DIR-12 with the Registrar^[2].

DIR-3 KYC: from an annual filing to a three-year cycle

DIR-3 KYC is the "know your customer" intimation through which a DIN holder confirms their mobile number, e-mail and address with the MCA. Until the 2025-26 financial year it was an annual filing due by 30 September^[10]. The Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Amendment Rules, 2025, notified as G.S.R. 943(E) on 31 December 2025, replaced that with a filing once every three consecutive financial years^[14].

It falls due by 30 June of the year after the third year, with effect from 31 March 2026^[14]. The ICAI told members on 2 January 2026 that directors who had already completed KYC would next file by 30 June 2028^[15].

The cycle runs from the financial year in which the DIN was allotted, not from the last filing, and an interim update of contact details does not reset the clock^[14]. Draft KYC forms saved before 31 March 2026 were cancelled and must be filed afresh^[14].

The cycle table follows the worked examples published with the amendment^[14]. The amended rules name one form for everything. Form DIR-3 KYC-Web, titled "Intimation of Changes or Reactivation of DIN", replaces the earlier e-form DIR-3 KYC and the separate web service^[16]. It is an OTP confirmation on the registered mobile number and e-mail, with no documents or professional certification^[10].

A change of mobile number, e-mail or residential address goes through the same web form within 30 days of the change, with the fee^[16]. A DIN deactivated for non-filing is reactivated only after this form is filed with the prescribed fee^[16].

Fees were reset on 21 April 2026 by G.S.R. 300(E). A filing within the rule 12A window is free. A late filing, or one made to reactivate a DIN, costs ₹5,000, and a re-filing to record a change under rule 12A(2) costs ₹500 each time^[17].

A DIN that misses the deadline is marked "Deactivated due to non-filing of DIR-3 KYC"^[10]. It cannot be used to sign filings or support an appointment until the pending KYC is filed and the ₹5,000 fee is paid^[10].

Changing details and surrendering a DIN

Form DIR-6 reports a change in the particulars given in DIR-3 that the KYC web form cannot alter: name, date of birth, nationality, PAN or passport^[2]. Rule 12 gives 30 days for the DIR-6 filing, which a practising chartered accountant or company secretary signs digitally^[18]. The director must also inform each company within 15 days of the change^[18].

Form DIR-5 surrenders a DIN that was never used. The applicant must declare that they have never been appointed a director of any company and that the DIN has never been used to file any document^[18]. The Central Government checks its electronic records before deactivating the number^[18]; the power sits with the Regional Director (Northern Region) at Noida^[19].

Rule 11 also covers cancellation of a DIN that is a duplicate or was obtained by fraud, and of one whose holder has died, been declared of unsound mind or adjudicated insolvent^[18]. A duplicate is merged into the retained number^[19].

Disqualification under section 164 and the 2017-18 deactivations

Section 164(1) lists personal grounds for disqualification. They include a court finding of unsound mind, undischarged insolvency, and a prison sentence of six months or more where five years have not passed^[20]. A sentence of seven years or more is a permanent bar^[20].

Section 164(2) is the one that bites companies. A director of a company that has not filed its financial statements or annual returns for three continuous financial years cannot be reappointed there, or appointed anywhere else, for five years^[20].

The MCA applied that rule at scale in 2017. On 12 September 2017 it said it had identified 1,06,578 directors for disqualification under section 164(2)(a) after cancelling the registration of about 2.09 lakh defaulting companies^[21]. The Minister of State said the disqualification happened "by operation of law"^[21].

By 6 November 2017 about 2.24 lakh companies had been struck off and around 3.09 lakh directors were affected for non-filing in 2013-14 to 2015-16^[22]. Over 3,000 of them sat on more than 20 companies^[22]. DINs of disqualified directors are deactivated^[1].

A one-time Condonation of Delay Scheme ran from January to April 2018. It let companies file overdue returns for ₹30,000 plus statutory fees while the DINs were temporarily activated; the scheme has lapsed^[23]. Outside such schemes, the route to restoration is a writ petition in the High Court, which several courts have allowed where the flag was procedurally wrong^[23].

How to check a DIN

On the MCA portal, "Verify DIN PAN Details of Director" sits under MCA Services and DIN Services. It takes the eight-digit DIN and the PAN and returns the name held in the DIN database; a mismatch is fixed by filing DIR-6^[24]. A status check under MCA Services shows whether a DIN is active, and the Disqualified Directors list under Data and Reports gives the DIN, name, company and disqualification period^[23]. A DIN status is either "Approved" or "Disqualified"^[23].

The Company Check's director directory is built on the same number: each profile address ends with the DIN and lists current boards, past boards and a dated timeline. Three listed-company examples, from its records on 15 October 2026:

The profiles show how one number threads a career. Salil Parekh's record starts with his first appointment on 22 March 2007 at Capgemini India Private Limited; five former Capgemini-group boards sit behind his single current seat at Infosys^[25]. Mukesh Ambani's seven current roles include directorships at Jio Platforms and Reliance Retail Ventures and partner posts in four LLPs, with 16 affiliations in all^[26].

K. Krithivasan holds two seats: TCS, and TCS Foundation since 30 April 2024^[27]. The company pages list the full boards: 12 directors at Infosys^[28], 16 at Reliance Industries^[29] and 11 at TCS^[30].

Forms, fees and deadlines at a glance

The KYC fee amounts come from G.S.R. 300(E)^[17] and the DIR-3 fee from practitioner guidance^[1]. Where the fee rules set a form-specific amount not verified here, the table says "per fee rules".

What a director should do now

Check the DIN status first. The MCA portal shows whether it is approved or disqualified^[23], and a DIN that missed its KYC carries the deactivated flag^[10]. Then work out the next window from the year the DIN was allotted, using the table above, and note 30 June of that year^[14].

A change of mobile number, e-mail or address goes in within 30 days^[16]; a change of name, PAN or passport goes in DIR-6^[2]. A deactivated DIN is restored only by filing the KYC form with the ₹5,000 fee^[17], so a director joining a board should clear that before the company files DIR-12 within its fifteen days^[7].