There is no single “business licence” in India. What you need depends on five things: what you sell, where you operate, how big you are (turnover and staff), whether you trade across borders, and what sector you are in. A freelance designer may need nothing beyond PAN and, once past the threshold, GST. A restaurant in a city may need six separate approvals before it opens. Most businesses fall in between.
This guide gives you a way to work out your own list, then explains each common registration in plain terms. Forming the legal entity itself (company, LLP, partnership or proprietorship) is a separate first step; if you have not done that yet, our company registration service can help you choose the structure and file the incorporation.
Start with five questions
- What do you sell? Food, medicines, chemicals, financial services, security services and alcohol each bring their own licence. General goods and most services do not.
- Where? Your state decides shop and establishment rules and professional tax; your city or panchayat decides trade licences; some activities are licensed only by central regulators.
- How big? GST, FSSAI category, shop and establishment registration and labour registrations all switch on at turnover or headcount thresholds.
- Do you import or export? Then you need an Importer Exporter Code (IEC).
- Is the brand valuable? Then a trademark application belongs on the list, even though it is optional.
Answer these, then run through the sections below and keep only the ones that apply.
The common registrations at a glance
| Registration | Who needs it | Issued by | Mandatory? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GST registration | Businesses above the turnover threshold, and some regardless of turnover | GST authorities (gst.gov.in) | Yes, when it applies |
| Udyam registration | Micro, small and medium enterprises that want MSME status | Ministry of MSME (udyamregistration.gov.in) | Optional, but needed to claim MSME benefits |
| Shop and establishment | Shops, offices and commercial establishments covered by the state Act | State labour department | Yes, when covered |
| Trade licence | Trades listed by the municipal body | Municipal corporation or council | Yes, for listed trades |
| FSSAI registration or licence | Any food business | FSSAI / state food safety authority | Yes |
| IEC | Importers and exporters of goods | DGFT | Yes, for imports and exports |
| Trademark | Anyone who wants statutory protection for a brand | Trade Marks Registry (IP India) | Optional |
| EPF, ESI, labour code registrations | Employers above staff thresholds | EPFO, ESIC, labour authorities | Yes, when thresholds are crossed |
| Professional tax | Employers and professionals in states that levy it | State tax department | Yes, in those states |
| Sector licences | Regulated activities | The sector regulator | Yes, before starting the activity |
GST registration
GST registration becomes compulsory once your aggregate turnover crosses the threshold for your type of supply and state, which is higher for businesses supplying only goods than for service providers, and lower in some special-category states. Some businesses must register whatever their turnover, for example those making inter-state taxable supplies of goods or selling through e-commerce operators in many cases. Registration is applied for on the GST portal. Even below the threshold, some businesses register voluntarily because their business customers want GST invoices. Once registered, returns are due whether or not you have sales in a period.
Udyam (MSME) registration
Udyam registration is how an enterprise gets recognised as micro, small or medium. It is free, online and self-declared on the Udyam portal, based on Aadhaar and linked to PAN and GST data. It is not a licence to operate; you need it to access MSME benefits such as priority-sector lending, protection against delayed payments from buyers, government procurement preferences and the lower trademark fee for small enterprises. If you would like it filed for you, our Udyam registration assistance covers it.
Shop and establishment registration
Each state’s shops and establishments Act regulates working hours, holidays, leave and records at shops, offices and commercial establishments. Whether you must register depends on your state and, increasingly, your headcount: several states now link registration to the number of workers, with smaller establishments filing an intimation or exempt. Check your state’s current Act and portal before assuming either way.
Municipal trade licence
A trade licence is the city’s permission to carry on a listed trade at a particular premises. It is about health, safety and nuisance: eating places, food shops, salons, workshops and storage of certain goods are common examples. It does not depend on staff numbers, and it is separate from shop and establishment registration. Check the trade list and land-use rules with your municipal body before signing a lease.
FSSAI registration or licence
Every food business, from a home baker to a manufacturer, needs FSSAI registration or a licence, applied for on FoSCoS. Under FSSAI’s order of 13 March 2026, from 1 April 2026 registration covers turnover up to ₹1.5 crore, a state licence above that up to ₹50 crore, and a central licence above ₹50 crore, with some kinds of business needing a higher category regardless of turnover. For food businesses this usually comes before almost everything else; our FSSAI filing service can prepare the application.
Importer Exporter Code (IEC)
If you import or export goods as a business, an IEC from DGFT is compulsory (para 2.07 of the Handbook of Procedures). It is PAN-based, issued online, and permanently valid, but it must be updated online every year between April and June or it can be deactivated. Complianto plans to offer IEC application support as a separate service.
Trademark
No law forces you to register a trademark, but a company name, domain or GST registration gives you no trademark rights in your brand. A trademark application in your classes, filed early, is what lets you stop copycats. The official filing fee is charged per class, with a lower rate for individuals, startups and small enterprises (see IP India’s fee schedule).
Labour registrations once you hire
The four labour codes, including the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, came into effect on 21 November 2025. As headcount grows, expect:
- Provident fund (EPF) registration, generally once you employ 20 or more people;
- ESI registration, generally from 10 employees in notified areas;
- OSH Code registration for establishments above its worker threshold;
- state rules on professional tax deduction and registration, in states that levy it.
These attach to employment, not to the product, so a services startup with no other licence still meets them as it grows.
Sector licences: check before you start
Some activities cannot start at all without a specific licence from a specific regulator. The common ones are:
- Medicines and cosmetics: drug licences (wholesale, retail, manufacturing) from the state drugs control authority; cosmetics manufacture licensing.
- Manufacturing with emissions or effluents: consent to establish and operate from the state pollution control board.
- Premises open to the public above size limits: fire safety approval from the fire department.
- Packaged goods: legal metrology registration for packers and importers of pre-packaged commodities; BIS certification for products under mandatory quality control orders.
- Financial services: RBI (lending, payments), SEBI (advisers, brokers), IRDAI (insurance intermediaries).
- Private security agencies: state licence under the private security agencies law.
- Alcohol: state excise licences.
If your business is in one of these areas, treat the sector licence as the critical path: it often takes the longest and may decide your premises.
Three illustrative examples
These are made-up examples to show the method, not advice for any real business.
A cloud kitchen in Pune with 8 staff
FSSAI (category by turnover), municipal trade licence for an eating house, GST (check how the threshold and the food-delivery platform rules apply), shop and establishment intimation or registration depending on Maharashtra’s current threshold, and professional tax as an employer. A trademark for the brand name in Class 43 if it plans to grow.
A two-founder SaaS company in Bengaluru
Company incorporation, GST once over the threshold or when clients need GST invoices, Udyam for MSME benefits, Karnataka’s shop and establishment process for the office, a trademark in Classes 42 and 9, and EPF and ESI as the team grows. No FSSAI, trade licence or IEC unless the business model changes.
A home-based exporter of handmade textiles
IEC (and its yearly update), GST registration if it crosses the threshold or its export route requires it, Udyam, and a trademark if selling under its own brand abroad. A shop and establishment registration is unlikely to apply at home with no employees, but check the state rules.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a single-window portal for all these?
Some states run single-window systems that bundle state approvals, and the national single-window system links several central and state approvals. In practice, GST, FSSAI, IEC, trademark and Udyam each still have their own portal.
Do I need all of these before I start trading?
Not all. Sector licences, FSSAI and trade licences generally need to be in place before you start the activity. GST is triggered by thresholds or compulsory categories. Labour registrations follow hiring. A trademark is optional but best filed before launch.
Can one registration certificate serve as proof of business everywhere?
No single one is accepted everywhere. Banks commonly accept GST, Udyam or shop and establishment documents; check what your bank or platform asks for.
Complianto (complianto.in), operated by Mentorcorp Private Limited, is a private consultancy and is not affiliated with any government body. We do not issue official documents. We charge a professional fee for application assistance and advisory services. Applicants can apply directly to the government without our fees via the official portals: MCA (mca.gov.in), Income Tax (incometax.gov.in), GST (gst.gov.in), MSME (udyamregistration.gov.in), FSSAI (foscos.fssai.gov.in), Startup India (startupindia.gov.in), and IP India (ipindia.gov.in).
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.
