A full walkthrough of the Private Limited incorporation process, from name approval to your first ROC filing.

By Kanoons · 7 min read · Last verified 2026-03-27

For most entrepreneurs and startups in India, the Private Limited Company remains the most preferred structure — it offers credibility, limited liability, a separate legal identity, and investor-friendly features that make it the natural foundation for a company planning to raise funding.

Eligibility is straightforward under the Companies Act, 2013: a minimum of 2 and maximum of 15 directors, at least 2 shareholders, at least one resident director, no minimum paid-up capital, and a registered office address in India. The registration itself runs entirely through the MCA portal via the SPICe+ form, which bundles company incorporation, DIN allotment, PAN, TAN, and optionally GST, EPFO, ESIC and a bank account into a single filing — typically completed in 5-10 working days once a Digital Signature Certificate is issued and the company name is approved.

After incorporation, a handful of post-registration steps are easy to miss but carry real penalties if skipped: opening a company bank account, appointing the first auditor within 30 days, holding the first board meeting within 30 days, and filing annual returns (AOC-4, MGT-7) plus ITR-6 every year. Getting these documented correctly from day one avoids the compounding compliance backlog that catches out a lot of first-time founders.