Udyam MSME registration 2026: limits, documents, steps, benefits

In short

From 1 April 2025: micro up to ₹2.5 crore investment and ₹10 crore turnover, small up to ₹25 crore and ₹100 crore, medium up to ₹125 crore and ₹500 crore. Both limits must be met.
Registration is free on the government portal udyamregistration.gov.in: Aadhaar with OTP, PAN, and GSTIN where the business must be GST-registered. No documents are uploaded.
The certificate is permanent: no renewal, but the ITR and GST details must be kept up to date.
Buyers must pay a micro or small supplier within the agreed period, never more than 45 days (15 days if nothing was agreed), or pay compound interest at three times the RBI bank rate.
It opens bank loans backed by the CGTMSE guarantee, up to ₹10 crore, half the trademark fee, and free tender sets with no earnest money in central government tenders.

Micro, small or medium: the limits from 1 April 2025

Category	Investment in plant, machinery or equipment	Annual turnover
Micro	Up to ₹2.5 crore	Up to ₹10 crore
Small	Up to ₹25 crore	Up to ₹100 crore
Medium	Up to ₹125 crore	Up to ₹500 crore

An enterprise must be within both limits of a category. Crossing either one moves it up to the next category; it moves down only when it falls below both limits of its present category.

All GST registrations under one PAN are counted together as one enterprise. Before 1 April 2025 the limits were lower (micro ₹1 crore and ₹5 crore), so many businesses that were "small" are now "micro".

How investment and turnover are counted

Investment is the written-down value of plant, machinery or equipment at the end of the financial year, as in the income-tax return. Land, building, furniture and fittings are left out, and so are pollution-control, research and industrial-safety equipment.
A new business with no income-tax return yet uses the purchase value of its equipment, excluding GST, on its own declaration.
Turnover excludes exports of goods and services, and is taken from the income-tax and GST records linked to the PAN.

Our free MSME category check works this out from your two figures in a few seconds.

Who can register and what you need

Business	Aadhaar of	PAN and GSTIN
Proprietorship	The proprietor	The proprietor's PAN; GSTIN if the business must be GST-registered
Partnership firm	The managing partner	The firm's PAN; GSTIN if required
Hindu undivided family	The karta	The HUF's PAN; GSTIN if required
Company, LLP, co-operative, society or trust	The authorised signatory	The organisation's PAN; GSTIN if required

PAN and GSTIN have been needed since 1 April 2021. A business that is not required to register under GST does not need a GSTIN for Udyam.
Keep handy: bank account details, the main activity (NIC code), the number of employees, and the investment and turnover figures.
Retail and wholesale traders can register, but only for priority sector lending: the other MSME benefits, including the 45-day payment rule, do not apply to them.
Informal micro enterprises without GST or PAN can get a Udyam Assist Certificate through authorised partners on the Udyam Assist Platform. Banks treat it like a Udyam certificate for priority sector lending.

How to register on the Udyam portal

Open udyamregistration.gov.in and choose the registration for new entrepreneurs not yet registered as an MSME.
Enter the Aadhaar number and name, and verify with the OTP.
Choose the type of organisation and verify the PAN. The portal picks up the income-tax and GST details linked to it.
Fill in the business name, official address, units and their addresses, bank account, activity (NIC code), employees, investment and turnover.
Submit with the final OTP. You get a permanent Udyam Registration Number and can download the e-certificate with a QR code.

There is no fee and nothing to upload: the registration is a self-declaration, checked against the Aadhaar, PAN and GST records. The District Industries Centre (DIC) helps anyone who cannot register online.

Use only udyamregistration.gov.in. Registration there is free. Some private websites look like it and charge a fee; a consultant should tell you plainly that its charge is for its own help, not a government fee.

After registration

No renewal. The certificate stays valid; keep the ITR and GST details updated, because status can be suspended if they are not.
One registration per enterprise. Add new units and activities to the same registration; a business must not register twice.
Growing up a category: the enterprise keeps all the non-tax benefits of its earlier category for three years from the date it moved up.
Going down a category: the new category applies from 1 April of the next financial year.
Giving false information or hiding facts in the self-declaration can lead to a penalty under the MSMED Act.

Getting paid on time: the 45-day rule

A buyer must pay a micro or small supplier by the date agreed in writing, which can never be more than 45 days from acceptance of the goods or services. With no written agreement, payment is due within 15 days.
If the buyer pays late, it owes compound interest with monthly rests at three times the RBI bank rate.
The rule covers micro and small suppliers only, not medium enterprises (except a small enterprise that grew into medium, for three years), and not traders.
A business buyer that pays a micro or small supplier late cannot deduct that expense for income tax until the year it actually pays. This was section 43B(h) of the old Income-tax Act; the Income-tax Act, 2025, in force from 1 April 2026, keeps the rule.
Companies that owe micro or small suppliers for more than 45 days must file a half-yearly return (MSME Form I) with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, with the amounts and the reasons for delay.
To recover a delayed payment, a micro or small enterprise with a Udyam registration files its case online on the MSME ODR portal (it replaced MSME Samadhaan for new cases); the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council takes it up.

Other benefits of Udyam registration

Benefit	What it gives
CGTMSE credit guarantee	Guarantee cover on bank loans to micro and small enterprises in manufacturing or services, up to ₹10 crore per borrower for guarantees approved from 1 April 2025. A Udyam number is required.
Priority sector lending	Bank loans to MSMEs count as priority sector lending, using the category in the Udyam certificate.
Trademark fee	₹4,500 per class by e-filing for small enterprises (with the Udyam certificate as proof), against ₹9,000 for others.
Patent fee	₹1,600 for Form 1 by e-filing for a small entity, against ₹8,000. The Udyam registration is the evidence filed with Form 28.
Government purchases	Central ministries and public-sector companies must buy at least 25% a year from micro and small enterprises; MSEs get tender sets free and do not pay earnest money (EMD). Security deposits still apply, and traders are excluded.

Parliament passed the MSMED (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in August 2026. It moves registration to a national digital platform, sets time limits for the Facilitation Councils and replaces criminal fines with a warning and then a penalty. We will update this guide as each part comes into force.

Questions people ask

Is Udyam registration free?

Yes. Registration on the government portal udyamregistration.gov.in costs nothing. Some private websites look like the portal and charge a fee.

What documents are needed for Udyam registration?

Nothing is uploaded. You need the Aadhaar of the proprietor, managing partner, karta or authorised signatory (with OTP), the PAN, and the GSTIN if the business must be GST-registered, plus bank, activity, employee, investment and turnover details.

What are the MSME limits in 2026?

From 1 April 2025: micro up to ₹2.5 crore investment and ₹10 crore turnover; small up to ₹25 crore and ₹100 crore; medium up to ₹125 crore and ₹500 crore. Both limits of a category must be met, and exports are left out of turnover.

Does a Udyam certificate expire?

No. There is no renewal. Keep the income-tax and GST details updated so the status is not suspended.

Is GST registration compulsory for Udyam?

No. A GSTIN is needed only if the business is required to register under GST. PAN is needed in every case (for a proprietorship, the proprietor's PAN).

Can a trader get Udyam registration?

Yes, retail and wholesale traders can register, but the benefit is limited to priority sector lending. The 45-day payment rule and other MSME benefits do not apply to them.

Within how many days must an MSME be paid?

A buyer must pay a micro or small supplier by the agreed date, never more than 45 days from acceptance, or within 15 days if nothing was agreed in writing. Late payment carries compound interest at three times the RBI bank rate.

Sources

Written from these official pages and notifications, checked on 4 Nov 2026. Rules change by notification: before you act, check the latest position or ask us.

General information, not legal or tax advice for your case. Parishrama Consulting Services is a private firm, not a government office.

Udyam registration: MSME limits, documents, steps and benefits