Shop and establishment registration: what it is and how it works in your state

The Acts cover shops and commercial establishments: retail and wholesale premises, offices, service providers, agencies, warehouses, restaurants, hotels, theatres and places of amusement. That includes an office of one person with a laptop in most states. Factories are governed by the factories law instead, and some states exempt establishments with no employees or fewer than a threshold.

The owner must apply within a fixed period of starting business, 30 days in most states, 60 in Maharashtra and 90 in Delhi. Each premises needs its own registration, in the state and local area where it is situated, and a business with branches in several states registers in each.

The labour codes that took effect in November 2025 consolidate central labour laws; the Shops and Establishments Acts are state laws and continue alongside them.

States amend these rules often, several having moved to lifetime registration and self-certification in recent years. Confirm the current position on your state labour department’s portal before relying on the table.

• PAN of the business or the proprietor, and the identity and address proof and photograph of the owner, partners or directors.
• Proof of the premises: ownership document, or rent agreement with a utility bill, and in some states a photograph of the premises with the name board.
• The constitution document: partnership deed, LLP agreement or certificate of incorporation with the memorandum and articles.
• The nature of business, the date of commencement, and the number and category of employees, men, women and any young persons.
• An authorisation letter or board resolution for the signatory.

The application is made online on the state labour department’s portal or the local body’s, the fee is paid by the number of employees, and the certificate is issued from the same day to about two weeks, depending on the state and on whether an inspector verifies the premises. It must be displayed prominently at the premises. Changes in the name, address, nature of business or headcount are notified within the period the Act sets, usually 30 days, and closure within 15 to 30 days.

Banks accept it as proof of business for opening a current account, which is why proprietors take it first; see setting up a proprietorship. Payment gateways, marketplaces, landlords, lenders and government tenders ask for it, and it supports applications for GST, FSSAI and trade licences. It does not replace a municipal trade licence where the local body requires one, or any licence specific to the activity.

• Working hours: generally 9 hours a day and 48 a week, with a rest interval after five hours and a cap on spread-over.
• Overtime at twice the ordinary wage, within a quarterly limit.
• A weekly holiday with wages, and national and festival holidays.
• Leave: earned leave, usually one day for every 20 worked, plus casual and sick leave as the state provides.
• Women employees: equal treatment, and night work only with consent and prescribed safeguards such as transport and security.
• No child labour, and restrictions on young persons.
• Wages paid within the period fixed, with limits on deductions.
• Records: registers of employment, wages, leave and fines, increasingly in electronic form, and an annual return in some states.
• Notice or wages in lieu before terminating an employee with the qualifying service.

Penalties for running unregistered or breaching these conditions are fines that repeat for continuing offences; in Maharashtra they reach ₹1 lakh, and ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh with imprisonment where a contravention causes serious injury or death. Once there are employees, professional tax and, above the thresholds, PF and ESI follow.

Our Shops and Establishment service files in your state with the registers and displays it requires, from ₹999.