Which registrations come first
Know which registrations a new business usually needs on day one, which can wait, and how to tell which apply to you.
5 min read
Registrations are confusing mostly because people try to do all of them at once. They are easier as three separate questions, each answered by a different office.
Three questions, three kinds of registration
Who are you, as a business? This is about identity: a bank account in the business's name, and Udyam (MSME) registration, which banks and most government schemes ask for. Udyam is free on the government portal and takes minutes, so it is worth doing on day one even when nobody has asked for it yet.
Which taxes do you collect? This is GST. Whether you must register depends on how much you sell, what you sell, and where your buyers are — and some kinds of selling need it from the very first sale. Business customers will often ask for your GSTIN before they buy, whatever the rule says.
Are you allowed to do this activity, here? Food needs an FSSAI registration or licence. Most shops and offices need registration under their state's shops and establishments law, which is different in every state. Some trades also need a licence from the local municipality.
Udyam and several other registrations are free on the official government portal. Websites that look official and charge a fee for them are not the government. Check the address before you pay anything.
A sensible order
- Before you sell: open a bank account for the business and do Udyam. Keep business money out of your personal account from the first rupee — it is what a bank will want to see when you ask for a loan.
- Before you open the doors: the activity licences — food, shop and establishment, municipal. These are the ones that can shut you down.
- When the rule says so, or a customer asks: GST. Do not guess the threshold from a friend's business; it depends on what you sell and to whom.
How to find out which apply to you
The rules change — the FSSAI limits changed in 2026, for example — and they differ by state. Rather than memorising them, use a checklist that is kept up to date and dated. The one below lists, for each registration, who needs it, what it costs, and the documents to keep ready.