Startup India (DPIIT) Registration
DPIIT recognition against the current eligibility criteria — the certificate that unlocks self-certification, easier procurement access and startup-specific schemes.
DPIIT recognition is what "Startup India" actually means in practice — a certificate from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade confirming your business meets the government's definition of a startup. It is not automatic just because you are new or small; it is a formal application against specific criteria.
The criteria were updated recently and are worth checking against the current notification rather than an older article. As it stands, your entity must be under 10 years from incorporation (20 years for Deep Tech), with turnover not exceeding ₹200 crore in any financial year (₹300 crore for Deep Tech), and structured as Private Limited Company, LLP, registered Partnership Firm, Cooperative Society or Multi-State Cooperative. A sole proprietorship cannot be DPIIT-recognised — this is the single most common reason an otherwise-eligible business gets turned away, so structure needs to be settled before you apply.
Recognition brings genuine operational benefits — self-certification under certain labour and environmental laws, easier access to government tenders and GeM's startup provisions, and eligibility for startup-specific funding schemes. Income tax benefits are also available to recognised startups meeting further conditions, but those specific conditions sit inside the income tax law currently being re-codified, so we confirm your position on that separately rather than stating it here.
Enquire about Startup India (DPIIT)
Tell us what you need. This opens as a WhatsApp message to us, ready to send.
Nothing is submitted from this page. Your details go straight into a WhatsApp draft you send yourself.
Prefer to call? +91 82482 03045Is this you?
If any of these describe where you are right now, this is the service you are looking for.
Your entity is under 10 years from incorporation (20 years for Deep Tech) and structured as Private Limited Company, LLP, registered Partnership Firm, Cooperative Society or Multi-State Cooperative.
Your annual turnover has not exceeded ₹200 crore in any financial year (₹300 crore for Deep Tech) in any financial year since incorporation.
Your business is working towards innovation, improvement of products or processes, or a scalable business model with high potential for employment or wealth creation — the substantive test DPIIT applies beyond the formal criteria.
You want access to GeM's startup-specific tender provisions and government procurement relaxations.
You want to explore whether the income tax and capital gains benefits available to recognised startups apply to you.
You are structured as a sole proprietorship and are considering converting specifically to become DPIIT-eligible.
Everything handled, end to end
The full scope of the engagement, so there is nothing to discover halfway through.
Eligibility assessment
Your entity type, age and turnover checked against the current criteria before you apply, so you are not rejected on a technical point.
Application preparation
The recognition application prepared on the Startup India portal, with your business description framed against DPIIT's innovation and scalability test.
Supporting documentation
Incorporation certificate, board resolutions and any required write-up assembled and submitted correctly the first time.
Post-recognition guidance
What self-certification and procurement benefits actually apply once you are recognised, and how to use them.
Income tax position, assessed separately
Whether the income tax benefits available to recognised startups apply to you, confirmed against current income tax law rather than assumed from older material.
Entity conversion, where needed
If you are currently a sole proprietorship, converting to an eligible entity type as part of becoming DPIIT-ready.
What you'll need to hand over
Collected once, at the start. We tell you which of these apply to your case before you gather anything.
For DPIIT recognition
- 01Certificate of Incorporation or Registration
- 02PAN of the entity
- 03Details of directors, partners or designated partners
- 04A brief write-up on how the business is working towards innovation or a scalable model
- 05Website, pitch deck or other material describing the product or service, where available
The written description of your business matters more than the document checklist. DPIIT recognition is not automatic for meeting the age and turnover criteria alone — the application is also assessed against whether the business genuinely reflects innovation or a scalable model, so this write-up is worth real effort rather than boilerplate.
4 steps, start to finish
Where the work actually goes, and what we need from you at each stage.
Eligibility check
We confirm your entity type, age and turnover meet the current criteria before you apply.
Confirm with us
Application and write-up prepared
The DPIIT application completed with supporting documents and a business description framed against the innovation and scalability test.
Confirm with us
Submission and recognition
The application submitted on the Startup India portal and tracked through to the recognition certificate.
On submission
Income tax position confirmed separately
Whether startup-specific income tax benefits apply to you, assessed against current law once recognition is granted.
Following recognition
What to expect, and what it costs
Timelines are indicative and depend on departmental processing and how quickly documents come back to us. Message us on WhatsApp for a written quote.
Enquire on WhatsApp- Eligibility check
- Confirm with us
- Application preparation
- Confirm with us
- Entity age limit for eligibility
- under 10 years from incorporation (20 years for Deep Tech)
Professional fees
On request
Common questions
The questions we are actually asked about Startup India (DPIIT). If yours is not here, ask us directly.
No. Eligible structures are Private Limited Company, LLP, registered Partnership Firm, Cooperative Society or Multi-State Cooperative. A sole proprietorship is specifically excluded, which surprises founders who started as a proprietorship and only later look into Startup India. Converting to an eligible structure first is a common, straightforward step.
₹200 crore in any financial year (₹300 crore for Deep Tech), in any financial year since incorporation, under the current criteria. This was raised from an earlier, lower cap — confirm the figure against the current notification if you are relying on something you read some time ago.
under 10 years from incorporation (20 years for Deep Tech), measured from the date of incorporation on your registration certificate — not from when you actually started operating, which is often earlier and can catch founders out.
No. DPIIT also assesses whether the business reflects genuine innovation, improvement of an existing product or process, or a scalable model with real potential for employment or wealth creation. Meeting the formal criteria gets you in the door; the substantive test is what is actually being evaluated.
Recognised startups meeting further conditions can access income tax benefits, but the specific conditions and the exemption mechanism sit within income tax law that is currently being re-codified under the new Income Tax Act. We assess your specific position separately once you are recognised, rather than quoting a general figure that may not hold.
Self-certify compliance under specified labour and environmental laws, access relaxed norms and startup-specific provisions on GeM and government tenders, and become eligible to apply for startup-specific government funding schemes. Which of these matter most depends on how your business actually operates.
You might also need
Services that usually come up in the same conversation as this one.
Simplify compliance.Accelerate growth.
We respond fast.