Documents required for GST registration in India: the complete checklist by business type

Almost every GST application that stalls stalls for the same reason: one document does not agree with another. The list itself is short and published — FORM GST REG-01 names every paper an officer may ask for — but it is worded for tax officials, the portal spreads the uploads across several tabs, and the size limits are tight enough that people compress a scan until nobody can read it.

This guide is the actual checklist: what every applicant needs, what changes with your constitution, how to prove your premises, when bank details are due, who needs a Digital Signature Certificate, what the biometric Aadhaar visit involves, and what to do if a REG-03 notice has already arrived.

Everything below is as of September 2026 and follows the CGST Act and Rules, 2017 and CBIC Instruction No. 03/2025-GST dated 17 April 2025, which tells officers what they may and may not demand.

What the portal actually asks for: REG-01 in plain words

Rule 8 splits the application in two. Part A takes your PAN, mobile and e-mail, verifies them by OTP and issues a Temporary Reference Number. No documents yet. Part B, opened with that TRN, is the real application, and every upload happens in it.

Documents every applicant needs

Whatever your constitution, these five are always in play. Have them ready before you open Part B: the TRN expires, and a half-filled application is worse than a fresh one.

• PAN of the business. The proprietor’s personal PAN for a proprietorship; otherwise the entity’s own. The legal name is pulled from PAN and cannot be edited; your brand goes in the trade-name box.
• Aadhaar of the promoters and the authorised signatory, for authentication by OTP. The mobile linked to Aadhaar must be in your hands on the day you file.
• A photograph of each promoter, partner or director and of the signatory. JPEG, passport style, plain background.
• Proof of the principal place of business — the upload that decides most applications.
• Bank account proof — cancelled cheque, first passbook page or bank statement. Due after grant, not before (Rule 10A).

Documents by constitution: proprietorship to trust

Two things change with your constitution: the constitution proof and the authorisation. Add the premises proof from the next section to whichever row applies.

A One Person Company follows the private limited row. A non-resident taxable person files attested proof of incorporation abroad and a home-country tax identification number, with an Indian-resident signatory holding a PAN.

The pattern is simple: the constitution proof shows the entity exists, the identity documents show who is behind it, the authorisation shows who may speak for it. A proprietorship needs no constitution proof because the proprietor and the business are the same person in law. Casual and non-resident taxable persons carry one extra obligation: under Section 27 they deposit tax in advance for the estimated liability, and the registration is valid 90 days, extendable once by 90.

Proof of the principal place of business: own, rented or shared

GST does not care whether the premises are grand. It cares that they exist, that you are entitled to be there, and that every document describes the same address. The REG-01 field called nature of possession decides which set applies, so choose it correctly.

One ownership document, not three. For own premises the form says “any one”. Three documents do not strengthen the application; they give the officer three addresses to compare, and one odd wording becomes your own query.

The chain has to hold. If you rent from someone who is himself a tenant, the ownership document must connect to the person who signed your agreement, or you must document the chain from owner to head lessee to you. This is the commonest failure with sub-lets.

Residential is legal. Nothing bars a residential address, and the CBIC instruction tells officers not to raise presumptive doubts about one. What defeats founders is the landlord, not the law: many residential leases forbid commercial use and the owner will not sign an NOC. That is why a commercial virtual office address for GST registration exists. For NOC wording and what a compliant agreement must contain, see the NOC and rent agreement guide; for when an agreement must be registered rather than notarised, the leave and licence guide.

Additional places of business

An additional place of business is any other address in the same state under the same registration — a godown, a branch, a fulfilment centre, a dark store. Each needs its own possession proof from the table above.

Two rules govern them. Under Section 25 with Rule 11, registration is state-wise and one per state per PAN; separate registrations for distinct places in the same state are optional. Under Rule 19 an address is a core field, so adding or changing one later goes through FORM GST REG-14 within 15 days and needs officer approval in REG-15.

For a marketplace warehouse the platform is the occupier, so it issues the consent letter naming you, and the possession type is consent or shared — never rented, because you are not the lessee. The VPOB and APOB guide walks through that amendment.

Bank account details and Rule 10A

You do not need a current account to apply. Rule 10A allows bank details to be furnished after the GSTIN is granted — within 30 days of grant, or before your first GSTR-1 or IFF, whichever is earlier.

The sequence that follows is useful: apply, receive the GSTIN, open the current account with the certificate as KYC, then add the account as a non-core amendment. Non-core changes are auto-approved.

What counts as proof: a cancelled cheque showing the name, account number and IFSC (a leaf without the printed name is not proof); the first page of the passbook; or a current bank statement. The account must be in the name of the registered person and linked to the same PAN.

Do not let the 30 days lapse. A registration left without bank details can be suspended, and a suspended GSTIN cannot file returns or issue compliant invoices.

Authorised signatory, letter of authorisation and DSC

Every registration has one person who signs for the business. For a proprietor or a Karta no paper is needed. For everyone else the authorisation is a document the officer will read.

A letter of authorisation or board resolution should do four things: name the entity and its PAN; name the person appointed, with PAN and address; say that the person may act as authorised signatory for GST, including filing applications, returns and replies; and carry the signatory’s own acceptance at the foot. Put it on the entity’s letterhead and date it before the application.

On signing, Rule 26 is strict: companies and LLPs must sign with a Digital Signature Certificate. Everyone else may use e-signature or EVC, an OTP to the Aadhaar-linked mobile. Budget a day for a DSC if you do not have one, and note three things:

• A Class 3 DSC in the signatory’s own name from a licensed certifying authority. As an indication only, the market price is roughly ₹1,000–2,500 for a two-year token, varying by issuer and whether hardware is included.
• It must be registered on the GST portal against the signatory’s PAN before it works, with the emSigner utility running on the same machine.
• It must be an individual PAN-based DSC, not an organisation one. A DSC in the name of a director who is not the declared signatory will not validate.

Aadhaar authentication and the biometric visit at a GSK

Aadhaar authentication is offered inside the application, and opting in is almost always right. Under Rule 9 an application with successful authentication is decided within 7 working days; one where it is not done or not opted for, or where the officer orders a physical verification, moves to the 30-day track.

Since 2024–25 many applicants are additionally routed to biometric-based Aadhaar authentication and document verification at a GST Suvidha Kendra. The portal decides this by risk profile; you cannot choose it.

1. You get a link, not an approval. After Part B is submitted, the registered e-mail carries either an ARN (the OTP track) or a link to book a Kendra appointment.
2. Book promptly. The link has a deadline. Choose a Kendra in the state you are registering in, not the nearest one to home.
3. Carry originals. The confirmation lists what to bring — typically the original Aadhaar and PAN of the person attending, plus originals of the documents uploaded.
4. The right person must attend. The promoter selected for authentication and the authorised signatory go in person; sending an assistant with a folder does not work.
5. The ARN is generated at the Kendra. Only after biometrics and document verification does the application reach the officer, and only then does the 7- or 30-day clock start.

File formats, sizes and scan quality

The portal is unforgiving here, and the limit is printed next to each upload box: PDF or JPEG for documents, JPEG for the photograph, and limits usually between 100 KB and 1 MB depending on the field.

Three habits save the most time. Scan in greyscale rather than colour — it halves the file size with no loss of legibility. Merge multi-page documents into one PDF in the right order. And after compressing, open the file and read it: “document not legible” is a common REG-03 line.

The ten mistakes that trigger a query

Almost every REG-03 traces back to one of these.

1. Address mismatch. The form says “Unit 4, 2nd Floor”, the agreement says “Office No. 4”, the bill says “Shop 4”. Make them read identically, down to floor, building, street and PIN code.
2. Legal name not matching PAN. An initial out of place stops the application at validation.
3. Wrong nature of possession. Filing a consent-based address as rented, or a rented one as own, makes the officer look for documents that cannot exist.
4. Ownership proof in the wrong name. The bill or tax receipt must name whoever signed your agreement or NOC. If it names a previous owner, document the chain.
5. Stale utility bill. Use one from the last two or three months; an old bill invites a question about whether the premises are live.
6. Illegible scans. Over-compressed, skewed or shot at an angle. Fix by rescanning.
7. Aadhaar authentication skipped or failed. This alone moves you from the 7-working-day track to the 30-day one, usually with a physical verification.
8. Missing or unsigned authorisation. A board resolution with no acceptance, or a letter naming someone not on the application.
9. Careless jurisdiction or HSN. The wrong ward, or a code that does not match your described activity, invites a question about what you actually do.
10. Nothing at the premises. No name board, a locked door, nobody to receive an officer. Rule 18 requires the certificate displayed at every place of business and the GSTIN on the name board; Rule 25 lets the officer verify and report in FORM GST REG-30; Rule 21 allows cancellation where business is not conducted from the declared place.

What to do when you get a REG-03

A FORM GST REG-03 notice asks for clarification, documents or information. It is not a rejection and it is not unusual. What matters is the clock: reply in FORM GST REG-04 within seven working days. Miss it and the application is rejected in REG-05.

1. Read the notice line by line. Officers number their points, and each needs its own answer. A letter that addresses two points out of three is treated as incomplete.
2. Work out what is really being asked. “Document unclear” means rescan. “Address mismatch” means attach what reconciles the difference. “Nature of possession incorrect” means the possession type must change.
3. Send only what is asked for. If the officer wants something outside the REG-01 list — the owner’s PAN, a photograph of the building, an original hard copy — supply the listed document and refer, courteously, to CBIC Instruction No. 03/2025-GST.
4. File REG-04 on the portal. Services → Registration → Application for Filing Clarifications. Answer each query in its own box, attach the files, sign with DSC or EVC.
5. Watch the registered e-mail. Next comes REG-06 with your GSTIN or, less often, a second query or a verification visit.

If the reply is accepted the certificate is generated. If not, REG-05 records the rejection with reasons — read them, because they say what to fix next time.

Using a virtual office address: the kit you need

If you have no premises in the state, or your landlord will not sign an NOC, a virtual office is the ordinary answer. It is not a special legal category: it is a real commercial premises whose address you are licensed to use, filed in REG-01 like any other rented or consent-based address. A usable kit is three documents plus a physical fact:

• A rent or leave-and-licence agreement in your legal name, for a specific unit, stamped and notarised, or registered where the state and term require it.
• A No-Objection Certificate from the owner permitting use of the premises as your place of business for GST.
• A recent utility bill for that same unit, matching the agreement word for word.
• A name board with your business name at the premises, and staff who receive your post and a visiting officer.

The last item is the one people underestimate. A provider that cannot show ownership proof for the unit, or cannot put your name on the door, is selling a mailbox — and Rule 21 cancellation follows a failed visit.

SimplySetup’s GST Registration package is ₹799 a month billed annually, 18% GST separate, and includes the address, the agreement, the owner NOC, the utility bill, the name board, mail handling and filing support until the GSTIN is issued. The lighter Business Address plan at ₹399 a month is address and mail only and deliberately does not include the agreement or NOC, so it is the wrong plan if registration is your reason. Premises are owned by SimplySetup or an exclusive partner, which is what makes the ownership chain provable — see what we promise and the addresses city by city.

Timeline after you upload

There is no government fee for GST registration at any stage. You pay for the premises, the stamp duty and notarisation or registration of the agreement, a DSC if your constitution needs one, and a professional fee if you use a consultant — a few hundred to a few thousand rupees. The fees guide breaks it down.

One date is worth marking. Under Rule 10, if you apply within 30 days of becoming liable, registration is effective from the date you became liable, so supplies in that gap are covered. Apply later and it takes effect only from the date of grant, and the tax in between becomes your problem, not your customer’s.

What to do next

Start with the two documents that decide everything: your PAN and your premises proof. Copy the legal name from PAN exactly, then make the address on your agreement, your NOC and your utility bill identical to each other and to the form. Confirm the Aadhaar-linked mobile is with you, arrange a Class 3 DSC if you are a company or an LLP, and leave the bank tab until after the GSTIN arrives. If the address is your weak link, fix that before you open Part B rather than after a REG-03. Tell us the state and your constitution and we will send back the exact list, the timeline and what the address kit costs.