A company can’t appoint or re-appointment an individual as director unless he has been allotted a director identification number or DIN from the government.
You are required to compulsorily quote your director identification number in each e-form filed with the registrar of companies and in all such documents that you sign as a director.
As per section 153 of companies act, 2013, every individual intending to be appointed as a director of a company shall make an application for allotment of director identification number to the government in such form and manner and along with such fees as may be prescribed.
Based on provisions of companies act, 2013, we have following two type of situations:
- You are proposed to be appointed as a first director of a company, or
- You want to be a director in an existing company.
First directors are those persons whose name has been provided as proposed first time director in the article of association or SPICe form while filing for registration with ROC.
How a Director Identification Number or DIN is issued to directors
If you are not a director in any other company or doesn’t have DIN at the time of company registration, then don’t worry you can get it allotted automatically at the final stage of company registration process.
While filing SPICe form for company registration, your details as a director is also entered along with all the documents required. At the time of getting certificate of incorporation, each first director will receive their Director Identification Number allotted to them. Hence, you need not apply for DIN separately.
If you want to be a director in an existing company, then apply for a Director Identification Number (DIN) by using e-form DIR-3 online. DIR-3 is a e-form to be filed electronically using your digital signature certificate or DSC.
If you don’t have any DSC, then before applying for DIN, you have to get it issued in your name. You can approach any authorised agent to get it issued. They will be asking for your permanent account number as ID proof, photo and Aadhar or any other proof as residential address proof. At the end, you have to verify your email ID, mobile number and send one video clip stating that you are applying for the DSC.
DIR-3 has to be digitally signed by the applicant and certified either by a authorised director, company secretary in employment, manager, CEO or CFO of the company.
Here are the steps for applying director identification number or DIN;
- Download director identification number or DIN application form (i.e. DIR-3).
- Fill up all the details as asked in it.
- Attach scanned copy of ID proof, Address proof, photo and any other documents required (like marriage certificate).
After uploading successfully it will ask for payment of Rs 500 towards application fee. You can use your netbanking account to pay it online.
Before uploading, don’t forget to check and prescrutiny the e-form.
After getting approved, an approval email shall be sent to the applicant and to the user who has filed the form online on behalf of the applicant.
Documents required for getting DIN
Based on your requirements, you have to provide following documents to get the Director Identification Number issued:
- Scanned copy of proof of identity
- Scanned copy of residence address proof
- Passport size photo in JPEG format
All Indian nationals are required to produce their income tax PAN card copy as a mandatory requirement for proof of identity. In case of foreign national, passport is a mandatory requirement for proof of identity.
Copy of passport, Voter ID, ration card, driving license, Aadhar card, electricity bill, telephone bill and bank account statement in the name of the applicant are accepted as address proof. These documents should not be older than 2 months from the date of filing.
In cases of foreign applicant, address proof should not be older than 1 year from the date of filing.
In cases where the address proof has been provided is in language other than hindi or english, then it has to be translated in Hindi or English from a professional translator carrying details of name, signature, address and seal. In case of foreign national, translation to be done by the notary of home country is acceptable.
In case of a mistake or change into the particulars submitted in form DIR-3 or SPICe, you require to file DIR-6 with the additional details and documents.
Common mistakes why DIN application gets rejected
DIN application (DIR-3) or SPICe can be rejected by the government for issues in the attachments and if it’s not filled up properly.
Here is a list showing some of the common mistakes that one should avoid while applying for a Director Identification Number (DIN):
- Supporting documents submitted along with the application form are not clear enough to read.
- Bank passbook, electricity bill, telephone bill or any other utility bills submitted is older than 2 months from the date of submitting the DIN application form.
- Date of birth as mentioned in the application form is not matching with the ID and/or address proof attached.
- Name as in PAN is not matching with the address proof.
There can be cases where the applicant has changed his or her name after marriage or due to some other reason ID proof has a different name than the new name mentioned in DIN application form. In these types of cases, applicant must attach scanned copy of additional documents like marriage certificate or copy of gazette notification along with DIN application form to satisfy the government.
