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NGO Registration
NGO Registration
NGO Consultancy
NGO Consultancy

Society Registration

Society Registration in India is processed under Society Registration Act 1986. Registering Society.  To register a Society minimum 7 members are needed. The societies are register in the Registrar of Society office at district or at regional head quarters of the state. If you want to register a State level Society the it can be registered in the concerned state. If your aim is to formulate a society at National level you need to register it in Delhi and for this minimum 7 members working as your promoters from different 7 states are required including one member from Delhi. One promoter from among these should apply to the concerning registrar with a list of probable name and three alternatives in case the preferred name is already allotted to some other Society.

Rules & Regulations and Memorandum of Association are required to get registered. The Memorandum must contain the name, area of operation, address of the registered office, name of members of governing body, objects and the names of promoters. A document containing rules of the society will also be required so that the reader gets an idea about the legal regulations to which the society would strictly adhere to like termination of a member, meetings, forums etc. The rules and regulations should address concerns like the procedure to obtain society’s membership and subscription; rules and regulations governing the society and its members; organizing meetings and determining their frequency, call for the meeting etc.; formation of the committee or governing body; appointment of auditors; settlement of legal matters and the reasons for dissolution etc.

If you are confused about the methodology or are short at managing time resources please feel free to Contact well experienced and recognised NGO Consultants. They would help you by providing the best experts in this field and take care of your entire documentation process. Documents like cover letter, memorandum of association, rules and regulations, affidavit of the president or the concerned member, proof of registered office etc. are required at many steps during the entire process. Thus, it is best advised to hire experts like NGO Consultancy and leave the hassles of registration up to them to save your valuable time- all the while making best use of prevalent strategies.

Information about Society Act – To Register Society

A society is an entity that consists of a group of individuals that unite for a common purpose such as:

  1. Promotion of Science.
  2. Promotion of Literature.
  3. Promotion of Fine Arts.
  4. Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.
  5. Grant of Charitable Assistance.
  6. Creation of Military Orphan Funds.
  7. Foundation or Maintenance of Libraries or Reading Rooms.
  8. Foundation or Maintenance of Public Museum or Galleries.
  9. Social Welfare
  10. Social Development
  11. Other required social and charitable Objectives

Societies are generally formed for the promotion of charitable causes, such as education, art and culture without financial gain (it is one of the three main types of NGOs in India). The registration of a society in India is governed by the Societies Registration Act, 1860 that aims at legalizing and bringing uniformity to the way such societies are governed. The Act has been adopted by all Indian states, many of which have made amended the original Act.

Members Required and Eligibility to become Members in Society:

Minimum seven people are required to be associated with the organization for any literary, scientific, or charitable purpose. Their names must be subscribed to the memorandum of association, and the same shall be filed with the Registrar of Joint-stock Companies to form a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. Charitable societies; the military orphans; societies established for the promotion of science, literature, or the fine arts for instruction; the diffusion of useful knowledge etc. are some of the examples of societies which can be registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

There are certain advantages and limitation of forming a society with which you must be acquainted completely before taking a decision to proceed any further.

Advantages in Society:

There are several advantages of forming a society:

  • A society becomes a separate legal entity once incorporated.
  • An incorporated society has the right to lease, rent, buy and sell property, borrow money and enter contracts in its own name. No member of the society has personal right or interest in any of the assets of the society.
  • An incorporated society continues to be a separate entity even if its membership changes.
  • Members are not personally liable for the debts, contracts or other obligations of the society unless:
  • The debts or obligations are incurred from activities undertaken to obtain money for pecuniary gain (profit); in such case every member involved is personally liable for these debts or obligations; or
  • The debts and obligations are incurred through unlawful activities; in such case every member involved is personally liable for these debts or obligations.
  • The rules governing the incorporated society must meet the minimum requirements set out in the Incorporated Societies Act 1908. Thus, members can be assured of the certainty in the way the society is run.
  • An incorporated society may be entitled to an income tax exemption.

Limitations in Society:

  • Tax exemptions extended to societies are applicable to public trusts only up to the extent the Income Tax department accepts their activities as being charitable.
  • As a charitable institutional form, in essence inappropriate for the for-profit, financially sustainable strategic goal of finance operations;
  • There is no system of equity investment or ownership, thereby, societies become less attractive to commercial investors interested in microfinance;
  • Commercial investors generally regard the investments in such entities risky primarily on account of their lack of professionalism and managerial practices and are, therefore, reluctant to commit large volumes of funds to them;
  • In accordance with Section 45S of the RBI Act, 1934, unincorporated bodies are not allowed to accept deposits from the public. Organization registered under the Societies Registration Act and the Trust Act is considered unincorporated bodies. Therefore, according to the law, they are not even allowed to collect savings from their clients; and
  • They are vulnerable to the implications of the money lenders (prevention of usurious interest rates) acts of various state governments.

Applicable Registrar of Society Office area and Authority

You have to apply for the registration of Society in the area where you are providing the registered office address. The registered office can be residential or commercial place. The jurisdiction of the Registrar of Society shall be applicable according to the registered office of the Society chosen/selected and provided by the founders. State level societies can be registered mostly from the district head quarters and national level society can be registered from Union Territory Delhi area.

Procedure to Register Society :

(You can check the legal procedure and process to form and register Society here)

Contact Concerned Registrar of Society or Consult Legal NGO Consultant

For the legal authentic procedure and requirements you have to contact at the concerned Registrar of Society office where you want to register the NGO as Society. You can contact legal NGO consultant for the detail information to register the Society through proper applicable process with required formalities for Society Registration.


Name Change Process for Society