Last updated: August 21st, 2023 1:04 PM

Director Identification Number (DIN)

Director Identification Number or DIN is a registration required for any person who wishes to register a company or become a Director of an existing company in India.

For further information regarding Director Identification Number (DIN), please refer to our comprehensive article.

Procedure for Obtaining DIN

Obtain DIN for a person who wishes to become a Director by filing form DIN-1 on the MCA website. Only a natural living person can act as the Director of a company. Hence, obtaining DIN is possible only for natural persons and cannot obtain it for any artificial legal entities like company, LLP, OPC, etc., The following documents need to be submitted for obtaining DIN:

• Photograph of the Applicant
• Proof of identity of the applicant
  • PAN is mandatory in case of Indian Nationals
  • Passport is mandatory in case of Foreign Nationals
• Proof of address of the applicant

In addition to the above documents, in case of filing of form DIN-1 for obtaining Director Identification Number for a person, then the document must be signed with a Digital Signature of the applicant. Hence, the digital signature certificate is a requirement for obtaining Director Identification Number.

Provisional DIN Number

DIN number is usually auto-generated on submission of the DIN application. However, in some cases, there is an allocation of provisional DIN in case of any defect in the application or as a part of the regular process. In case of a provisional DIN, it provides a letter to the applicant detailing the defect and re-submission of the DIN application. In such cases, the application can be re-filed with corrections or with a Chartered Accountant or Company Secretary signature within fifteen days from the time of notification for resubmission.

Common Reasons for DIN Rejection

• Applicant’s name and father’s name mentioned in abbreviated form. - Expand the Name even if the ID proof contains the name in abbreviated form.
• Mismatch in the Name and Father’s Name in DIN form with the ID (Identity) proof enclosed. - Any mismatch in Name, including spelling mistake, may lead to rejection of the application. It accepts the minor spelling deviations in the father’s name if such deviations do not materially impact the name.
• Prefixes like Mr. / Ms. / Kumari / Shri etc. used in the applicant’s name.
• Residence proofs like Bank Statements, Electricity Bill, Telephone Bill, Utility bills etc. submitted are older than 2 months of submitting the application for verification OR such documents are in the name of some other person, for example, father or spouse.
• The supporting documents are not duly attested i.e. Name, Designation, Membership/ Practicing certificate number etc. are not clearly indicated. – If the seal/ stamp does not contain membership/practising certificate number, the same may be recorded by hand.
• Do not attach expired Passport / Driving License / Identity proofs etc. – Only attach documents which are currently valid.

DIN Validity

DIN is valid for the lifetime of the applicant. Also, after obtaining DIN, an applicant should not reapply for DIN, i.e. not hold more than one DIN at any point in time. You can do a Company or DIN search through IndiaFilings.