Any person who is a Director of a Company or a Designated Partner of a LLP or a Professional like Chartered Accountant or Company Secretary must register DSC on MCA portal to file forms. If a DSC is not registered on the MCA portal, the person would not be able to file any forms. As a Director’s or Partner’s DSC is required for filing annual returns and various other forms, its important to register the DSC on MCA portal after incorporation. In this article, we look at the procedure to register DSC on MCA Portal in detail.

Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)

Digital Signature Certificate or DSC is an encrypted electronic signature of a person. Digital signatures are stored in encrypted USB drivers and can be accessed only with a password. Class 2 DSC is required for filing various types of returns with the Government like Annual Return, Income Tax Return, GST Return and completing other statutory filings. The main vendors for digital signature in India are Sify, E-Mudhra and N-Code.

Validity of Digital Signatures

Unlike PAN or Director Identification Number (DIN), DSCs are not valid for life. DSCs are usually valid for one or two years and at end of its validity must be renewed. Once a DSC is renewed, the process to register DSC on MCA portal must be repeated to register the new DSC.

Registration of DSC on MCA Portal

Any Director or Designated Parter or Professional intending to file a form on the MCA portal must first register the DSC. Registration of DSC on MCA Portal allows MCA to to know the identity of the person who is using a Digital Signature Certificate and prevent unauthorised use. The following steps can be followed to register DSC on MCA portal.

Step 1: Go to Ministry of Corporate Affairs official website to register DSC.

Step 2: Click on MCA Services and then select Associate DSC option from drop down menu.

Step 3: Select the Appropriate Role of the person for whom DSC is to be registered.

In case of Director/Designated Partner – Select Director to update DIN/DPIN details.

In case of Manager, Practicing Professional & Authorised Representative – PAN based details are required to register DSC.

Step 4: Enter the details requested in the next page. Details should be same as in DIN/PAN.

Step 5: In the next screen you will be asked to enter your e-mail id and select the digital signature certificate.

To select digital signature certificate, download & install MCA E-Signer. You can download the MCA E-Signer from the link provided in the same screen.You can download the MCA E-Signer from the link provided in the same screen.

Note: To install MCA E-Signer in to your system, the operating system should be Windows 10 & it should have JAVA 10 & above.

Step 6: Accept the declaration that you have provided the correct and complete information by checking the box. 

Step 7: Insert the DSC to be registered on MCA portal into the USB drive on your computer.

Step 8: You will now see the window which will prompt you to select the Digital Signature of the concerned person, enter DSC password and associate.

Step 9: Click on submit button. A congratulatory message will be displayed.

“Congratulations your DSC has been successfully associated with the MCA’