GST Registration Online: The Full Process, Step by Step

You apply for GST registration on gst.gov.in in two parts. Part A of Form GST REG-01 checks your PAN, mobile and email and gives you a Temporary Reference Number (TRN). Part B takes your business details and documents. Once Aadhaar authentication is done you get an Application Reference Number (ARN), and the certificate comes in Form GST REG-06.

What should you have ready before you start?

Most stalled applications stall because someone began typing before the papers were scanned. Keep these on your desk first: your PAN, a mobile number and email that you can open right now, a photograph, proof of your place of business, and your Aadhaar with the mobile number linked to it. The linked mobile matters because the Aadhaar OTP goes only there.

The portal accepts PDF or JPEG files. A photograph can be at most 100 KB and the place of business proof at most 1 MB. If you have two papers for one upload slot, such as a rent agreement and the owner's electricity bill, merge them into one file.

How do you apply, step by step?

1. Open gst.gov.in and choose Services, then Registration, then New Registration.
2. Fill Part A: taxpayer type, State, district, the legal name exactly as on the PAN, the PAN, and the email and mobile of the primary authorised signatory (the person who will sign for the business; for a proprietor, that is you).
3. Enter the two OTPs, one from email and one from SMS. Each is valid for 10 minutes. The portal shows your TRN and also sends it to you.
4. Log in again with the TRN and open the saved application. This is Part B.
5. Fill the tabs in order: business details, promoters or partners, authorised signatory, authorised representative, principal place of business, additional places of business, goods and services, State specific information, Aadhaar authentication and verification.
6. In business details, answer the question on the Rule 14A option and on the composition scheme. The Rule 14A option is explained further down. Composition is a separate scheme with its own limits, so answer No unless you have already decided on it.
7. Upload the photograph and the place of business proof. Bank account details are not asked at this stage.
8. In the Aadhaar authentication tab, keep the answer as Yes and pick the people who will authenticate. For a proprietorship that is the proprietor and the primary authorised signatory.
9. Sign in the verification tab. A proprietor or partnership can sign with an OTP (called EVC) or Aadhaar e-sign. A company or LLP must sign with a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC), a USB token that signs documents.
10. Complete Aadhaar authentication from the link sent to you. The link stays valid for 15 days. The ARN is issued after this step and reaches you by email and SMS.
11. Track the ARN on the portal. If the officer sends a notice in Form GST REG-03, reply in Form GST REG-04 within 7 working days.
12. Download the certificate, Form GST REG-06, once approved. Then add your bank account through a non-core amendment within 30 days of the grant, or before you file your first GSTR-1, whichever is earlier.

Which forms will you come across?

When is biometric or physical verification called for?

Why do some people get an OTP link and others get asked to visit an office? Rule 8 of the CGST Rules lets the portal pick applicants using data analysis and risk parameters. If you are picked, the email carries an appointment link for a GST Suvidha Kendra (GSK) in place of the OTP link. You book a slot and carry the appointment email, your original Aadhaar and PAN, and the originals of the documents you uploaded. Your photograph and biometrics are taken there. The ARN is generated only after that visit, and if it is not completed in 15 days, no ARN comes.

Physical verification is a different thing: an officer visits your place of business. The instruction lists three cases. The system flags the application as risky even after Aadhaar authentication. You did not opt for Aadhaar authentication, or it failed. Or the officer, with an Assistant Commissioner's approval, considers a visit necessary. The officer uploads a report with GPS-tagged photographs in Form GST REG-30. What should you do? Make sure a name board is up and someone is present at the address.

How long does it take?

The instruction gives officers 7 working days from submission for a complete application that is not flagged as risky. Where physical verification is needed, the limit is 30 days. If a REG-03 notice is issued and you reply in time, the officer has 7 working days from your reply to approve or reject. These are directions to officers, so plan for them but do not treat them as a promise.

What is the three-working-day route under Rule 14A?

From 1 November 2025 the application asks whether you opt for registration under Rule 14A. You can say Yes if, on your own estimate, your output tax (the GST you charge) on supplies to registered persons will not exceed Rs 2.5 lakh a month, counting CGST, SGST, IGST and cess together. Aadhaar authentication is compulsory on this route. GSTN's advisory says registration is then granted electronically within three working days of the ARN.

A worked example. You expect to bill GST-registered shops Rs 12,00,000 a month at 18%. Your output tax on those sales is Rs 2,16,000, which is under Rs 2,50,000, so you can opt in. If you expected Rs 15,00,000, the tax would be Rs 2,70,000 and you should answer No. You can hold only one Rule 14A registration per State on one PAN, and leaving the scheme later needs a separate withdrawal application after your returns are filed.

What is the mistake people usually make?

They let a clock run out. There are three: 15 days for the TRN, 15 days for the Aadhaar link or GSK visit, and 7 working days for a REG-03 reply. Miss the last one and the officer can reject the application in REG-05, and you start again from Part A. The second common slip is a name that does not match the PAN letter for letter. Check your registered email daily until the certificate arrives.

Should you do this yourself?

If you are a proprietor working from premises you own, with Aadhaar linked to your mobile, you can do this in an evening. Paying someone makes more sense when the premises are rented on an unregistered agreement, when the business is a company or LLP, or when a REG-03 notice has already come once.

Frequently asked questions

Read next