The Filing That Makes explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Until DIR-12 is filed, the Registrar's records still show the old board. Everything downstream depends on those records being right — who can sign a form, who is shown as a director in a due diligence, who a regulator writes to.
Thirty days. And since MCA21 V2 was retired, it's a different filing experience from the one most teams remember.
File DIR-12 within 30 days of any appointment, cessation, resignation or change in designation of a director or KMP. Attach the DIR-2 consent and board resolution for an appointment; the resignation letter and evidence of cessation for a departure. It's now on the V3 portal — V2 was decommissioned, with final shutdown on 30 June 2026. Late filing attracts escalating additional fees, and continued default carries a Section 172 penalty.
When DIR-12 is required
Any change in the composition of the board or the KMP:
| Event | Filed by |
|---|---|
| Appointment of a director, including an additional, alternate or nominee director | The company |
| Appointment of KMP — MD, CEO, CFO, company secretary, manager, whole-time director | The company |
| Resignation of a director | The company (the director may separately file DIR-11) |
| Cessation on expiry of term, removal, death, disqualification or vacation of office | The company |
| Change in designation — for example, a director becoming a managing director | The company |
The obligation is the company's. A resigning director's own filing, DIR-11, is optional since the 2017 amendment — but it's the only record the director controls, and worth filing if you're leaving over a concern.
Timeline: 30 days from the event, under Section 170(2).
What to attach
For an appointment:
- Form DIR-2 — the consent, dated on or before the board resolution
- Board resolution (and the shareholder resolution, where the appointment was approved or regularised in general meeting)
- Letter of appointment — for an independent director, the Schedule IV letter
- Interest in other entities — the director's disclosure
- DIR-8, where the company includes it
For a cessation:
- Resignation letter with the date of resignation
- Evidence of cessation — the board resolution taking note, or proof of the event where the office was vacated automatically
- Notice of resignation filed with the company
A note on dates. Under Section 168, a resignation takes effect on the date the company receives the notice or the later date the director specifies. That date — not the date the board noted it — is what goes into DIR-12. Getting this wrong shifts the 30-day clock and misstates the register.
Filing on V3
The MCA has decommissioned the legacy MCA21 V2 portal, with the final shutdown on 30 June 2026. All company and LLP forms, including the event-based ones like DIR-12, INC-22 and SH-7, now run on V3.
What's different in practice:
- Web-based forms rather than downloadable PDF e-forms. You fill and submit in the browser, with the ability to save a draft.
- Business User registration is required, and roles are mapped to the company.
- DSC association must be done on V3 separately from any V2 registration. This is where most first-time V3 filings stall.
- Pre-fill from DIN populates director details from the MCA database, so a mismatch between your records and the DIN record surfaces immediately.
- SRN generation and payment work as before; keep the SRN and challan.
- Resubmission requests come by email against the SRN, with a limited window.
If your team last filed a DIR-12 on V2, allow time for registration and DSC association before the 30-day clock is running.
Fees and late filing
Normal fees are based on the company's share capital, under the fee rules.
Additional fees escalate with delay — a multiple of the normal fee that increases with the length of the delay, up to twelve times. There is no cap that makes late filing cheap, and the multiple applies per form.
Section 172 provides the penalty for defaults under this chapter where no specific penalty is prescribed: the company and every officer in default are liable to a penalty of ₹50,000, and for continuing failure a further ₹500 for each day, subject to a maximum of ₹3 lakh for the company and ₹1 lakh for an officer.
So a late DIR-12 costs twice — additional filing fees, and potentially a penalty on the company and its officers.
The register you also have to update
Section 170 requires every company to maintain a register of directors and key managerial personnel, containing their particulars including details of securities held in the company, its holding, subsidiary, subsidiary of holding, or associate companies.
The register is kept at the registered office and is open to inspection by members. DIR-12 files the change with the Registrar; the register records it internally. Both have to be done, and companies routinely do the first and forget the second.
Where DIR-12 filings go wrong
- DIR-2 dated after the board resolution — the defect travels into the filing.
- Wrong effective date for a resignation — the date of receipt, not the date the board noted it.
- Missing the 30 days because the DSC or V3 registration wasn't ready.
- A deactivated DIN on the signing director, blocking the filing entirely.
- Name mismatch between company records and the DIN record, caught at pre-fill.
- Cessation not filed at all when a term simply expires — nobody treats it as an event.
- Register of directors under Section 170 not updated.
Item 6 is the quiet one. An independent director's five-year term ending is a cessation, and it needs a DIR-12 like any other. Because nobody resigned, nobody remembers.
Key takeaways
- 30 days from any appointment, cessation, resignation or change in designation.
- DIR-2 and the board resolution for an appointment; resignation letter and evidence for a departure.
- Use the date the resignation was received, not the date the board noted it.
- V2 is gone — final shutdown 30 June 2026. Everything is on V3.
- DSC association on V3 is the most common cause of a stalled first filing.
- Additional fees escalate up to twelve times, plus a Section 172 penalty for continuing default.
- A term expiring is a cessation — file it.
- Update the Section 170 register as well as filing with the ROC.
Read next
- DIR-2, DIR-8 and MBP-1: The Three Declarations Every Director Signs
- Resignation and Removal of an Independent Director
- DIR-3 KYC 2026: The New Three-Year Filing Cycle Explained
- Independent Director Appointment: Full Process Under Companies Act and LODR
Law stated as on 5 September 2026. Fee slabs and V3 form behaviour change from time to time — check the current form and fee calculator on the MCA portal before filing.