DIR-3 KYC Is No Longer an Annual Filing

3 KYC Is No 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.

For seven years, every DIN holder in India filed a KYC every September. That obligation is gone.

The MCA has moved DIR-3 KYC to a three-year cycle with a 30 June due date, and merged the two old forms into one. It's a genuine reduction in compliance burden — and it creates a new risk, because a deadline that arrives once every three years is a deadline people forget.

The Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Amendment Rules, 2025 — notified by G.S.R. 943(E) dated 31 December 2025, in force from 31 March 2026 — rewrote Rule 12A. DIR-3 KYC is now filed once every three consecutive financial years, on or before 30 June of the year immediately following the third year. A single unified Form DIR-3 KYC Web replaces both the old e-form and the web service. Directors already compliant have their next filing due by 30 June 2028. Late filing still costs ₹5,000 and deactivates the DIN.

What changed

The two changes that matter operationally: the frequency and the due date month. If your compliance calendar has a September reminder for director KYC, it's now pointing at the wrong month as well as the wrong year.

Who has to file

Every individual holding a DIN as on 31 March of a financial year. That includes:

• active directors in any company;
• directors who have resigned but still hold a valid DIN;
• designated partners of LLPs holding a DPIN/DIN;
• foreign nationals with an Indian DIN;
• disqualified directors — Section 164 disqualification doesn't suspend the Rule 12A obligation;
• DIN holders who are not a director anywhere at all.

There is no exemption for a dormant, unused or resigned-from DIN. The obligation attaches to the number, not to any office.

The only way out is to surrender the DIN in Form DIR-5. Until then, the filing obligation continues.

The next due date

Directors who had completed their KYC up to the changeover are covered by the new cycle, and their next filing falls due on or before 30 June 2028.

That's a long gap. Two things follow.

Diarise it now, in a system that survives staff changes. A compliance calendar entry two years out is worth more than three reminders in the month it's due.

Don't assume you're covered. If a director's last KYC was missed or the DIN was deactivated at any point, they are not on the clean cycle. Check the DIN status on the MCA portal rather than assuming.

Changes in your details don't wait three years

This is the part that gets misread.

The three-year cycle applies to the routine KYC confirmation. Any change in your mobile number, email ID or residential address must still be updated — using the same form — within 30 days of the change, with the applicable fee.

And a mid-cycle update does not reset the three-year cycle. You update because your details changed; your next routine KYC still falls due on the original schedule.

Practically, that means a director who moves house has a 30-day obligation that has nothing to do with the three-year clock. Treat them as separate duties.

What happens if you miss it

1. After the due date, the DIN is marked "Deactivated due to non-filing of DIR-3 KYC."
2. A deactivated DIN cannot sign any MCA form. AOC-4, MGT-7, DIR-12, INC-22, CHG-1 — all blocked for that director.
3. Reactivation requires filing the form with a ₹5,000 fee. Per DIN, per default.
4. On payment and filing, the status returns to Approved.

The ₹5,000 is rarely the real cost. The real cost is discovering in late October — with the annual filing due — that your only director with a registered DSC has a dead DIN, then losing days to reactivation while late fees accrue on the annual return.

A deactivated DIN is not a disqualification. The director remains a director; they just can't sign anything. The practical effect is similar and the legal position is different, which matters if anyone tries to treat it as a Section 164 issue.

Everything else moved too

This change landed alongside the decommissioning of the MCA21 V2 portal, with the final shutdown on 30 June 2026. All director-related forms — DIR-3, DIR-3 KYC, DIR-12, DIR-5 — now run on V3.

If your team last filed a director form on V2, expect a different interface, different validations, and a fresh round of DSC association on the portal. Budget time for that before the deadline, not during it.

A practical checklist

1. List every DIN holder connected to your companies, including directors who resigned but kept the DIN.
2. Check each DIN's current status on the MCA portal. Don't rely on records.
3. Confirm when each director's next filing falls due — most will be 30 June 2028, but not all.
4. Diarise it in a durable system, two years ahead.
5. Check DSCs are valid and associated on V3. Expired DSCs are what actually derails these filings.
6. Confirm mobile and email are personal, unique and reachable — both are OTP-verified.
7. Flag any mid-cycle change in mobile, email or address for a 30-day update.
8. Verify the status returns to Approved after filing.

Key takeaways

• G.S.R. 943(E) dated 31 December 2025, in force 31 March 2026, rewrote Rule 12A.
• Once every three consecutive financial years, due 30 June — not annually in September.
• One unified Form DIR-3 KYC Web replaces the old e-form and web service.
• Directors currently compliant file next by 30 June 2028.
• Every DIN holder must file, including resigned and disqualified directors.
• Changes in mobile, email or address: 30 days, and they don't reset the cycle.
• ₹5,000 and a deactivated DIN for a default — unchanged.
• V2 is gone from 30 June 2026; everything is on V3.

Read next

• Director Disqualification and Vacation of Office
• Filing DIR-12 on MCA V3: Appointment, Resignation and Change in Designation
• DIR-2, DIR-8 and MBP-1: The Three Declarations Every Director Signs
• How to Become an Independent Director in India

Law stated as on 5 September 2026. The MCA has historically extended director KYC due dates by general circular — don't plan around one, and confirm the current position on the MCA portal before filing.