Form 25 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.
Not an application to trade in India — an application to stop anyone else registering the name while the decision is made.
The provision
Rule 18(3): "A foreign LLP or a foreign company may on payment of fee as mentioned in Annexure 'A', apply in Form 25 to the Registrar for reserving its existing name by which it is registered in the country of its regulation or incorporation. Provided that such reservation shall be valid for three years but may be renewed on a fresh application along with payment of fee."
A foreign company or foreign LLP may reserve its existing name by which it is registered in the country of incorporation or regulation for a period of three years and for this purpose, eform-25 is required to be filed. Further in case, where the reserved name is required to be renewed for a further period of three years, the application shall be filed through this form only, before expiry of reservation period of 3 years.
This is a defensive filing, and understanding what it does not do is as important as what it does.
It reserves a name. It does not register a place of business in India, does not permit trading, and creates no Indian entity. A foreign LLP establishing a place of business files Form 27 separately, within thirty days of doing so.
What the reservation prevents is an Indian LLP or company being registered under the same or a confusingly similar name while the foreign entity is still deciding whether to come to India. Without it, a foreign group planning an Indian entry can find its own name taken by the time it arrives.
Note the qualifying condition: only its existing name by which it is registered in the country of its regulation or incorporation. A foreign entity cannot use this route to reserve a new or aspirational name — the name must already be the one it lawfully carries abroad.
The three-year term is generous and the renewal is straightforward, but the renewal must be made before expiry of reservation period of 3 years. An expired reservation is not renewed; a fresh reservation must be sought, and in the meantime the name is open.
The fees are the highest in the calendar for a name-related filing — Rs. 10,000 to reserve and Rs. 5,000 to renew, against Rs. 200 for a domestic RUN-LLP reservation. The reservation is longer and broader, so the pricing follows.
Filing requirements
| Parameter | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Who may apply | A foreign LLP or a foreign company |
| What may be reserved | Its existing name in the country of regulation or incorporation |
| Validity | Three years |
| Renewal | A fresh application in the same form, before expiry |
| Fee | Rs. 10,000 to reserve; Rs. 5,000 to renew |
| DSC | The applicant filing the application |
| Certification | Not required |
How it sits among the name routes
- RUN-LLP — a domestic reservation of a proposed name, Rs. 200, up to two names.
- FiLLiP — reservation combined with incorporation, one name only.
- Form 25 — a foreign entity's existing name, three years, renewable.
- Form 5 — change of name by an existing LLP, after prior RUN-LLP reservation.
- Form 23 — an application for a direction requiring a later LLP to change a similar name.
Common mistakes
- Treating a Form 25 reservation as authorising business in India.
- Applying for a name the entity does not already hold abroad.
- Allowing the three-year reservation to lapse before renewing.
- Reserving the name and never filing Form 27 on establishing a place of business.