Form 4 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.
One form can carry four different kinds of event for two hundred people — unless two of the events concern the same person.
When it is required
If any individual or nominee of a body corporate is appointed or ceased to be a partner / designated partner or in case of change in designation or name or address of such partner / designated partner then this form is required to be filed. And where there is a case of change in designated partners or partners in the LLP i.e. appointment or cessation, then along with this form, e-form 3 is also required to be filed.
The statutory chain
Section 7(4): "Every limited liability partnership shall file with the Registrar the particulars of every individual who has given his consent to act as designated partner in such form and manner as may be prescribed within thirty days of his appointment."
Section 25(2): "A limited liability partnership shall — (a) where a person becomes or ceases to be a partner, file a notice with the Registrar within thirty days from the date he becomes or ceases to be a partner; and (b) where there is any change in the name or address of a partner, file a notice with the Registrar within thirty days of such change."
Section 25(3): a notice "if it relates to an incoming partner, shall contain a statement by such partner that he consents to becoming a partner, signed by him and authenticated in the manner as may be prescribed."
Rule 10(3) adds the DPIN route: "Every designated partner shall intimate his consent to become a designated partner to the limited liability partnership and DPIN, in Form 9 and the LLP shall intimate such DPIN to Registrar on Form 4."
The form is generous about combining events and strict about one case.
Permitted: a single form can be filed for the dissimilar events (such as appointment, cessation, change in designation, and change in name / address) with different event dates, if the event dates fall within 30 days of filing the form.
So four different kinds of change, affecting different people, on different dates, can be filed together — provided every one of those dates is within thirty days of the filing. That last condition is doing real work: it prevents a stale event being carried along with a current one to disguise the delay.
Not permitted: the details of two or more events (for example, appointment and cessation) relating to the same person, shall be filed through separate forms.
The reason is registry integrity. If one filing showed a person both appointed and ceased, the sequence of their status could not be reconstructed from the record. Separate forms preserve the chronology.
There is also a queueing constraint: this form shall not be allowed to be filed in case another e-form 4 is pending for payment of fee or is under processing in respect of the said LLP. Combined with the parallel block on Form 3, this means an LLP with several partner changes must file them in sequence, waiting for each to clear.
And the capacity limit: this form allows details of maximum two hundred designated partners and partners to be filled, therefore in case the number exceeds two hundred then the details of the remaining partners / designated partners shall be filed through Addendum to eForm-4.
Enclosures by event
| Event | Mandatory enclosure |
|---|---|
| Appointment | Consent to act as a partner / designated partner |
| Cessation | Evidence of cessation |
| Change of name of an existing partner | Affidavit or any other proof of change of name |
| Appointment of a body corporate, or change of its nominee | Resolution of the body corporate on its letterhead to become a partner, and a resolution or authorisation naming and addressing the individual nominated to act as nominee / designated partner on its behalf |
Signing and certification
- DSC — a designated partner, and the person digitally signing the e-form should be different from the person in respect of whom the form is being filed.
- Certification — Company Secretary / Chartered Accountant / Cost Accountant (in whole time practice).
- Fees — the contribution slabs of Rs. 50, 100, 150 and 200.
- Delay — Rs. 100 for every day of such delay.
Common mistakes
- Combining an appointment and a cessation for the same person in one form.
- Batching events where one of the dates is more than thirty days old.
- Filing the partner change without the corresponding Form 3.
- Attempting a second filing while an earlier one is unpaid or in process.