DIR-3 KYC: the 30 September deadline, what changed for 2026, and what a deactivated DIN costs you

DIR-3 KYC is the yearly identity check the Ministry of Corporate Affairs runs on every DIN holder. It's tied to your DIN. It doesn't ride on any single company or LLP. File once and it covers you across every entity you're a director or designated partner in.

Who this actually covers

DIR-3 KYC isn't a company filing or an LLP filing. It's tied to the DIN itself, so it reaches company directors and LLP designated partners the same way. Private limited or LLP doesn't matter. Hold an active DIN and MCA expects a KYC filing from you on whatever cycle currently applies to that DIN.

The rule you already know

Rule 12A of the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014 sets the deadline at 30 September every financial year. File on time and it's free. This is the rule MCA has enforced for years, and it's still live for anyone whose DIN hasn't rolled into the new three-year cycle yet.

What changes from FY 2026-27

The Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Amendment Rules, 2025, notified 31 December 2025 as G.S.R. 943(E), moves DIR-3 KYC from an annual filing to once every three financial years. The new due date is 30 June of the year the cycle closes. That replaces 30 September. MCA frames the change as effective from FY 2026-27. The source documents split on the exact date within that framing: one puts it at 31 March 2026, another at 1 April 2026. That's a one-day gap, most likely FY-end versus FY-start phrasing of the same cutover rather than two different rules. Treat "FY 2026-27" as the safe way to read it until the primary MCA gazette text settles the point.

Which deadline is actually yours

This is where people get it wrong. If you already filed DIR-3 KYC for FY 2025-26, the one due by 30 September 2025, your three-year clock looks to start from that filing rather than from FY 2026-27. That would put your next KYC due 30 June 2028 instead of 30 September 2026. If your DIN is newer, or your filing history reads differently, your date could sit somewhere else entirely. We check this against your actual DIN before we tell you what to file and when, and if you're unsure which cycle you're on, that's exactly the question to bring us.

A single unified filing form

DIR-3-KYC, the e-form used for a first-time filing or a change in details, and DIR-3-KYC-WEB, the simple web form used in a no-change year, are merging into a single unified Form DIR-3 KYC Web.

An address or contact change still moves on a 30-day clock

The three-year shift doesn't touch this rule. Change your mobile number, email, or residential address and you still have 30 days to update it through DIR-3 KYC-Web, no matter where you sit in the cycle.

What a missed deadline actually costs

Miss your date and MCA auto-marks your DIN "Deactivated due to non-filing of DIR-3 KYC." A deactivated DIN can't sign an MCA form, can't approve a filing, and can't be appointed to a new company. It also blocks your own company's filings anywhere they need your digital signature. Reactivating it costs a flat Rs 5,000 per DIN. The fee doesn't scale down for company size and it doesn't waive for a genuine oversight.

What to keep ready

• Your DIN and PAN
• Aadhaar, with the mobile number and email linked to it, both need to receive an OTP during filing
• A valid digital signature certificate
• Whichever version of the unified web form applies to your DIN this cycle

Ten minutes if everything above is current. Longer if any detail on file with MCA is out of date.

We handle DIR-3 KYC filing and DIN reactivation as part of our documentation and compliance work. We don't give legal advice. We check which rule applies to your specific DIN and get the filing in before MCA deactivates you.