NBFC Registration Services in India
End-to-End RBI Licence & Compliance Support

Whether you plan a lending business, an investment and credit company, or a specialised financial platform, the registration route and category must be chosen carefully — the requirements, documents, and RBI expectations differ for each. This page is part of our broader NBFC services, and connects with our business setup practice for the company-formation groundwork that comes first.

This guide covers everything — what NBFC registration is, the eligibility and capital requirements, the types of NBFCs you can register, how an NBFC differs from a bank, and the step-by-step RBI registration process. Because the licence is only the beginning, our NBFC annual compliance support also keeps the company in good standing after the CoR is issued.

NBFC registration is the process of obtaining a Certificate of Registration from the Reserve Bank of India under Section 45-IA of the RBI Act, 1934. Without this CoR, no company can lawfully commence or carry on the business of a non-banking financial institution in India — lending, investment, or other financial activity as its principal business. Operating without registration is an offence that invites penal action.

A company is treated as an NBFC when financial activity is its principal business — broadly, when financial assets make up more than half of its total assets and income from those assets makes up more than half of its gross income. A small set of entities regulated by other authorities, such as SEBI-registered or IRDAI-registered companies and Nidhi companies, are exempt from RBI registration. For everyone else, the CoR is mandatory — and the RBI evaluates intent, financial strength, governance standards, and long-term sustainability, not just documents.

Before an application reaches the RBI, the company must satisfy a set of threshold conditions:

We assess eligibility upfront, because the RBI rarely gives weak applications a second chance — fixing gaps before filing saves months.

The RBI classifies NBFCs by activity, and the category determines the capital requirements and compliance load. Common registration routes include the NBFC – Investment and Credit Company (NBFC-ICC), which covers most lending and investment models and is the route the majority of new applicants take; microfinance institutions (NBFC-MFI); housing finance companies; core investment companies for group holding structures; NBFC-Factors for receivables financing; and specialised platforms such as peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and Account Aggregators. We help you select the category that matches your business goals before a single form is filed.

Both banks and NBFCs lend and invest, but they are licensed and regulated very differently. An NBFC cannot accept demand deposits such as savings or current accounts, does not form part of the payment and settlement system, and cannot issue cheques drawn on itself. Deposit insurance from DICGC, which protects bank depositors, does not cover NBFC customers. Banks operate under the Banking Regulation Act; NBFCs are registered under Section 45-IA of the RBI Act, 1934.

That difference is exactly why the NBFC route works for focused financial businesses. A banking licence is extraordinarily hard to obtain, while an NBFC licence — demanding as it is — provides a credible, RBI-regulated platform for lending and investment activity. Almost all new NBFCs are registered as non-deposit-taking (NBFC-ND), funding their business through equity and borrowings rather than public deposits. Choosing between categories, and structuring the application accordingly, is where we help you decide clearly before you commit.

NBFC registration follows a defined sequence, and the quality of each stage decides how smoothly the RBI scrutiny goes. Here is how we run the process, so you always know the next step.

Step 1 — Assess eligibility and choose the category: we review the promoter profile, source of funds, and proposed activity, and confirm the right NBFC category. Step 2 — Incorporate or restructure the company: a private limited or public limited company under the Companies Act, with financial activity in its main objects. Step 3 — Arrange the Net Owned Fund: capital of ₹10 crore is brought in from documented sources, deposited with the bank, and certified by the banker.

Step 4 — Prepare the documentation and policies: business plan and projections, Fair Practices Code, risk management and internal control policies, KYC and credit reports of directors, declarations, and disclosures. Step 5 — File the application with the RBI: online on the COSMOS portal, followed by submission of the physical application with annexures to the regional office. Step 6 — RBI scrutiny to Certificate of Registration: we manage queries and clarifications, follow up until the CoR is granted, and then set up the post-registration compliance framework. End to end, a complete application typically moves through RBI scrutiny in around three to six months.

At N D Savla & Associates, we provide end-to-end support for NBFC registration and the regulatory work around it. Our NBFC registration services cover the full journey:

NBFC registration is not about speed — it is about approval. The RBI evaluates intent, financial strength, and governance, and casually prepared applications rarely survive scrutiny. As a Chartered Accountant firm with RBI-facing experience, we prepare applications properly rather than pushing them: a clear reading of regulatory expectations, customised documentation, one-point accountability from eligibility check to licence, and realistic timelines throughout.

Clients choose us because we keep the process transparent and practical. You get straightforward advice on whether and how to apply, structuring that anticipates RBI questions before they are asked, and continuing support after approval through our NBFC annual compliance services — so the company stays in good standing long after the licence is granted.