Udyam registration for tenders: how to get your MSME (Udyam) certificate free

Udyam registration is how an Indian business proves it is a micro, small or medium enterprise (MSME). For government tenders, the Udyam certificate is the document buyers ask for before they give MSE benefits such as EMD exemption. This guide covers Udyam registration for tenders: who qualifies, what it costs (nothing), the steps on the official portal, keeping it updated, and what it does and doesn't get you.

What is Udyam registration?

The Ministry of MSME set up Udyam registration by a notification of 26 June 2020 (S.O. 2119(E)), with effect from 1 July 2020. It replaced the older Udyog Aadhaar and Entrepreneurs Memorandum systems. Under it:

• You register online on self-declaration, "with no requirement to upload documents, papers, certificates or proof" (para 2).
• You get a permanent Udyam Registration Number, in the format UDYAM-XX-00-0000000, and an e-certificate called the Udyam Registration Certificate.
• One enterprise, one registration. You can't file more than one, but you can add any number of activities, manufacturing or services, to it (para 6). All GSTINs under one PAN count as one enterprise (para 3).
• The certificate has a dynamic QR code that links to your details on the portal, and there is no renewal, says the portal.

When a central government tender asks for your "MSME registration" or "MSME certificate", this Udyam certificate is what it means: the Ministry's FAQ on the procurement policy says MSEs registered on Udyam are eligible for its benefits.

On 8 October 2026 the portal's dashboard showed 5,44,95,058 Udyam registrations, plus 4,35,33,739 on the Udyam Assist Platform.

Udyog Aadhaar vs Udyam: is the old certificate still valid?

No. Firms with Udyog Aadhaar (UAM) or Entrepreneurs Memorandum (EM-II) had to register again on Udyam from 1 July 2020 (para 7 of the 2020 notification). The old registrations were kept valid for a while, and the last extension, by notification S.O. 2134(E) of 6 May 2022, ran up to 30 June 2022.

If you still have only a UAM number, use UAM Migration to Udyam on the portal home page (or Assisted UAM Migration if your UAM was filed through an assisted route). Don't upload a UAM certificate in a tender.

MSME classification limits (current)

A notification of 21 March 2025 (S.O. 1364(E)) raised the limits from 1 April 2025. An enterprise is classified on both investment in plant and machinery or equipment and annual turnover:

Before April 2025 the limits were ₹1 crore and ₹5 crore (micro), ₹10 crore and ₹50 crore (small), and ₹50 crore and ₹250 crore (medium).

How the numbers are worked out, under the 2020 notification:

• Cross either limit and you move up. You move down only when you are below both limits of your current category (para 3).
• Investment comes from your income tax return. It excludes land and building, and furniture and fittings (para 4). A new enterprise with no ITR yet uses self-declaration.
• Turnover excludes exports, and is linked to your income tax and GST data (para 5).
• Growing doesn't cost you at once. After an upward change, you keep the non-tax benefits of your old category for three years (S.O. 4926(E), 18 October 2022). If you slide down, the change applies from the next 1 April (para 8).

Tender benefits are only for micro and small enterprises. A medium enterprise can register but doesn't get them; see MSME benefits in government tenders.

Is Udyam registration free?

Yes. The notification says: "There will be no fee for filing Udyam Registration" (para 6). The portal repeats that registration is "totally free" and "No Costs or Fees are to be paid to anyone".

If you need help, it is free at the Ministry's Champions Control Rooms, its MSME Development Institutes, and your District Industries Centre (DIC), which act as single window systems (para 9). The portal's contact for help is champions@gov.in.

Documents needed for Udyam registration

You don't upload anything, but you need these numbers ready:

• Aadhaar number of the proprietor (proprietorship), the managing partner (partnership firm) or the karta (HUF).
• For a company, LLP, cooperative society, society or trust: the organisation's PAN and GSTIN, with the Aadhaar number of its authorised signatory.
• PAN is compulsory for all. A proprietorship not registered under any law can use the proprietor's PAN (S.O. 1055(E), 5 March 2021).
• GSTIN where the CGST Act requires you to have one. If you're exempt from GST registration, you don't need it (same notification).
• Your business details: name, address, plants or units, the activity you do (from the NIC code list on the portal), and the owner's social category.

Your investment and turnover figures are taken from the income tax and GST systems. If you have no Aadhaar yet, a single window centre can help with your Aadhaar enrolment slip, bank passbook, voter ID, passport or driving licence (para 9).

How to do Udyam registration: step by step

1. Open udyamregistration.gov.in and click New Registration ("For New Entrepreneurs who are not Registered yet as MSME").
2. Aadhaar verification. Enter the Aadhaar number and the name of the entrepreneur as on Aadhaar, tick the consent, click Validate & Generate OTP, and enter the OTP.
3. PAN verification. Enter the enterprise's details and PAN so the portal can check them.
4. Basic details. Fill in the enterprise's name and details. Declare honestly whether the owner is SC, ST or a woman: the procurement policy's sub-targets depend on it, and the Ministry's FAQ says disclosing it is mandatory.
5. Official address and plant or unit details. Add each location.
6. Other details. Fill in the rest, including your activities (manufacturing, services or both) and the matching NIC codes. Pick what you actually make or do, because tender benefits are for goods you produce and services you provide.
7. Submit. You get your Udyam Registration Number, and the certificate is issued online. Download it any time from Print/Verify, then Print Udyam Certificate.

The Ministry of MSME has asked that the Udyam certificate held in DigiLocker be accepted as equal to the printed one (letter of 1 January 2025). Buyers can check yours with Verify Udyam Registration on the portal.

How to update your Udyam certificate

Click Update/Cancel Udyam Registration on the portal. Log in with your Udyam Registration Number and the mobile number in your application, and verify with an OTP on that mobile or email.

The 2020 notification (para 8) says you must update your information online, including details of your ITR and GST return for the previous financial year. If you don't update within the period set on the portal, your status can be suspended. Your category is also updated from ITR and GST data, and you get a message if it changes.

Keep the details true. Deliberately misstating or hiding facts in the registration or an update attracts a penalty under section 27 of the MSMED Act (para 6). Complaints about a registration are inquired into by the General Manager of the District Industries Centre (para 9).

Udyam Assist Platform for informal micro units

The Ministry launched the Udyam Assist Platform (UAP) on 11 January 2023 to bring informal micro enterprises into the formal system. A Press Information Bureau release of 4 March 2024 says enterprises without a GSTIN can register there, and that SIDBI implements it. The Udyam portal links to it as UAP Registration.

A notification of 20 March 2023 (S.O. 1296(E)) treats the Udyam Assist certificate at par with a Udyam certificate for priority-sector lending, and the RBI treats these units as micro enterprises for bank loans. The notification covers lending only. To claim MSE benefits in tenders, register fully on Udyam.

What Udyam gets you in government tenders

The Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises Order 2012, as amended, binds central ministries, departments and central public sector undertakings. The Ministry's FAQs on the policy (25 March 2022) set out the main benefits:

• A 25% target. Each central buyer must buy at least 25% of its annual purchases from MSEs, including 4% from SC/ST-owned and 3% from women-owned MSEs. The target is for the year, not for each tender.
• Free tender documents and EMD exemption. There is no exemption from performance security or security deposit. See EMD in tenders.
• Purchase preference. If L1 is not an MSE, an MSE within L1 + 15% can supply up to 25% of the tender by matching the L1 price. If the item can't be split, the MSE may get the whole order. See what L1 means.
• Relaxed experience and turnover, which central buyers may allow, subject to quality and technical specifications.
• 358 items reserved for purchase only from MSEs.

The limits matter as much as the benefits:

• Traders are excluded. Retail and wholesale traders can register on Udyam, but their benefits are restricted to priority-sector lending (Ministry office memorandum of 2 July 2021).
• Works contracts are excluded. The policy covers only goods produced and services rendered by MSEs.
• States aren't bound. The order applies to central buyers. States have been asked to frame similar policies, so check each state's rules and the tender.

MSME benefits in government tenders explains each benefit in detail. On GeM, add your Udyam number to your seller profile so MSE benefits can be applied in bids (GeM registration). You can find live GeM bids that relax experience and turnover for MSEs on GovtTenderHub.

Common questions

Is Udyam registration free?

Yes. There is no government fee for Udyam registration, updating it or printing the certificate. Sites that charge you are private agents, and the Ministry says no private agency is authorised to do MSME registration.

What documents are required for Udyam registration?

None are uploaded. You need the Aadhaar number of the proprietor, managing partner or karta (or of the authorised signatory for a company, LLP, society or trust), the PAN, and a GSTIN if GST law requires one.

Is Udyog Aadhaar still valid for tenders?

No. Old Udyog Aadhaar (UAM) registrations stayed valid only up to 30 June 2022. Migrate to Udyam using the UAM migration option on the portal and use the Udyam certificate in tenders.

Does the Udyam certificate need renewal?

No, the registration is permanent. But you must keep it updated with your ITR and GST details for the previous year, or the status can be suspended.

Can a trader get MSE benefits in tenders with Udyam registration?

No. Traders, distributors and sole agents can register, but their benefits are limited to priority-sector lending. The procurement benefits are for goods you make and services you provide.

Do I get EMD exemption in state government tenders with Udyam?

Only if the state's own policy and the tender allow it. The central MSE order binds central ministries, departments and CPSUs, not state governments.

What is the difference between Udyam and Udyam Assist?

Udyam registration is the full MSME registration with PAN and, where needed, GSTIN. Udyam Assist is for informal micro units without a GSTIN, and its certificate counts like Udyam only for priority-sector bank loans.