Company details are checked on the register the Registrar of Companies maintains, reached through the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) portal, using either the company's name or its 21-character Corporate Identity Number (CIN). You pull the master data first, then the filing history, then the charge register, and finally confirm the current status. Those four views answer almost every question a lender, buyer or incoming director asks before signing.
Before you start
- The exact registered name, or better the CIN — it appears on invoices, letterheads, bank statements and every earlier filing, and it is the only search key that cannot be confused with a similarly named company.
- A clear reason for the check: to lend against the company's assets, to buy the business, to join the board, or to sue it.
- The name of the person you are dealing with, so you can match it against the current board and the signatories.
- A note of what the other side has told you, so you can test it against the register rather than accept it.
Steps
- Search by CIN, not by name. A name search throws up spelling variants, old names and group companies. If the company was renamed, the CIN stays the same and the master data shows the former name.
- Read the master data. This gives the registration number and date of incorporation, the type of company, the Registrar's office that has jurisdiction, the registered office address, the authorised and paid-up capital, the principal business activity, the current status and the date of last annual filing.
- Look at the status line, not just the word "Active". Active means the company is on the register and filing; it is not a statement of solvency. The register also shows companies that are struck off, under the process of striking off, under liquidation, under insolvency proceedings, amalgamated or dissolved. A company under liquidation cannot be contracted with on the ordinary footing the way an active company can, and a struck-off company can do nothing at all.
- Pull the list of directors and key managerial personnel. Cross-check the person signing your contract against this list, and note the date of each appointment. Then run a director or DIN search to see the other companies each person is associated with. A director who sits on the boards of several companies that were struck off is a warning you only get from this view.
- Open the charge register. This is the section most people skip and the one that matters most to a lender. Every charge created over the company's assets is registered here under Section 77 of the Companies Act 2013, with the name of the charge holder and the amount secured. A charge already registered over the same assets tells you the property is encumbered and that an earlier lender has priority. A charge that should have been registered but was not is void against the liquidator and the creditors — its own risk for the company.
- Read the filing history. The list of forms filed shows whether the company actually files its annual return and financial statements on time, whether directors change constantly, and whether any filing records a return of allotment, a change of registered office or a resolution you care about.
- Confirm before you rely on it. Download or print the master data and charge index with the date on it. Anyone can show you a page; the register with a retrieval date is the version that helps you later. If the check is feeding a purchase, a loan or a new appointment, our company formation and corporate compliance work starts from exactly these records, and the corporate and company law formats cover the resolutions and filings that follow.
Documents to keep
- The master data printout with the CIN and the retrieval date.
- The list of directors and the charge index.
- The filing history for the last few financial years.
- Any annual return or financial statement you were able to obtain, and a note of what you could not get.
What goes wrong
- Searching by name and trusting the first hit. Two companies can share almost the same name; only the CIN distinguishes them.
- Assuming "Active" means solvent. A company can be perfectly active and completely unable to pay.
- Not checking charges. Signing a supply or security contract without seeing the charge register is how a second lender discovers too late that the assets are already pledged.
- Relying on an aggregator page. Third-party mirrors lag the portal and occasionally carry the wrong figures. Check the register itself.
- Ignoring a director's other boards. Scattered strike-offs across one person's directorships point to a repeat default.
Common questions
Does the master data show who really owns the company?
No. The master data shows the directors, not the shareholders. Shareholding comes from the annual return or the register of members, and the beneficial owner is a further step again. If ownership decides the deal, ask for the shareholding pattern in writing.
Can I search by a director's name or DIN?
Yes. A director-based search lists every company the person is or was associated with, with the current designation and the date of appointment or cessation. It is the fastest way to size up the person in front of you.
What is the difference between struck off and under liquidation?
A struck-off company has been removed from the register and no longer exists as a going concern. A company under liquidation still exists but is being wound up, and its management has passed to a liquidator, so it cannot deal with its assets in the ordinary way.
Is the register public?
Yes. The register maintained by the Registrar is open to public inspection under the Companies Act 2013, and MCA filings are available to anyone who searches. You do not need to be a shareholder to check.
If you are about to lend, buy or join a company and want someone to read the register for you, FileX Advocates & Legal Consultants, 14 Hare Street, Kolkata, works through the MCA master data, filing history and charge register before you commit. Call +91 7439811422 or WhatsApp us to have a company checked before you sign.