Startup India registration fees: full breakdown
The government fee for DPIIT recognition is ₹0. That's not a typo, and it's worth saying plainly upfront - if you file it yourself on startupindia.gov.in with a strong application, you pay the government nothing. So what exactly is a professional fee paying for? Here's the honest breakdown of what's free, what costs money, and why.
Government fee vs professional fee
These are two entirely separate line items, and conflating them is where most confusion comes from. The government fee is what DPIIT itself charges to process your application - and for both DPIIT recognition and the 80-IAC tax exemption filing, that figure is ₹0. Neither costs anything at the government level.
The professional fee is what a service provider charges for the work of preparing, drafting, and filing the application on your behalf - primarily the innovation note, which is the single document reviewers use to decide whether to approve, query, or reject your application.
Full fee breakdown
| Item | Government Fee | Professional Fee |
|---|---|---|
| DPIIT recognition | ₹0 | Included in plan (starts at ₹2,999) |
| 80-IAC tax exemption filing | ₹0 | ₹7,000 add-on |
| Patent fast-track application (separate service) | As per Patent Office schedule (80% rebate for recognised startups) | Quoted separately |
The three packages, and what's actually in each
Based on how deep your Startup India needs go, the three common packages are:
- DPIIT Recognition (₹2,999) - Startup India portal setup, AI-assisted innovation note draft, document preparation and filing, and the DPIIT recognition certificate itself. This is the core, most-purchased tier for founders who are already incorporated and just need recognition done right.
- DPIIT Recognition + 80-IAC Filing (₹9,999) - everything above, plus pitch deck review, financial projection support, and the 80-IAC application filed to the Inter-Ministerial Board. This is for founders who want the tax exemption pursued alongside recognition, not as an afterthought months later.
- Full Startup Package (₹19,999) - Private Limited or LLP incorporation, DPIIT recognition, 80-IAC filing, and one year of compliance support bundled together. This is for founders starting from zero - no entity yet - who want the whole path handled end to end.
What's free vs what you're actually paying for
It's worth being direct about this: DPIIT recognition itself, as a piece of government process, costs nothing and can be filed by any eligible founder on startupindia.gov.in without paying anyone. The 80-IAC filing is the same - no government fee either.
What a professional fee buys is not access to the application (that's free and open to everyone) - it's the quality of the innovation note, correct handling of the application details, and avoiding the costly rejection-and-requery cycle that adds weeks to your timeline if the first attempt is vague or generic. A ₹2,999 fee that gets you approved in the first 2-7 day window is, in practical terms, cheaper than a free DIY attempt that gets queried, requires a rewrite, and adds 3-4 weeks of delay to a funding-round-dependent recognition certificate.
The 80-IAC add-on fee reflects meaningfully more work: a pitch deck review, 5-year financial projection support, and preparing an application the Inter-Ministerial Board - a stricter, less predictable reviewer than DPIIT's initial recognition team - is more likely to approve on the first pass.
What's not included in any package
A few things sit outside all three packages and are worth budgeting for separately: company or LLP incorporation (unless you've chosen the Full Startup Package, which bundles it), patent/trademark/design filing fees themselves (as opposed to the DPIIT rebate on those fees), and responding to any Inter-Ministerial Board queries that go beyond the initial 80-IAC filing.
Frequently asked questions
Is DPIIT recognition really free?
Yes, the government charges no fee at all for DPIIT recognition. You can file directly on startupindia.gov.in yourself at zero government cost. Professional fees, where they apply, cover the work of drafting a strong innovation note and handling the application, not a government charge.
Why would I pay a professional fee if DPIIT recognition is free to file myself?
The fee isn't for access to the free government process - it's for the quality of your innovation note (the biggest factor in first-attempt approval) and for avoiding the multi-week delay of a clarification query or rejection on a weak, self-written application.
Does the 80-IAC exemption have a government fee?
No, filing for the 80-IAC tax exemption with the Inter-Ministerial Board also has no government fee. The ₹7,000 add-on some providers charge, including us, covers pitch deck review, financial projection support, and application preparation.
What's the cheapest way to get DPIIT recognition?
Filing it yourself directly on startupindia.gov.in costs ₹0 in government fees. Whether that's the cheapest option overall depends on whether your innovation note is strong enough to pass on the first attempt - a rejected or queried application costs you time, not money, but time can matter if recognition is tied to a funding deadline.
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See current plans and pricingLast updated 7 September 2026