Statutory registers are the records the Companies Act 2013 requires every company to maintain, usually at its registered office — chiefly the register of members, register of directors and key managerial personnel, register of charges, and registers of share transfers, loans, investments and related-party contracts. They are the company's authoritative internal record and must be available for inspection.
The core set for a private MSME company: register of members in form MGT-1 (who owns which shares, updated on every allotment and transfer), register of directors and KMP with their shareholdings, register of charges in CHG-7 (every secured loan), and registers of loans, guarantees and investments (MBP-2) and of contracts in which directors are interested (MBP-4). Minutes books of board and general meetings sit alongside them and are just as mandatory.
In practice these live in a bound book or a maintained soft copy printed and signed, kept at the registered office. They get read at exactly the wrong moments to be missing: bank due diligence, an investor's legal review, an ROC inspection, or a shareholder dispute. A company whose MGT-7 says one shareholding pattern while its register of members says another has a real problem. Updating registers the same week as the event is the cheap habit that prevents it.
Common mistake: assuming ROC filings substitute for registers. Filings are extracts; the registers are the primary record, and non-maintenance attracts penalties on the company and every officer in default. Companies that incorporated online and never printed a single register are the norm among small companies — and the easiest finding for any inspector.
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Frequently asked
- What is Statutory registers?
- Statutory registers are the records the Companies Act 2013 requires every company to maintain, usually at its registered office — chiefly the register of members, register of directors and key managerial personnel, register of charges, and registers of share transfers, loans, investments and related-party contracts. They are the company's authoritative internal record and must be available for inspection.
- Which statutory registers must a private company keep?
- Register of members in form MGT-1, register of directors and KMP with their shareholdings, register of charges in CHG-7, registers of loans, guarantees and investments (MBP-2) and of contracts in which directors are interested (MBP-4). Minutes books of board and general meetings sit alongside them and are just as mandatory.
- What happens if statutory registers are not maintained?
- Non-maintenance attracts penalties on the company and every officer in default. ROC filings are only extracts; the registers are the primary record.
Reviewed to the law in force in FY 2026-27. General information, not advice — confirm the position for your facts before acting.
