When is Form DIR-12 due after appointing a director?
What Form DIR-12 records when a company appoints a director or key managerial person, the thirty-day clock under section 170, how consent sits before the filing, and how DIR-12 is also used when a director ceases to hold office.
In this guide
Form DIR-12 is due within thirty days of the appointment of a director or key managerial person, under section 170(2) of the Companies Act, 2013. The company files it, not the appointee. Written consent in Form DIR-2 must be in hand before filing. The same return also records a change in designation or a cessation of office.
What does Form DIR-12 record?
DIR-12 is the company's return to the Registrar of the people who hold office as directors and key managerial personnel, and of changes among them. The form title is particulars of appointment of directors and the key managerial personnel and the changes among them. It is a company filing, not a filing by the person being appointed.
The governing return duty is section 170 of the Companies Act, 2013. Appointment itself sits in section 152. An additional, alternate or nominee director is appointed under section 161. DIR-12 is how those events reach the Registrar.
When does the DIR-12 clock start?
Section 170 requires the return to be filed with the Registrar within thirty days of the appointment of every director and key managerial person. The clock starts on the date of appointment. A DIN allotted earlier, or a board discussion that has not yet become an appointment, does not start that thirty days.
Late filing attracts additional fee. Confirm the live fee table on the MCA portal rather than relying on an old note, because the form version and the fee schedule both move through MCA notifications.
Is the DIR-12 date counted from DIN allotment?
No. The thirty days run from the date of appointment, not from DIN allotment. A DIN obtained in January for a person appointed on 5 March gives a DIR-12 due date of 4 April. The DIN is a prerequisite for the appointment, not the event that starts the section 170(2) clock.
Is DIR-2 consent needed before DIR-12?
A person proposed as a director gives consent to act as director before the appointment is recorded. That consent is the DIR-2 declaration. DIR-12 then carries the appointment to the Registrar. Filing DIR-12 without that consent is the usual reason the form comes back.
First directors named in the articles are also reported through this return at incorporation. The form cites section 7 along with section 170 for that first filing. After incorporation, each later appointment is its own thirty-day event.
Does DIR-12 also record a cessation?
DIR-12 is not an appointment-only form. A change in designation uses it, and so does a cessation. When a director resigns, the company still files DIR-12 to record the vacancy. The resigning director may also file DIR-11; that is a separate, optional filing by the director and does not replace the company's return. The resignation path is covered in the director resignation guide.
| Event | Who files | Form |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment of a director or KMP | Company | DIR-12, within 30 days |
| Consent to act as director | The person appointed | DIR-2, before the company files |
| Cessation, including resignation | Company | DIR-12 |
| Director's own record of resignation | Resigning director (optional) | DIR-11 |
Does DIR-11 by the director replace the company DIR-12?
No. DIR-11 is the resigning director's own filing under rule 16 of the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014, made within thirty days of the resignation. Only the company's DIR-12 removes the director from the Registrar's record of who holds office, so the company duty stands whether or not DIR-11 was filed.
How is the register of directors updated?
Section 170 also requires the company to keep a register of directors and key managerial personnel at its registered office. DIR-12 updates the Registrar's record. The internal register is updated to match: the person now holds office from the appointment date, or has ceased from the effective date of cessation.
How do I confirm the DIR-12 requirements?
- Read section 170 for the thirty-day return and the register.
- Read section 152 (or section 161 for an additional, alternate or nominee director) for how the appointment itself is made.
- Take written consent to act as director, then file DIR-12 within thirty days of the appointment date.
- Confirm the current form instructions on the MCA DIR-12 page before uploading.
Why does a DIR-12 filing get rejected?
- Counting thirty days from DIN allotment or from the board meeting notice, instead of from the date of appointment.
- Filing DIR-12 without the person's consent to act as director.
- Treating DIR-11 filed by a resigning director as enough, and skipping the company's DIR-12.
- Updating the Registrar filing and leaving the internal register of directors unchanged.
Where are DIR-12 form changes published?
DIR-12 versions, instruction kits and fee tables move through MCA notifications. Complied AI keeps MCA updates in one feed so you can open the source behind a change instead of working from an old printout. When you need the return duty itself, open section 170 next to the update.
Practical checks
Common questions
When is DIR-12 due after appointing a director?
Within thirty days of the appointment. Section 170 of the Companies Act, 2013 requires the company to file a return of the directors and key managerial personnel with the Registrar in that window. Count from the date of appointment, not from the date the DIN was allotted.
Is DIR-12 only for new appointments?
No. The form records particulars of appointment of directors and key managerial personnel and the changes among them. A change in designation uses the same return, and so does a cessation, including a resignation filed by the company.
Does the director file DIR-12?
No. The company files DIR-12 with the Registrar. The person being appointed gives consent to act as director, and that consent sits with the company's filing. A resigning director may separately file DIR-11; that does not replace the company's DIR-12.
What has to happen before DIR-12 is filed on an appointment?
The person must be appointed under the Act, typically under section 152 of the Companies Act, 2013 or, for an additional, alternate or nominee director, under section 161, and must have given written consent in Form DIR-2. DIR-12 then tells the Registrar who now holds office.
The board appointed an additional director on 5 March. When do we file DIR-12?
DIR-12 for an additional director appointed on 5 March is due by 4 April, thirty days from the appointment date under section 170(2) of the Companies Act, 2013. The appointment itself rests on section 161 and the articles. The DIN allotment date and the board notice date are irrelevant to the thirty-day count.
We missed the DIR-12 deadline. What does the delay cost?
A late DIR-12 attracts additional fee under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014, charged on a multiple of the normal fee that rises with the length of delay. Section 172 of the Companies Act, 2013 also carries a penalty for contravention of section 170. Confirm the current fee multiple on the MCA DIR-12 page before filing.
Do we file DIR-12 for a company secretary appointment too?
Yes. Form DIR-12 covers key managerial personnel as well as directors, so appointing a company secretary, managing director, whole-time director or chief financial officer is reported on the same return within thirty days under section 170(2) of the Companies Act, 2013.
Our director resigned. Do we file DIR-12 or does he file DIR-11?
Both filings can happen and they are not substitutes. The company files DIR-12 to record the cessation, and the resigning director may file DIR-11 within thirty days under rule 16 of the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014. Only DIR-12 removes the director from the Registrar's list of the company's directors.
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This guide is published by the Complied AI research desk. Its source list and stated position were checked against the official records shown below on 30 August 2026.
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