DIR-12 (appointment of a director or KMP, and changes)
The return a company files with the Registrar on the appointment of a director or key managerial personnel, and on any change among them.
Appointment or change
Counted from appointment of a director or key managerial personnel, or any change taking place among them
- MCA
- MCA event filings
- DIR-12
- 2026-09-01
DIR-12 is due within 30 days of the appointment of a director or key managerial personnel, and within 30 days of any change taking place among them. The same 30-day return covers the appointment of a CEO, company secretary or CFO, which MR-1 stopped covering in 2016. A resignation received from a director also goes through DIR-12, on its own clock.
Deadlines counted from an event
Within 30 days of the appointment or of the change, under section 170(2), filed in Form DIR-12 under rule 18 of the Appointment and Qualification of Directors Rules.
The rule
Within 30 days of the appointment or of the change, under section 170(2), filed in Form DIR-12 under rule 18 of the Appointment and Qualification of Directors Rules.
Who must comply
- Every company appointing a director
- Every company appointing key managerial personnel, which section 2(51) defines as the CEO or managing director or manager, the company secretary, a whole-time director, the CFO, and certain other designated officers
- Every company where a change takes place among its directors or key managerial personnel
- Section 170 does not apply to a Government company in which the entire paid-up share capital is held by the Central Government, a State Government or a combination of them, under G.S.R. 463(E) of 5 June 2015, and only where that company is not in default of its section 92 or section 137 filings
Statutory basis
Before you file
- Get the DIN of the person appointed as a director.
- Get the consent to act as director in Form DIR-2.
- Get the declaration of non-disqualification in Form DIR-8.
- Pass the resolution that makes the appointment or records the change.
- Get the letter of appointment for key managerial personnel.
- Update the register of directors and key managerial personnel that section 170(1) requires.
How to file
- Log in to the MCA21 V3 portal as a business user.
- Open Form DIR-12.
- Select the nature of the event: appointment, change or cessation.
- Enter the DIN or PAN of each person and the date of the event.
- Attach the consent to act as director and the declaration of non-disqualification.
- Attach the resolution or the letter of appointment.
- Sign the form with the digital signature of an authorised signatory.
- Pay the filing fee.
- Submit the form within 30 days of the appointment or change.
If you miss it
Chapter XI carries no penalty of its own for a late DIR-12, so section 172 applies: ₹50,000 on the company and on every officer in default, plus ₹500 for each day the failure continues, capped at ₹3 lakh for the company and ₹1 lakh for an officer in default.
- The Registrar's record of who holds office stays wrong until the return is filed, which affects every later filing signed by a director whose appointment is unregistered
Recent changes affecting this
Common questions
Does the appointment of a CFO or company secretary need MR-1?
No. The CEO, company secretary and CFO limb was omitted from rule 3 of the Managerial Personnel Rules on 30 June 2016. Those appointments are reported through DIR-12. MR-1 now covers only a managing director, whole-time director or manager.
Which portal handles DIR-12?
MCA21 V3. DIR-12 moved across in the second migration tranche, live from 23 January 2023, and the form was substituted by the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Amendment Rules, 2023 of 20 January 2023.