Quick Answer Under the Designs (Amendment) Rules 2021, the official fee schedule has two tiers. Natural persons, startups, and small entities pay one-quarter of the fee charged to large entities. The application fee for registration is INR 1,000 for the first group and INR 4,000 for all others. Which tier applies to your organisation depends on your entity type and, where relevant, whether you have filed Form-24 with CGPDTM.
How the 2021 Amendment Changed Design Registration Fees in India
Design registration fees in India changed on 25 January 2021. The Designs (Amendment) Rules 2021, notified by DPIIT under section 47 of the Designs Act 2000, replaced the First Schedule of the Designs Rules 2001. The previous three-tier structure, which separated natural persons, small entities, and large entities into three distinct fee bands, was reduced to two.
Startups are the more consequential addition to the fee structure. Under the 2021 Rules, startups, whether Indian entities recognised by the competent authority under the Startup India initiative or qualifying foreign entities, pay the same fees as natural persons and small entities. Practitioners who want the full legislative history of the 2021 amendment, including the Locarno Classification changes, will find that detail in Intepat’s dedicated analysis of the Designs (Amendment) Rules 2021.
Any three-column fee table showing separate rates for natural persons, small entities, and large entities reflects the pre-2021 position. The operative schedule since 25 January 2021 is the amended First Schedule, which has two columns only.
Administration of the register sits with the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM). The fee schedule below reflects the current First Schedule as published on ipindia.gov.in, which the CGPDTM confirmed was updated to 15 March 2024.
The Current Design Fee Schedule: What Each Category Pays
Organisations evaluating whether a design is registrable before calculating the cost should work through the eligibility criteria covered in Intepat’s guide to industrial design registration in India. Once registrability is confirmed, the table below sets out every design registration fee in India payable to the CGPDTM. Two columns reflect the two tiers: the reduced rate for natural persons, startups, and small entities (collectively, the reduced-fee applicants), and the standard rate for all other entities.
| Matter | Natural Person / Startup / Small Entity (INR) | Large Entity (INR) |
| 1. Application for registration of design / application under reciprocal arrangement (e.g. Paris Convention priority) | 1,000 | 4,000 |
| 2. Claim to proceed as applicant or joint applicant | 500 | 2,000 |
| 3. Renewal of design | 2,000 | 8,000 |
| 4. Restoration of lapsed design | 1,000 | 4,000 |
| 5. Inspection of registered design | 500 | 2,000 |
| 6. Request for information — registration number given | 500 | 2,000 |
| 7. Request for information — registration number not given | 1,000 | 4,000 |
| 8. Petition to cancel registration of design | 1,500 | 6,000 |
| 9. Notice of intended exhibition or publication of unregistered design | 500 | 2,000 |
| 10a. Registration of a document in the Register — per design | 500 | 2,000 |
| 10b. Each additional design (same document) | 200 | 800 |
| 11a. Entry of name of proprietor or part-proprietor — per design | 500 | 2,000 |
| 11b. Each additional design | 200 | 800 |
| 12a. Entry of mortgage or licence in the Register — per design | 500 | 2,000 |
| 12b. Each additional design | 200 | 800 |
| 13a. Entry of notification of a document — per design | 500 | 2,000 |
| 13b. Each additional design | 200 | 800 |
| 14. Request for correction of clerical error | 500 | 1,000 |
| 15. Request for certificate | 500 | 1,000 |
| 16. Application for certified copy of registered design | 500 | 1,000 |
| 17. Application for rectification of Register | 500 | 1,000 |
| 18. Extension of time for filing priority document (per month) | 400 | 800 |
| 19. Notice of opposition | 200 | 400 |
| 20. Notice of intention to attend hearing | 500 | 2,000 |
| 21. Power of attorney to agents | Stamp duty | Stamp duty |
| 22. Request to alter name or address | 200 | 800 |
| 23. Request for entries of two addresses | 200 | 800 |
| 24. Form-24: Claim of small entity or startup status | NA | NA |
Source: First Schedule, Designs Rules 2001 as amended by the Designs (Amendment) Rules 2021, G.S.R. 45(E), 25 January 2021 | ipindia.gov.in (updated to 15 March 2024)
Two lines carry the most weight when calculating the industrial design registration cost in India for a given organisation. For a company registering 10 designs, the application fee alone is INR 10,000 at the reduced rate versus INR 40,000 at the large entity rate, a difference that scales directly with portfolio size. The application fee (row 1) stands at INR 1,000 for reduced-fee applicants and INR 4,000 for large entities; it is the entry cost and the figure most often cited in budget approvals. The renewal fee (row 3) is INR 2,000 for reduced-fee applicants versus INR 8,000 for large entities, and it is the figure that accumulates over a portfolio. A large entity renewing 20 designs pays INR 1,60,000 in official renewal fees; a startup renewing the same 20 pays INR 40,000. That difference compounds significantly where a product design strategy involves multiple registered designs across successive product generations.
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Which Applicant Category Covers Your Organisation?
Your design registration fee in India is determined by the applicant category declared at the time of filing. Misclassifying the entity type carries two consequences: if the design rights are later transferred to a qualifying-out entity, the fee differential becomes immediately payable; and where the misrepresentation involves false suggestion, the registration itself may be at risk under the Designs Rules. The four categories under the amended Rules are set out below.
Natural Person
An individual inventor filing in their own name qualifies as a natural person. No declaration or supporting form is required beyond the standard Form-1 application. Joint applications where all applicants are natural persons also qualify. The reduced rate applies from the date of filing.
Startup
For Indian entities, startup status requires recognition by the competent authority under the Government of India’s Startup India initiative. For foreign entities, the criteria track the Startup India thresholds: the entity must be structured as a private limited company, limited liability partnership, or partnership firm; its turnover must not have exceeded INR 100 crores in any financial year since incorporation; and it must be within ten years of its date of incorporation or registration.
Startup status must be claimed by filing Form-24 at the time of the application. Form-24 need only be filed once per application number, but it must accompany or precede the first document for which the reduced fee is being claimed. The reduced rate does not apply retroactively if Form-24 is filed late.
Small Entity
Small entities are defined by reference to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act 2006 and the thresholds notified thereunder. The claim of small entity status is made on Form-24, which must be filed at least once against the application number before any document for which the reduced fee is payable. In-house counsel at MSME-registered companies should confirm current turnover and investment thresholds under the MSME Act before relying on small entity status, as those thresholds are periodically revised by government notification.
Large Entity
All applicants who do not qualify as a natural person, startup, or small entity pay the large entity rate. This includes companies that exceed the MSME thresholds, foreign multinationals that do not meet the Startup India criteria, and any entity that has not filed a valid Form-24 where one was required. There is no separate declaration for large entity status; paying the standard fee at filing constitutes the applicant’s implicit classification. An applicant who pays the reduced fee without qualifying will have underpaid; if the CGPDTM identifies the shortfall, it may treat the application as not filed until the balance is received.
Filing the Application and Paying the Fee Online
Design filing fees in India are paid at the point of submission through the CGPDTM’s e-filing portal at online.ipindia.gov.in/eDesign. Applicants holding a digital signature for patent e-filing may use the same credential for the design module without re-enrolment. The broader e-filing process is covered in Intepat’s guide to e-filing patent applications in India.
The application is filed on Form-1 (Application for Registration of Designs). Where the applicant is claiming small entity or startup status, Form-24 must be filed concurrently or must already be on record against that application number. The fee is paid at the time of filing; under Rule 24(2) of the Designs Rules 2001, a document for which a fee is prescribed has no effect unless the fee has been fully paid at the time of submission; the document is treated as not filed for that purpose until payment is complete.
What Fee Transfer Rules Mean When Ownership Changes
Rule 5(e) of the Designs Rules 2001, as substituted by the 2021 Amendment Rules, creates a fee recovery obligation on certain transfers of design rights. Where an application filed by a natural person, startup, or small entity is transferred in whole or in part to a person who does not fall within any of those three categories, the transferee must pay the difference between the reduced fee already paid and the large entity fee applicable to the same matter.
For IP managers overseeing portfolio acquisitions or post-investment ownership restructuring, this provision has two practical consequences. First, the fee differential must be factored into the transaction cost of acquiring design rights from a startup or individual. Second, the obligation to pay the differential attaches to the new applicant at the time of requesting the transfer, not at the time of the original filing, so the liability is prospective and calculable.
A specific carve-out exists: Rule 5(e) does not operate where the entity ceases to be a startup because its recognition period has lapsed or its turnover has crossed the threshold after the application was filed. In those cases, no fee differential is owed on continuation of the application by the same entity. The differential obligation is triggered specifically by a transfer to a non-qualifying entity.
Fee Planning Ahead of India’s Proposed Design Law Changes
Design registration fees in India are stable under current law, unchanged since the 2021 amendment. IP managers planning multi-year filing programmes should note that legislative proposals are under active consideration that may affect the Designs Act 2000 in material respects. Intepat’s breakdown of the proposed 2026 amendments to the Designs Act 2000 before finalising multi-year portfolio filing plans.
Legislative Note The fee structure above reflects the Designs Rules 2001 as last amended on 25 January 2021. Draft proposals to amend the Designs Act 2000 are under consideration as of early 2026. No amendment to the fee schedule has been notified at the time of publication. Applicants should confirm the current schedule on ipindia.gov.in before filing.
Frequently Asked Questions
- We are a foreign company with Indian operations. Which fee tier applies to us for design registration?
A foreign company that does not meet the Startup India criteria for foreign entities will be classified as a large entity and must pay the large entity rate. The reduced fee is available to a foreign entity only if it qualifies as a startup under the criteria in Rule 2(eb) of the Designs Rules 2001 as amended: it must be structured as a private limited company, limited liability partnership, or partnership firm; its turnover must not exceed INR 100 crores; and it must be within ten years of incorporation. If those conditions are met, Form-24 must be filed to claim the rate. Simply having Indian operations or a registered Indian subsidiary does not automatically qualify the foreign parent for the reduced fee.
- Our startup lost its DPIIT recognition after we filed at the reduced fee. Do we owe the fee difference?
No. Rule 5(e) of the Designs Rules 2001 as amended explicitly excludes the fee differential obligation where the entity ceases to be a startup because the recognition period has lapsed or the turnover threshold has been crossed. The entity filed lawfully at the reduced rate at the time of filing, and the lapse of recognition status does not retrospectively alter the fee payable on continuation of that same application. The differential obligation applies only where the rights are transferred to a non-qualifying entity, not where the original applicant’s status changes.
- Can we use the same digital signature we have for patent e-filing when filing a design application?
Yes. The CGPDTM’s e-filing infrastructure uses a single digital signature enrolment across patent and design applications. An applicant or agent whose digital signature is already registered for patent e-filing at online.ipindia.gov.in can use that same credential to access the design e-filing module at online.ipindia.gov.in/eDesign without re-registration.
- We filed Form-24 once. Do we need to refile it for every subsequent document in the same application?
No. Form-24 must be filed at least once against the application number, but it does not need to accompany every subsequent document filed under that application where a fee is prescribed. Once it is on record against the application number, subsequent documents filed in that application can claim the reduced fee without a fresh Form-24. However, a new Form-24 will be required if a new application is filed for a different design, as each application is treated separately.
- The renewal fee for a large entity is INR 8,000. Is that per class or per design?
The renewal fee is per registered design, not per Locarno class. Each design receives a separate registration number under the Designs Act 2000, and renewal under section 11 is applied to that individual registration. An organisation holding 15 registered designs renews each design separately, paying INR 8,000 per design at the large entity rate (or INR 2,000 per design at the reduced rate). Portfolio managers should also note that the initial registration provides copyright in the design for ten years from the date of registration under section 11 of the Designs Act 2000, with an extension of five years available on application in the prescribed manner before the initial ten-year term expires. Startups navigating the DPIIT recognition requirement for reduced-fee filing should also review the Startup India IP facilitation scheme, which provides additional cost support beyond the design fee reduction.