[Analysis] Registration Under the OSH Code – Section 3 | 60-Day Window | Forms I to VI

Table of Contents

1. Why section 3 is the provision to get right first
2. Who must register, and within what period?
3. How the application works under rule 3
4. Deemed registration: the seven-day rule
5. Establishments already registered under another labour law
6. Amendment, closure and deemed cancellation
7. Revocation, and the two grounds that are not the same
8. The consequence of not registering
9. The forms, and who issues what
10. Quick answers

1. Why section 3 is the provision to get right first

Most compliance provisions in the Code carry a penalty. Section 3 carries something considerably sharper.

Under section 3(7), an employer who has not registered the establishment in the prescribed manner — or who has not appealed under section 4 against cancellation or revocation, or whose appeal has been dismissed — is not permitted to employ any employee in the establishment. That is not a fine. It is a prohibition on operating.

Everything else in the Code assumes a registered establishment. Registration is the gateway, and it is worth doing carefully.

2. Who must register, and within what period?

Section 3(1) requires every employer of an establishment to which the Code applies to apply for registration. The application is made electronically to the registering officer, in Form I.

The period is sixty days from the date on which the Code becomes applicable to the establishment.

The proviso to section 3(1)(b) deals with what happens if that period is missed. The registering officer may entertain an application filed after expiry, on payment of such late fee as the Central Government may specify by general or special order. Late filing is therefore possible, but it is discretionary and it is not free.

Section 3(2) requires the application to be submitted in the prescribed manner in Form I, containing the prescribed particulars — including information relating to the employment of inter-State migrant workers — accompanied by such fees as the appropriate Government may prescribe.

3. How the application works under rule 3

Rule 3 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 sets out the machinery.

• The employer applies electronically in Form I on the Shram Suvidha Portal, giving details of the establishment and uploading proof of identity and address of the employer as specified in the Form.
• The Form is signed digitally or in such other manner as the portal requires. The applicant is responsible for the veracity of all information submitted.
• The PAN of the applicant or the establishment, or any other unique number allotted under any other Act, may be verified online.
• The certificate of registration is non-transferable, and a copy must be displayed at a conspicuous place in the premises — in hard copy or electronically.
• The employer must quote the registration number on all documents prepared in connection with the Code, the Rules, the Regulations or a Scheme, and in all correspondence with the office concerned.

Rule 3 also carries a separate intimation obligation that is easy to overlook. Within thirty days of the commencement and of the completion of any work, the employer must intimate the Inspector-cum-Facilitator having jurisdiction, in Form VI, of the actual date of commencement, completion and cessation. That intimation is auto-shared with EPFO and ESIC.

4. Deemed registration: the seven-day rule

This is the most employer-friendly provision in the Chapter and it is worth knowing precisely.

If the application is complete in all respects, the certificate of registration is to be issued in Form III electronically, immediately and within seven days of submission of the complete application.

The proviso to section 3(3) then provides that if the registering officer fails to register the establishment, or to entertain the application, within the prescribed period, the establishment is deemed to have been registered immediately on expiry of that period. In that event the certificate is auto-generated in Form III, and the commentary records that the responsibility for the failure lies on the registering officer.

An employer whose complete application has sat unactioned for more than seven days is therefore registered by operation of law, not waiting on the department.

5. Establishments already registered under another labour law

Section 3(8) opens with a non-obstante clause and overrides the rest of the Code. An establishment to which the Code applies, and which was already registered under any other Central labour law at the time the Code commenced, is deemed to be registered under the Code.

That is the good news. The obligation attached to it is easy to miss.

Rule 3(6) requires the employer of an establishment already registered under another central labour law to update the registration particulars in Form I on the Shram Suvidha Portal within six months from the date on which the rules come into force. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 were notified by G.S.R. 345(E) on 8th May 2026, so the period runs to about 8th November 2026.

Note that the clock runs from the commencement of the rules, not the commencement of the Code. It could not run from 21st November 2025, because neither Form I nor the portal facility for updating particulars existed until the rules were notified. An employer registered under one of the repealed Acts who has not yet updated on the portal is still inside the window, and should file now rather than treat the obligation as lapsed.

6. Amendment, closure and deemed cancellation

On closure there is a gate. Under rule 3 an application for cancellation in Form II will not be entertained unless the employer has furnished all statutory returns and paid all statutory dues under the Central labour codes and any other central labour law in force, and has filed a self-certification to that effect.

7. Revocation, and the two grounds that are not the same

Section 3(6) provides for revocation on two grounds, and they carry different consequences.

1. Registration obtained by misrepresentation or suppression of any material fact. This is deemed to be a contravention of the Code, and the employer is liable to prosecution under section 94 — without affecting the registration or the running of the establishment.
2. Registration obtained fraudulently or otherwise, such that it has become useless or ineffective. Here the registering officer may revoke the registration by order, after giving the employer an opportunity of being heard. The process must be completed within sixty days of the facts coming to the officer’s notice.

The distinction matters in practice. On the first ground the establishment keeps running and faces prosecution. On the second it faces revocation, and revocation triggers section 3(7).

Separately, rule 3 provides that registration obtained by providing wrong information is liable to be cancelled, provided the establishment has been given thirty days to show cause, served electronically or by speed post.

8. The consequence of not registering

Section 3(7) is short and its effect is severe. Where an employer has not registered in the prescribed manner, or has not preferred an appeal under section 4 against cancellation under section 3(5) or revocation under section 3(6), or where such an appeal has been dismissed, the employer shall not employ any employee in the establishment.

An appeal under section 4 is therefore not merely a remedy. It is what preserves the ability to operate while the dispute is decided. Appellate authorities have been notified under section 4 by Notification S.O. 2503(E), and registering officers under section 3 by Notification S.O. 2505(E).

9. The forms, and who issues what

10. Quick answers

What is the time limit for registration under the OSH Code?

Sixty days from the date the Code becomes applicable to the establishment. A late application may be entertained by the registering officer on payment of such late fee as the Central Government specifies.

How do I register an establishment under the OSH Code?

Electronically in Form I on the Shram Suvidha Portal, with proof of identity and address of the employer, signed digitally. The certificate is issued in Form III.

What happens if the registering officer does not act?

If the officer fails to register or to entertain a complete application within seven days, the establishment is deemed registered and the certificate in Form III is auto-generated. Responsibility for the failure lies on the registering officer.

Is a factory already registered under the Factories Act deemed registered under the OSH Code?

Section 3(8) deems an establishment already registered under any other central labour law to be registered under the Code. But rule 3(6) requires the particulars to be updated in Form I on the Shram Suvidha Portal within six months from the date the Central Rules, 2026 came into force, that is by about 8th November 2026.

What is the penalty for not registering under the OSH Code?

Section 3(7) does not impose a fine. It prohibits the employer from employing any employee in the establishment where there is no registration and no subsisting appeal under section 4.

Can a registration be cancelled for wrong information?

Yes. Rule 3(4) makes a registration obtained by providing wrong information liable to cancellation, after a thirty-day show cause. Section 3(6) separately provides for revocation, and for prosecution under section 94 where registration was obtained by misrepresentation or suppression of a material fact.

Sections 3 to 5 are treated across thirty-one numbered paragraphs in Taxmann’s Law & Practice Relating to Occupational Safety Health and Working Conditions Code by Sunil Kumar Tripathi, Senior Advocate, with rule 3 of the Central Rules 2026 reproduced in full at the section it serves and the corresponding registration provisions of the repealed Acts set alongside in parallel columns.

The registration forms, notifications and appellate orders are available on Taxmann.com | Research — Labour Laws. Where a registration, update or cancellation has to be filed, Taxmann Advisory handles the engagement end to end.

Related reading: the OSH Code 2020 — complete guide · who the OSH Code applies to.

Law stated as on 10 September 2026. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 was brought into force generally with effect from 21 November 2025, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 were notified on 8 May 2026.