WebHR

Shops and establishments registration

Every office, shop or commercial establishment registers under its state’s Act, which also sets working hours, weekly offs, holidays and leave. The Act in each larger state.

Applies to:
State-wise
For:
HR, Admin, Founders
Last reviewed:

What the Act covers

Offices, shops, IT and service companies, hotels, restaurants and other commercial establishments are regulated by their state’s shops and establishments Act, not by a central law. Registration is usually online, within 30 days of starting, and must be renewed or amended when the establishment changes.

The Act also sets the working conditions most office employees actually work under: daily and weekly hours, spread-over, weekly off, opening and closing times, holidays, leave, and conditions for women working at night.

  • Register every place of business in the state, and display the certificate there.
  • Keep the registers the state prescribes — attendance, wages, leave — many states now accept them electronically.
  • Follow the state’s hours, overtime and leave rules; where the OSH Code’s rules for your establishment apply, they sit alongside.

The Act in each larger state

StateAct
Andhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh Shops and Establishments Act, 1988
DelhiDelhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954
GujaratGujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2019
HaryanaPunjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958, as it applies in Haryana
KarnatakaKarnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961
KeralaKerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960
Madhya PradeshMadhya Pradesh Shops and Establishments Act, 1958
MaharashtraMaharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017
PunjabPunjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958
RajasthanRajasthan Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958
Tamil NaduTamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947
TelanganaTelangana Shops and Establishments Act, 1988
Uttar PradeshUttar Pradesh Dookan Aur Vanijya Adhishthan Adhiniyam, 1962
West BengalWest Bengal Shops and Establishments Act, 1963
Note

Some states exempt small establishments or IT companies from parts of their Act, or have exemption notifications for extended hours and night work. Check the state labour department’s current notifications before relying on an exemption.

In WebHR

Each work location’s state drives professional tax, labour welfare fund, holidays and the registers. WebHR exports the employee register (Form A) and each payroll’s wage register (Form B) as CSV from the payroll records; check them against the format your state’s rules prescribe.

References

  1. Shram Suvidha portal (Ministry of Labour & Employment)
  2. Maharashtra — Shops and Establishments registration (Aaple Sarkar)
  3. Karnataka Labour Department
  4. Delhi Labour Department

Related

Plain-language guidance for HR teams, not legal advice. Checked against the sources above on 29 September 2026; the notification or your authority’s portal is final. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.