Corporate Identity Number

The Corporate Identity Number or Company CIN No. is a 21 digits alpha-numeric code / number issued to every company incorporated in India when it gets registered by Registrar of Companies (ROC) located in various states of India. CIN number is used to track all aspects of the company from incorporation by the Registrar of Companies and must be quoted on all transactions with the Registrar of Companies.

Structure of CIN Number

Here is a fairly self explanatory image to understand how the CIN can be decoded to find out the information of the company:

Source: IndiaFilings.com

Listing Status

The first letter of the CIN Number represents the listing status of the company. Unlisted companies start with U and listed companies start with L.

Industry Code

The next five digits represent the ROC industry code. Different activities have different 5 digit codes and it is used to classify the type of company being registered.

State Code

The characters in the 7th and 8th place of the CIN number represent the state of incorporation. A company registered in Tamil Nadu would have the characters TN, while a company having registered office in Maharashtra would have MH in the CIN number.

Incorporation Year

The number is the 9th to 12th place of the CIN number represent the year of incorporation. Based on the company incorporation date, the CIN number would change.

Ownership Type

The three characters after the incorporation year represent the ownership type of the company. For instance, PTC stands for private limited company and PLC stands for Public Limited Company.

Registration Number

The last six number of the CIN number is the registration number of the company issued by the Registrar of Companies.