NGO Darpan Registration — NITI Aayog Unique ID for NGOs, Trusts and Societies

NGO Darpan is the national database of voluntary organisations maintained by NITI Aayog's Voluntary Action Cell. An NGO, trust, society or Section 8 company registers once, free of charge, and receives a system-generated Unique ID. That ID is mandatory for any organisation seeking grants from ministries and departments of the Government of India, is required when applying for FCRA registration or prior permission, is asked for in Form 10A for 12A and 80G registration, and is checked by many CSR donors and state departments.

Registration is entirely online. The portal verifies the organisation's PAN against the name entered, verifies the office bearers through PAN and Aadhaar, and reviews the uploaded registration certificate. Once approved, the profile — sectors, areas of work, districts, funding and achievements — is visible to government departments, which use it to shortlist implementing partners.

You need a Darpan Unique ID if you

• •Plan to apply for any central scheme grant (Ministry of Social Justice, Women and Child Development, Rural Development, Health, Culture, Skill Development, etc.)
• •Intend to apply for FCRA registration or prior permission to receive foreign contribution
• •Are filing Form 10A / 10AB for 12A and 80G and receive or seek government grants
• •Want to be listed in the government's NGO directory that CSR teams and state departments consult

1. 1Day 1 — Sign-up: organisation name exactly as on PAN, email and mobile; OTP verification.
2. 2Day 1 — PAN verification: the PAN is matched with the name; only then does the form open.
3. 3Day 1–2 — Profile: registration details, office bearers with PAN and Aadhaar, sectors, districts and funding sources entered; certificate and PAN uploaded.
4. 4Day 2–15 — Approval: NITI Aayog verifies the data; the Unique ID is generated and emailed. Queries, if any, are answered through the portal.
5. 5Every year — Profile updated with activities, funding and any change of office bearers; the ID stays active.

A society registered under the Rajasthan Societies Registration Act wants to apply for a Ministry of Health scheme and, later, for FCRA. Its PAN shows the name with an extra word its bye-laws do not use, so we first correct the PAN name. The three office bearers' PAN and Aadhaar are verified, the society's certificate and PAN are uploaded, the health and nutrition sectors and Alwar district are selected, and the profile is submitted. The Unique ID arrives in nine days. It is quoted in the scheme application, in the Form 10AB renewal of 12A and 80G, and in the FCRA application filed after three years of audited accounts.

• •Entering the NGO name differently from the PAN record; the PAN gets blocked and unblocking takes weeks
• •Fewer than three office bearers, or members whose PAN and Aadhaar do not match
• •Uploading an unregistered deed or an expired society renewal
• •Never updating the profile, after which departments treat the NGO as inactive
• •Confusing Darpan with 80G, FCRA or CSR-1, and expecting funds with the Unique ID alone

• •NGO Darpan portal — NITI Aayog, Voluntary Action Cell
• •NITI Aayog
• •e-Filing portal — Form 10A for 12A/80G, which asks for the Darpan Unique ID

Fees, thresholds and timelines above are taken from these Acts, Rules, notifications and official portals; where the authority's current notification differs, the notification prevails.