To register a CA firm with ICAI you need a Certificate of Practice first, then two filings on ICAI's Self Service Portal (SSP). Form 117 gets the firm name approved. Form 18 records the firm's constitution, and filing it is what gives the firm its registration number. The name approval lapses 30 days after the approval letter is issued for a normal CA firm (90 days for an LLP), so Form 18 has to be ready before you apply for the name. If you will practise alone in your own name, you may not need a firm name at all.
The steps below follow ICAI's FAQs on Firms, whose question-and-answer section was last updated on 22 July 2026, and the older firm FAQ dated 19 July 2024. The name rules come from Regulation 190 of the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988, which the SSP applies when it checks your name preferences.
Decide the structure before you open the portal
ICAI treats a sole practitioner and a sole proprietorship firm as two different things, and the choice changes the paperwork.
| Structure | Firm name needed? | Filings on SSP | Documents at Form 18 stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sole practice | No. You practise in your own name using your membership number | Constitution of sole practice, within 30 days (no condonation allowed) | Address proof of the office |
| Sole proprietorship firm | Yes, with its own firm registration number | Form 117, then Form 18 | Address proof of the office |
| Partnership firm | Yes | Form 117 (OTP from every partner), then Form 18 | Address proof; partnership deed (shown as optional in the 2026 FAQ) |
| LLP | Yes | Form 117, incorporation with the ROC, then Form 18 | Address proof, LLP deed (optional), ROC incorporation letter (Form 16) and FiLLiP Form 2 |
The practical difference between the first two rows is identity. A sole practice exists only through you and your membership number. A proprietorship firm has a separate name and firm registration number approved by ICAI's Member and Students' Services Directorate, and it is the firm, not you personally, that appears in ICAI's firm records.
Choosing a name that will clear Regulation 190
Only members holding a Certificate of Practice can apply for a firm name. The name is built from the names, middle names, surnames or initials of the partners applying in Form 117. ICAI's FAQ is specific on two points worth settling before you list your preferences:
- Family names are a last resort. You may use the name of a family member (father, mother, son, daughter or spouse) only when you cannot get a name from your own combinations and all combinations have been exhausted.
- Only applying partners count. Because names are drawn from the partners who apply in Form 117, a person who is not a partner in the application, such as a retired senior, does not supply the name.
Prepare several preferences. The SSP lets you check each preference for availability before you submit, which saves a rejection cycle. The same Form 117 is used later if an existing firm wants to change its name.
Filing Form 117 on the SSP, step by step
- Log in to the SSP as the member who will be in charge of the head office. That member files Form 117.
- Go to Firm Function, choose the new firm application and select the new firm name option and the firm type (proprietorship, partnership or LLP).
- Enter your name preferences as per Regulation 190 and validate their availability.
- Generate the OTP, fill the captcha and submit.
- For a partnership, each partner logs in separately and validates the OTP for the same application. The application moves to the Regional Office only after every partner has done this.
The 2026 FAQ says processing takes two working days. The approval letter appears in the SSP under the Form 117 folder, and you open it with the view (eye) option. ICAI also publishes screen-by-screen manuals for the firm module on its SSP user manuals page.
Form 18: same member, same details, within the window
Form 18 records the firm's constitution: who the partners are, where the head office is and who is in charge of it. It must be filed by the same member who obtained the name approval, and the details must match Form 117. ICAI's FAQ says plainly that no changes are allowed at this stage. If the partner list or office changes between the two filings, raise it with ICAI before filing rather than submitting a Form 18 that departs from Form 117.
Any one of these works as address proof for the office, in the name of the proprietor, sole practitioner or firm:
- electricity, water or gas bill not older than three months;
- property tax receipt;
- rent agreement on stamp paper that has not expired (a nil-rent agreement is accepted);
- bank statement not older than three months;
- GST registration certificate.
The 2026 FAQ lists the partnership deed as optional for upload. Execute and sign it anyway before filing Form 18: the profit-sharing ratio, admission and retirement terms and the treatment of goodwill all need a written basis once the firm starts signing reports.
A worked timeline for a two-partner firm
An illustration: two members with full-time COPs, Aditi Rao and Karan Mehta, want to start a partnership firm. They draft the partnership deed and arrange a rent agreement for the office first. Aditi, as head-office in-charge, files Form 117 with preferences built from their surnames and initials, and Karan validates the OTP from his own login the same day.
The approval letter is issued on 3 November 2026. Thirty days from that date runs to 3 December 2026, so Form 18 must be filed by Aditi, with the same partner and office details, before then. If the window is missed, the approval lapses and they need a fresh Form 117.
In February 2027 they admit a third partner with effect from 1 February 2027 but report it on the SSP only on 20 April 2027, 78 days later. Under the condonation bands below, that delay costs ₹1,000 plus GST.
Reporting changes after registration, and the cost of delay
Once the firm exists, every change goes through the SSP change request. That covers partners and paid assistants joining or leaving, a new branch or second office, a change of head office or branch in-charge, and a change of address. Joining and resignation letters support partner and assistant changes. ICAI charges condonation when an activity is reported late:
| Delay in reporting | Condonation charge |
|---|---|
| Within 30 days | Nil |
| 31 to 60 days | ₹500 plus GST |
| 61 to 180 days | ₹1,000 plus GST |
| 181 to 365 days | ₹2,000 plus GST |
| More than 365 days | ₹10,000 plus GST, with additional documents including an affidavit |
Four activities cannot be condoned at all and must be raised within 30 days: merger, demerger, constitution of a sole practice and closure of a sole practice. A sole practitioner who misses that window has no fee-based fix, so file the day the practice starts.
Branches and second offices
A branch can be opened anywhere in the world, and a branch address can be changed only within the same city. The member in charge of the head office can also run a second office only in three cases: it is in the same premises, it is in the same city, or it lies within 50 km of the municipal limits of the first office's city. In every other case the second office needs its own in-charge, and the member must declare which office is the main office. A branch in-charge can be released only after a new in-charge is put in place or the branch is closed.
Registering as an LLP or converting later
For a new LLP, the name approval stays valid for 90 days. That allows time to incorporate with the Registrar of Companies before Form 18 is filed with the ROC incorporation letter and FiLLiP Form 2.
An existing partnership converting into an LLP follows a longer route. It takes name approval in Form 117 under the "Conversion to LLP" option and approval from ICAI, then files Form 17 with Form 2 at the ROC. Form 18 comes last, with the ROC conversion certificate (Form 19), the ICAI name approval, the no-objection letter from the Member and Students' Services Directorate and the LLP deed.
If the practice also plans a management consultancy company, ICAI's separate permission rules apply, and they interact with whether a member can hold a directorship; the conditions are covered under whether a practising CA can be a company director.
After the firm number is issued, keep the firm's GST details current through the Update Firm GST tab on the SSP, which requires the GST certificate to be uploaded.
