Quick answer: a Shop Act license in Maharashtra is not one single licence. Under the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017, a business with 20 or more workers applies online for a registration certificate. A smaller business files an online intimation and gets a receipt. The limit was 10 workers until an ordinance dated 1 October 2025 raised it to 20, so older guides, and some older official forms, still show the old number. File within 60 days of starting business on the Labour Department’s online system. The 2018 Rules prescribe no fee, only online service charges, and a registration certificate can run for up to 10 years.
This guide is for small business owners in Navi Mumbai. It shows which filing applies to you, the online steps, the documents, and how this filing differs from GST, Udyam and the municipal licence. For the wider checklist of registrations a new business needs, read our guide to starting a business in Navi Mumbai.
Shop Act license Maharashtra: who needs what
The Act regulates working conditions in shops, offices, restaurants, clinics, professional practices and similar businesses. Its definition of an establishment covers any business, trade or profession, including shops, restaurants, eating houses, residential hotels, theatres, and the establishments of doctors, architects, engineers, accountants and tax consultants (Act text, section 2). The filing you make depends on how many workers you employ.
| Your situation | What you file | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 20 workers | An online intimation that you have commenced business | A receipt of intimation, not a certificate |
| 20 or more workers | An online application for registration | A registration certificate with a Labour Identification Number |
| You start small and later reach 20 workers | A registration application from that point, because the full Act then applies | A registration certificate |
| You already hold a valid registration or renewal under the older 1948 Act | No fresh filing until that registration or renewal expires | Your existing certificate stays valid until then |
| Government and local authority offices, a factory under the Factories Act, most educational activities | Outside the Act | Not applicable |
The threshold is in the Act as amended. Ordinance VIII of 2025, issued on 1 October 2025, replaced “ten” with “twenty” in the provisions on registration and intimation, and its statement of reasons says establishments below 20 workers will only need to give an intimation (Maharashtra Government Gazette, 1 October 2025). A bill to replace the ordinance with an Act was introduced in the Assembly on 8 December 2025 (L. A. Bill No. LXXXIX of 2025). Older official documents, including the 2018 Rules and the portal’s intimation manual, still say ten, so confirm the current limit on the Labour Department portal before you file.
Three points about who is covered. The Act defines a worker as any person employed for hire or reward to do manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational or clerical work, other than an apprentice under the Apprentices Act, 1961. It does not apply to workers in confidential, managerial or supervisory positions or to the employer’s family members (section 3). If your headcount is close to 20, ask the local Labour Office how it counts them. Most educational activities are outside the Act, but coaching or tuition classes run by individuals, or by institutions that are not affiliated or recognised, are not excluded. The text covers every establishment below the limit and has no carve-out for a one-person business, so if you have no staff, ask the Labour Office whether it expects an intimation from you.
You will also hear this called a gumasta licence, the older popular name in Mumbai. The official terms are registration and intimation, and neither is a trade licence from the municipal corporation.
Step by step: how to apply online
The Labour Department’s online route is the Labour Management System at lms.mahaonline.gov.in. The portal’s own FAQ and intimation user manual describe the steps below. Screens and field names can change, so follow what the portal shows on the day. If the link has moved, start from the Maharashtra Labour Department website.
- Count your workers. Decide whether you are filing an intimation or a registration application using the table above.
- Collect your documents. Scan them clearly, and take the photograph of the interior with a Marathi name board visible. The list is in the next section.
- Log in. New users create an employer user profile from the login page. Returning users log in with their user ID and password.
- Choose the service. After login, the Shop and Establishment Application menu offers the new application. Select the division, district and office for your address. Most of Navi Mumbai from Airoli to Belapur is in Thane district, and Panvel, Kharghar, Kamothe and Uran are in Raigad district, so check which applies to your premises.
- Fill in the form and save it. You get an application ID. Name the employer, the manager if any, the establishment, its postal address, the nature of business and the number of workers.
- Upload the documents against that application ID.
- Pay the online service charge. The portal shows the amount at this step and gives a transaction receipt.
- Download the result. For an intimation, the manual says the receipt is issued instantly online. For registration, the Facilitator checks the application and digitally signs the certificate, which you download. An incomplete application can be rejected with reasons given, so check every upload before you submit.
For registration, the 2018 Rules give the Facilitator up to seven working days from the day the application appears on the dashboard to issue the certificate or reject the application. The Labour Commissionerate’s list of public services shows a shorter service time for registration. Track the application on the portal and follow up with the local Labour Office if it stalls.
Once you are registered or have filed, put up a name board in Marathi in Devnagari script. Section 36A applies it to registered establishments and to those that file an intimation. The Marathi lettering must come first on the board and be at least as large as any other language. You may add other languages. An establishment that serves or sells liquor cannot use the name of a legend or fort on its board.
Documents you need
The 2018 Rules list these documents in the Schedule. The portal’s List of Required Documents adds self-declaration forms and entity papers. Treat the checklist the portal shows on the day as final.
| Document | Registration | Intimation |
|---|---|---|
| Aadhaar of the employer, or of the responsible person if the employer is a company or other entity | Yes | Yes |
| Photograph of the establishment showing the interior and the Marathi name board | Yes | Yes |
| Copy of any licence or registration that another law makes mandatory before you start that business, for example a food licence | Yes | Not listed in the Rules |
| Premises you own: sale or purchase deed, current property tax receipt, current electricity bill or current society maintenance receipt (any one) | Yes | Not listed in the Rules |
| Rented or leased premises: lease agreement or leave and licence agreement, plus any one ownership document of the owner | Yes | Not listed in the Rules |
| No objection letter, if the premises belong to or are rented from a family member or relative | Yes | Not listed in the Rules |
| No objection certificate from the society, if the premises are in a residential housing society | Yes | Not listed in the Rules |
| Self-declaration annexures, and entity documents such as incorporation certificate, partnership deed or trust registration | As the portal asks | As the portal asks |
The portal’s list also accepts other identity proofs, such as PAN, passport, driving licence or voter ID, so use whichever the form accepts. If you rent your shop, keep your registered leave and licence agreement ready, because it is the premises proof.
Fees, validity and renewal
- Fee: Rule 4 of the 2018 Rules says no fee is prescribed under the Act and rules, and the employer pays the electronic transaction or service charges that the Government fixes from time to time. The amount is not stated in the Rules, so read it on the portal before you pay. An agent’s fee is separate from the government charge, so ask for the split.
- Time to file: within 60 days of the date the establishment commences business, for both registration and intimation (sections 6 and 7).
- Validity of a registration certificate: the period you request in the application, up to a maximum of 10 years (section 6(3)). The certificate shows its validity date.
- Renewal: apply online at least 30 days before expiry. If you apply within 30 days after expiry, a late fee of half the renewal fee applies (section 6(3) and (4)). Existing users renew through the portal’s old user route, and the portal’s FAQ asks you to enter the old certificate’s details exactly as printed.
- Intimation receipt: neither the Act nor the 2018 Rules sets an expiry date or renewal step for it. Check the date and wording on your receipt.
- Changes: notify any change to the registration details online within 30 days of the change (Rule 10).
- Closing down: tell the Facilitator within 30 days of closing the business (sections 7(2) and 10).
How it differs from GST, Udyam and local licences
The Shop Act filing does not replace other registrations, and they do not replace it.
| Registration | Issued by | What it is for | Link to the Shop Act filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shop Act registration or intimation | Maharashtra Labour Department | Regulates employment conditions at the establishment, based on your worker count | This is the filing in this guide |
| GST registration | GST authorities, on the GST portal | Tax registration. It needs PAN and proof of the principal place of business, and the application is due within 30 days of becoming liable to register (GST portal guide) | Separate. Having one does not satisfy the other |
| Udyam registration | Ministry of MSME, on the Udyam portal | MSME recognition. The portal says registration is free, needs only an Aadhaar number, and has no renewal, and that no private agency is authorised to do it (Udyam portal) | Separate. It is not a licence to operate |
| Municipal trade or health licence, where your activity needs one | The local body for your premises, such as NMMC, Panvel Municipal Corporation, MIDC or CIDCO | Permission to run a particular activity from particular premises | Separate. See our NMMC online services guide. Check the exact local authority for your address |
| FSSAI registration or licence | FSSAI | Food businesses | Get it first if you run a food business, because a registration application asks for any licence that another law makes mandatory |
Who inspects, and what happens if you skip it
The Act creates a Chief Facilitator and Facilitators in the Labour Department. A Facilitator can ask you to produce the registration certificate, examine registers, and inspect the establishment. Under the 2018 Rules, inspections follow an online randomised system. Obstructing a Facilitator or refusing to produce records is punishable with a fine of up to Rs 2 lakh (section 31).
For not filing, the Act provides a fine of Rs 1,000 for contravening the intimation section (section 7(3)) and a general fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, with an additional daily fine for a continuing contravention, under section 29. A registration can also be cancelled, after a hearing, if it was obtained through false documents or misrepresentation (section 8).
Common mistakes
- Relying on the old 10-worker figure without checking the current limit.
- Skipping the Marathi name board, or photographing a board that is not in Devnagari script.
- Missing the 60-day window after you open.
- Treating the receipt or certificate as a trade licence or a food licence. It is neither.
- Leaving renewal to the last month. It is due at least 30 days before expiry, and the late-fee window runs only 30 days past the expiry date.
- Changing details while filling the old-user form for a renewal or change request. The portal’s FAQ warns that this causes errors later.
- Forgetting to report changes of address, workers or business type within 30 days, or to report closure.
- Using a lookalike site or an agent without asking what part of the payment is the government charge.
Before you apply
- Count your workers and choose registration or intimation.
- Confirm the current worker limit on the Labour Department portal.
- Get any other mandatory licence for your activity first, such as FSSAI for food.
- Keep the lease or ownership papers, Aadhaar and the name board photograph ready.
- Pay the service charge only on the official portal, and save the receipt.
- Note the validity date on your certificate and set a reminder 60 days before it.
- Read our Navi Mumbai business startup guide for GST, Udyam and local permissions.
Sources
This guide uses the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017, as published in the Government Gazette on 7 September 2017 and amended in 2022, in the PRS Legislative Research copy; the Rules notified on 23 March 2018 from the Maharashtra Labour Department site; Maharashtra Ordinance VIII of 2025 (1 October 2025) and the bill to replace it (introduced 8 December 2025); the Labour Management System with its user manual, FAQ, document list and list of services; the GST portal registration guide; and the Udyam portal. Forms, charges, documents and the worker limit can change, so confirm them with the Maharashtra Labour Department before you file. This is general information, not legal advice. Last verified: 8 October 2026. NaviMumbai.com is an independent information site and is not affiliated with the Maharashtra Labour Department, NMMC or any government body.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Shop Act license in Maharashtra?
If your business is an establishment under the 2017 Act, you file either an online intimation or an online registration application. Government offices, factories under the Factories Act and most educational activities are outside the Act. Your worker count decides which filing applies.
What is the difference between Shop Act registration and intimation?
Registration is for establishments with 20 or more workers and gives you a certificate with a Labour Identification Number. Intimation is for smaller establishments and gives you a receipt. The limit was 10 workers before the October 2025 ordinance, so confirm the current figure on the Labour Department portal.
Is a gumasta licence the same as a Shop Act licence?
Gumasta is the older popular name in Mumbai for the shop and establishment registration. Today the official filing is a registration or an intimation under the 2017 Act.
How much does Shop Act registration cost in Maharashtra?
The 2018 Rules say no fee is prescribed and the employer pays online service charges fixed by the Government. The amount is not stated in the Rules, so check what the portal shows before you pay, and ask any agent for a split between their fee and the government charge.
How long is a Shop Act registration valid?
A registration certificate is valid for the period you request, up to 10 years. Apply for renewal online at least 30 days before it expires. The Act and Rules set no expiry or renewal step for an intimation receipt, so check the wording on your receipt.
Where do I apply for a Shop Act license online?
The Labour Department’s Labour Management System at lms.mahaonline.gov.in. You create an employer profile, choose the Shop and Establishment application, select the division, district and office for your address, upload the documents and pay the online service charge. If the link has moved, start from the Maharashtra Labour Department website.
Do I need Shop Act registration if I already have GST or Udyam?
Yes, if the Act covers your business. GST is a tax registration and Udyam is MSME recognition. Neither replaces the Labour Department filing, and the Shop Act filing does not replace them.
What happens if I do not file within 60 days?
The Act provides a fine of Rs 1,000 for contravening the intimation section and a general fine of up to Rs 1 lakh under section 29, with a daily fine for a continuing contravention. File as soon as you can, and ask the local Labour Office how a late filing is handled.
