Guide

How to register a clinic in India. Which law applies in your state, and what it asks for.

Clinic registration in India is a state matter. Nineteen states and union territories run the central Clinical Establishments Act, five large states have their own Acts, and the rest are in between. This guide tells you which situation you are in, what provisional and permanent registration mean, and what else a new clinic has to register for.

At a glance

Central Act applies in: 19 states and UTs
Own state Acts: Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala
Provisional registration: 6 months, renewable
Permanent registration: 5 years
Single-doctor clinics: Covered by the Act
Maharashtra: 2026 Bill in committee

Checked 2026-10-20.

Three situations. Find yours first.

Health is a state subject. The central Act applies only in a state that has adopted it under Article 252 of the Constitution, so the first question is which law your state uses.

Situation 1
Your state adopted the central Act
The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 and its 2012 rules apply. You register with the district registering authority, provisionally first, then permanently once the state notifies minimum standards. The table below lists the 19 states and UTs.
Situation 2
Your state has its own Act
Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala never adopted the central Act and run their own laws with their own forms, fees and authorities. The second table names each Act.
Situation 3
Neither, yet
Several states have older nursing-home laws that cover bedded establishments and say little about a clinic with no beds. Maharashtra tabled a Bill in July 2026 to replace its 1949 Act; it was before a Joint Committee in August 2026. In Delhi, the DGHS Nursing Home Cell registers establishments with indoor admission of at least two beds.

States and union territories under the central Act

From the Ministry of Health's Clinical Establishments portal, page last updated 19 October 2026. A 2026 Lok Sabha answer puts the count at 12 states and seven union territories; the portal list is what the registering authorities work from.

State or UT	Type
Assam	State
Arunachal Pradesh	State
Bihar	State
Haryana	State
Himachal Pradesh	State
Jharkhand	State
Mizoram	State
Rajasthan	State
Sikkim	State
Uttar Pradesh	State
Uttarakhand	State
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Union territory
Chandigarh	Union territory
Dadra and Nagar Haveli	Union territory
Daman and Diu	Union territory
Jammu and Kashmir	Union territory
Ladakh	Union territory
Lakshadweep	Union territory
Puducherry	Union territory

States with their own clinical establishment laws

These states did not adopt the 2010 Act. Their own Acts set the forms, fees and authorities.

State	Law	Note
Karnataka	Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, 2007	Registration with the district registration and grievance redressal authority.
Gujarat	Gujarat Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2021	Rules amended in 2024; the same document set goes with the provisional and the permanent application.
Tamil Nadu	Tamil Nadu Private Clinical Establishments (Regulation) Act, 1997	Older Act; check the current rules with the district health office.
West Bengal	West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Act, 2017	Also set up the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission.
Kerala	Kerala Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2018	Under challenge before the Supreme Court; private hospitals were granted interim relief. Registration continues under the Act meanwhile.
Maharashtra	Bombay Nursing Homes Registration Act, 1949, until the 2026 Bill passes	The Maharashtra Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2026 was introduced on 3 July 2026 and sent to a Joint Committee.

Does a single-doctor clinic have to register?

Under the central Act, yes. Section 2(c) defines a clinical establishment to include a clinic, dispensary or consulting room by whatever name called, and extends the definition to one owned, controlled or managed by a single doctor. The only establishments outside the Act are those of the Armed Forces.

The state Acts are written the same way: they apply by the nature of the service, not by size. Where an older nursing-home law is the only law in force, it usually turns on indoor admission, which is why a bedless clinic in Delhi should ask the DGHS Nursing Home Cell before assuming it is exempt.

How registration works under the central Act

The sequence set by the 2010 Act and summarised in the PRS brief on the 2026 Maharashtra Bill, which compares the two.

Provisional registration firstApply to the district registering authority. No inquiry is made before provisional registration is granted. It is valid for six months and renewable.
Existing clinics get a windowA clinic that already exists when the Act commences in the state must apply within six months of commencement, or six months before its current registration expires, whichever is earlier.
Minimum standards change the clockOnce the state notifies minimum standards, provisional registration cannot be renewed beyond two years for clinics that existed before the notification, or six months for clinics set up afterwards.
Permanent registrationApply at least 60 days before the provisional registration expires, with evidence that the clinic meets the standards. The authority displays the application publicly and invites objections. Permanent registration is valid for five years.
Fees are set locallyThe registering authority levies fees for registration and renewal. The Act fixes no amount; the state rules and the district office do. Ask for the fee schedule before filing.
Display the certificateThe certificate of registration has to be displayed at a conspicuous place in the clinic. Changes of ownership, management or category are reported to the authority.

What the application usually asks for

The exact list is in your state's rules. The items below are what the state portals and the Gujarat 2024 amendment ask for in practice, so you can gather them before you open the form.

Identity and PAN of the owner or the partners, and the constitution of the entity if the clinic is a company, LLP or trust
Proof of the premises: ownership deed or lease, and a recent utility bill
The doctor's degree certificates and the State Medical Council or National Medical Register registration certificate
A list of staff with qualifications and registration numbers where the role needs one
A list of equipment and the services the clinic will offer, by system of medicine
Layout or floor plan with the area in square feet
Bio-medical waste authorisation from the State Pollution Control Board, or proof that it has been applied for

Other registrations a new clinic needs

Clinical establishment registration is one of several. These are the ones that apply almost everywhere.

Bio-medical waste authorisation
Rule 10 of the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 requires every occupier that generates bio-medical waste to obtain authorisation from the State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee, whatever the quantity. Non-bedded clinics are granted a one-time authorisation; it has to be applied for afresh if the clinic adds beds. You also sign up with a common bio-medical waste treatment facility.
Shops and establishments
Most states require a clinic to register under their Shops and Establishments Act within a set period of opening, through the labour department's portal. Requirements and exemptions differ by state and by number of employees.
Premises-dependent approvals
A fire no-objection certificate, a municipal trade licence or a signboard licence depend on the building, the floor area and the municipality. Ask the local body; a ground-floor consulting room and a day-care centre are treated differently.

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Questions

Straight answers

01Is clinic registration compulsory in India?

In the 19 states and UTs that adopted the 2010 Act, and in the five states with their own Acts, yes. Elsewhere the older nursing-home laws apply to bedded establishments; a clinic without beds should confirm its position with the state health department rather than assume it is exempt.

02Does a single-doctor clinic need to register under the Clinical Establishments Act?

Yes. Section 2(c) of the Act includes a clinical establishment owned, controlled or managed by a single doctor, and lists clinics, dispensaries and consulting rooms by whatever name called.

03How long does provisional registration last?

Six months, renewable, until the state notifies minimum standards. After that it cannot be renewed beyond two years for a clinic that existed before the notification, or six months for a newer one, and the clinic applies for permanent registration.

04What does registration cost?

The Act leaves the fee to the registering authority, so it varies by state, by district and by the category of establishment. There is no national figure. Ask the district health office for the schedule before filing.

05What happens if a clinic runs without registration?

Section 41 of the central Act provides monetary penalties for carrying on a clinical establishment without registration, rising for repeat contraventions. The state Acts carry their own penalties.

06Is registration the same as NABH accreditation?

No. Registration is a legal requirement under the Act. NABH accreditation is voluntary and run by the Quality Council of India; the Act's minimum standards are separate from NABH's.

07Where are the minimum standards for a clinic?

The National Council for Clinical Establishments publishes minimum standards by category on the Ministry of Health's Clinical Establishments portal. States notify them for their territory, which is when the provisional-to-permanent clock starts.

This guide summarises public law and government documents as of 20 October 2026 and is general information, not legal advice. State rules change and district offices apply them; confirm the current requirement with your registering authority before you open.

Sources

Where this page comes from

Primary documents first. If a source and this page disagree, the source wins; write to us and we will fix the page.

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How to register a clinic in India. Which law applies in your state, and what it asks for.

Three situations. Find yours first.

Your state adopted the central Act

Your state has its own Act

Neither, yet