Enrol your establishment with ESIC under the ESI Act 1948 and give your team medical cover and a cash safety net. Regikart's CA and CS team handles establishment registration, employee enrolment and ongoing monthly compliance - starting at Rs 4,999.
Last updated
28 May 2026
ESIC at a glance
Medical cover plus cash safety net
10+
Employees - mandatory threshold
4%
Total ESI contribution rate
Rs 21,000
Gross wage coverage ceiling
15 days
Window to register once applicable
Reference card
ESIC registration at a glance
| Governing law | Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 |
| Administered by | ESIC, Ministry of Labour and Employment |
| Mandatory at | 10 or more employees (20 in some states such as Maharashtra for shops) |
| Wage limit | Gross up to Rs 21,000 a month (Rs 25,000 if disabled) |
| Contribution | Employer 3.25% plus employee 0.75% of gross wages (since 1 July 2019) |
| Monthly deposit | By the 15th of the following month |
| Registration code | 17-digit ESI code issued by ESIC on registration |
The 10-employee threshold is lower than PF, and the count sweeps in contract and part-time workers. Two reasons most employers register late - and pay for it.
Once you cross 10 employees (or 20 in notified states), registration is due within 15 days. Delay can lead to backdated demands for contributions, interest and damages for the entire period since coverage became applicable.
The 10-employee threshold includes permanent, temporary, part-time, contract and probationary workers - including contractor staff deployed at your premises. Excluding them is the most common applicability mistake we see.
ESI gives your team full medical care, sickness benefit, maternity benefit, disablement cover, dependants' benefit, funeral expenses and an unemployment allowance - a genuine retention asset, not just a statutory tax.
PF kicks in at 20 employees but ESI kicks in at 10 in most states. Many founders register for PF and miss ESI by months - that gap turns into interest and damages on every wage cycle.
Coverage is establishment-wide once triggered. You cannot enrol some eligible employees and exclude others on the same payroll. Selective enrolment is one of the most commonly cited inspection findings.
Important: Registration is due within 15 days of becoming applicable. ESI now clearly covers IT firms, BPOs and commercial offices in notified states, not just factories. Confirm your state's threshold before delaying.
From applicability assessment to inspection-ready vaults - we take the brief once and run every cycle on autopilot.
01
Day 1Verify headcount against your state's threshold (10 in most states, 20 in some). Identify employees within the Rs 21,000 gross wage ceiling, including contract and part-time staff.
02
Days 1 - 2Collect establishment PAN, incorporation or registration document, premises address proof, bank details and the employee list with wages and Aadhaar.
03
Days 2 - 3Register the establishment on the ESIC employer portal at esic.gov.in and the Shram Suvidha unified portal under Form 01 (Employer Registration Form).
04
Days 3 - 5Once the establishment details are validated, ESIC issues a 17-digit employer code - your user ID for all future filings, deposits and inspections.
05
Days 5 - 8Generate a Form 1 declaration per employee, capture Aadhaar (mandatory) and family details, map dispensary by residence and obtain an IP (Insured Person) number for each.
06
By 15thApply 3.25% (employer) + 0.75% (employee) on gross wages, generate the challan and deposit by the 15th of the following month. Download and retain the paid challan.
07
Days 10 - 15Each insured employee gets an ESI card (e-Pehchan) for accessing medical care at ESI dispensaries and hospitals. We help your HR roll this out.
08
ContinuousHand over monthly contribution filing, half-yearly Form 5 returns and inspection-ready registers (wage, attendance and accident) to our payroll desk.
Crossed 10 employees recently?
Get ESI compliant the right way.
We assess, register, enrol and set up your monthly compliance in one engagement. First consult is free.
We send a checklist customised to your headcount and industry on engagement. Here is the baseline list.
Establishment-level
Employee-level
Premises and operations
ESI is a self-financing social security scheme that gives covered employees and their dependants medical care and a stack of cash benefits.
Full medical care for the insured employee and their dependants at ESI dispensaries, hospitals and tied-up private hospitals - inpatient, outpatient, diagnostics and medicines.
Cash payment during certified sickness for up to 91 days a year - approximately 70 percent of average daily wages, payable after the qualifying contribution period.
Paid leave for eligible insured women for up to 26 weeks at the full average daily wage rate, plus a confinement allowance and free medical care.
Temporary disablement benefit at 90 percent of wages during recovery from employment injury, and permanent disablement benefit as a monthly pension based on loss of earning capacity.
Monthly payment to dependants in cases of death due to employment injury, plus funeral expenses up to Rs 15,000 paid to whoever incurs them.
Under the Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana, up to 50 percent of average daily wages for up to 2 years on involuntary loss of employment, with linked skill upgradation.
From first registration to inspection support, every touchpoint of your ESI compliance lives with our payroll desk.
Each one is avoidable, each one is expensive, and each one shows up in ESIC inspection reports across industries.
The threshold is 10 employees in most states but 20 in some, such as Maharashtra for shops. We check the state notification before confirming applicability so you do not over- or under-register.
Contract and part-time staff count toward the headcount and must be enrolled if they meet the wage ceiling. Many founders count only permanent payroll. We assess the true headcount including contractor deployments.
ESI is on gross wages, not basic. That includes overtime, dearness allowance, conveyance and attendance bonus. Calculating on basic alone is the single most common under-deduction surfaced at inspection.
Once registered, the contribution must reach ESIC by the 15th of the following month. Interest at 12 percent per annum starts on the 16th and damages of 5 to 25 percent apply on continued default. We never miss the date.
Each state with a covered establishment needs its own coverage code or sub-code depending on ESIC sub-regional jurisdiction. A single pan-India registration is a growing-company error we fix proactively.
Registering with ESIC is free. The real cost is the 3.25 percent employer contribution; the Regikart professional fee covers registration and ongoing compliance.
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Government registration on ESIC portal | Free |
| Regikart professional fee for ESIC registration | Rs 4,999 onwards |
| Monthly contribution and challan filing support | Rs 999 onwards / month |
| PF + ESIC + payroll compliance bundle | Rs 2,499 onwards / month |
All fees and charges listed are indicative only and do not constitute a binding offer. Final amounts may vary depending on the volume of work and the complexity involved.
Both are statutory payroll registrations. Threshold, wage base, rate and purpose are different - employers usually research both together.
| Point | PF (EPF) | ESI |
|---|---|---|
| Governing law | EPF & MP Act 1952 | ESI Act 1948 |
| Mandatory at | 20 or more employees | 10 or more (20 in some states) |
| Wage basis | Basic + DA, ceiling Rs 15,000 | Gross wages, limit Rs 21,000 |
| Employee share | 12 percent | 0.75 percent |
| Employer share | 12 percent (3.67% EPF + 8.33% EPS) | 3.25 percent |
| Purpose | Retirement, pension, insurance | Medical and cash benefits |
| Code length | Establishment code via EPFO | 17-digit ESI code from ESIC |
| Recurring event | Frequency and date |
|---|---|
| Apply for ESI registration on portal | Within 15 days of becoming applicable |
| Receive 17-digit ESI employer code | Usually within a few working days |
| Enrol each new employee | Within 10 days of joining |
| Deposit monthly contribution on portal | By the 15th of the following month |
| File half-yearly Form 5 (April to September) | By 11 November |
| File half-yearly Form 5 (October to March) | By 11 May |
| Maintain wage, attendance and accident registers | Continuous - kept at the premises |
| Respond to ESIC inspection notice | Within the timeline mentioned (usually 7 to 15 days) |
Founders across IT, D2C and manufacturing who registered with ESIC through our payroll desk - and what changed.
We had crossed 10 employees six months before anyone realised ESI was applicable. Regikart did a backdated assessment, registered us, paid the arrears at minimum penalty exposure and put us on a clean monthly cycle within four weeks. No inspection notice came after.
A. Pillai
HR Head, IT Services SME, Kolkata
32 employees
Crossed 10 employees in March, called Regikart on the 12th, ESI code in hand by month-end. Everyone was enrolled, ESI cards distributed and the first challan went out on time on the 15th of the next month. The hand-holding through inspections and notices is the real value.
S. Verma
Founder, D2C brand, Delhi
18 employees
Multi-state operations across Pune and Bengaluru meant we needed two ESI codes. Our previous consultant gave us one and we got hit with a notice. Regikart restructured the coverage codes, dealt with the notice and now runs the monthly filings across both states cleanly.
R. Krishnamurthy
Finance Manager, Manufacturing, Pune
140 employees
Most ESI registrations are handled by junior executives who treat it as a portal upload. Regikart's payroll desk is run by qualified CAs and CSs with statutory-payroll specialism.
Every registration and ongoing filing reviewed by a qualified professional. Deepak Jaiswal (FCA) heads the accounting and payroll compliance team for ESIC, EPF and PT.
Headquartered in Kolkata with operational offices in Delhi, Gurugram and Pune. Local handling for ESIC sub-regional offices and state labour departments.
From 12-person SMEs to 400-person manufacturing units across IT, manufacturing, logistics, retail and healthcare. We know the state-by-state quirks.
Every client gets a digital compliance vault with the registration certificate, all monthly challans, Form 6 register, Form 5 half-yearly returns and inspection responses.
Fixed registration fee, fixed monthly retainer - no per-employee top-ups, no surprise charges for half-yearly filings. What you sign is what you pay.
Beyond ESI, we cover PF, professional tax, Shops and Establishment registration, labour welfare fund and POSH compliance under one engagement.
Still unsure about applicability, wage limits or the registration timeline? Book a free 20-minute consult - a senior CA will assess your headcount and quote scope.
Still have questions?
Book a free 20-minute consult with a senior partner - we'll walk through your case and outline next steps.
Talk to a partner →Monthly contributions by 15th + half-yearly Form 5 reconciliation.
End-to-end monthly payroll with PF, ESI and TDS.
State levy on salaries - registration, monthly returns and payment.
State labour registration for shops, offices and commercial premises.
Regikart is a CA and CS firm headquartered in Kolkata with operational offices in Delhi, Gurugram and Pune. We offer end-to-end compliance services covering accounting, GST, income tax, payroll, ROC and MCA, audit, GSTAT litigation and business registrations. Founded by FCA Deepak Jaiswal, the firm serves over 800 active clients across India with a CA and CS-led service model.
Our payroll and statutory compliance desk, led by CA Deepak Jaiswal, handles ESIC registration, EPF registration, professional tax, TDS on salaries and labour welfare compliance for businesses ranging from 12-person startups to 400-person manufacturing units.
Tell us your headcount, state, and current payroll setup. We will tell you exactly what is needed, what it costs and what risk you are carrying today - within 24 hours.
