At a glance
| Created by | Registered with | People | Government fees | Our fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trust deed signed by the settlor and trustees | Sub-registrar; plus the state public trust authority where a public trust Act applies | Settlor, trustees (two or more is usual), beneficiaries | Stamp duty and registration fee, set by your state | From ₹9,999 |
What a charitable trust is
A charitable trust is an arrangement in which a person (the settlor) hands over money or property to people they trust (the trustees), who must hold and use it for charitable objects set out in a written deed. It is the simplest way to give a charitable mission a legal form, and it suits founders who want to keep control through named trustees.
A trust is not a company. It has no shares, no members in the company sense and no filings with the Registrar of Companies. The trustees act for the trust and hold its property for the objects.
Public trust or private trust
A public trust benefits the public or a section of it, such as students, patients, or people in a particular area. A private trust benefits specific, identified people, usually family members. This page covers public charitable trusts, which is what an NGO, school, hospital or foundation needs.
If you want a family trust for succession planning, the law, tax treatment and deed are different. Talk to us separately about that.
The laws that apply to a trust
A public charitable trust is governed mainly by its own deed, the Registration Act, 1908 and, in some states, a public trust Act. The Indian Trusts Act, 1882 is often quoted, but it expressly does not affect public or private religious or charitable endowments, so it mainly governs private trusts.
- The trust deed sets the objects, trustees and rules. It is the trust's constitution.
- The Registration Act, 1908 requires registration of a non-testamentary document that creates an interest in immovable property worth ₹100 or more. A deed that settles land or a building on the trust must be registered. We register every charitable trust deed, even when only cash is settled, because banks and funders usually ask for a registered deed.
- State public trust laws apply in some states. In Maharashtra, for example, public trusts come under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950 and the Charity Commissioner's office. We confirm the rules of your state before drafting.
- Income-tax law decides whether the trust's income is exempt. From 1 April 2026 this is the Income-tax Act, 2025; FY 2025-26 remains under the Income-tax Act, 1961.
The people in a trust
Every trust has three roles. The deed names the first two and describes the third.
| Role | Who they are | Points to decide |
|---|---|---|
| Settlor (also called author or founder) | The person who creates the trust and settles the initial money or property | The initial settlement amount; whether the settlor will also be a trustee (this is common) |
| Trustees | The people who manage the trust and its property under the deed | How many trustees; who is managing trustee; life trustees or fixed terms; how new trustees are appointed |
| Beneficiaries | The public, or the section of the public, the trust serves | Describe them by class (for example, "students from economically weaker families"), not by name |
Two or more trustees is the usual practice, not a statutory minimum for a public charitable trust. Many founders choose three trustees, so that decisions do not deadlock and the trust can keep working if one trustee is unavailable.
What the trust deed must cover
The deed decides how the trust works for decades, and it is the first document the Income-tax Department reads when you apply for registration. These are the clauses we draft in every charitable trust deed.
- Name and registered office of the trust, and the area it will work in.
- Objects, written as clearly charitable purposes: relief of the poor, education, medical relief, environment protection or other objects of general public utility. Avoid trading objects.
- Settlement: the settlor's details and the initial corpus or property handed to the trustees.
- Trustees: names of the first trustees, the minimum and maximum number, the managing trustee and office bearers.
- Appointment, resignation and removal of trustees, including what happens when a trustee dies. A trust without a succession clause can freeze.
- Powers of trustees: to accept donations, open bank accounts, invest funds, hire staff, buy or lease property and start projects.
- Meetings and decisions: frequency, quorum, voting and how resolutions are recorded.
- Income and property to be used only for the objects, with no benefit to the settlor, trustees or their relatives beyond reasonable reimbursement.
- Accounts and audit: books, financial year, bank operation and audit.
- Amendment clause: which provisions trustees can change and how, without altering the charitable character of the trust.
- Dissolution clause: on closure, remaining assets go to another charitable body with similar objects, never back to the settlor or trustees.
Documents for trust registration
Keep these ready for the settlor, each trustee and the office. We check every document before the deed is finalised.
- Settlor and each trustee: PAN, Aadhaar, passport-size photograph, email and mobile number
- Registered office: a recent electricity or similar utility bill, and a no-objection letter from the owner if the office is rented or provided by someone else
- Property settled on the trust, if any: title documents of the land or building
- Trust deed: drafted by us and executed on stamp paper or with e-stamping, as your state provides
- Witnesses: two witnesses with photo ID, as sub-registrars usually require at execution
How we register your trust
We follow seven steps, and you approve the deed before anything is signed.
- Call and scoping. We understand the objects, the settlor, the trustees, the state and any property to be settled.
- Deed drafting. A CS drafts the deed with the clauses above and sends it to you for review.
- Stamp duty and fee quote. We confirm the stamp duty and registration fee for your state and the property involved, in writing, before you pay anything to the government.
- Stamping. The deed is stamped as your state provides, through stamp paper or e-stamping.
- Execution and registration. The settlor, trustees and witnesses sign before the sub-registrar, as the office requires, and the deed is registered.
- PAN and bank account. We apply for the trust's PAN and give you the documents your bank needs to open the trust's account.
- Income-tax registration. We file Form 104 for provisional registration and approval, and diarise the Form 105 deadline.
In our experience, registration takes about 10-15 working days once the deed is final. The time depends mainly on stamping and the sub-registrar's appointment availability.
Stamp duty and registration fee
Stamp duty on a trust deed and the sub-registrar's registration fee are set by each state, so there is no single national figure. The amount can also depend on whether any immovable property is settled on the trust and its value.
We do not publish a fixed amount for this reason. Once we know your state, the office location and what is being settled, we quote the exact stamp duty and registration fee in writing before filing, and you pay them at actuals.
Our fees
Our professional fee for charitable trust registration starts at ₹9,999. Government fees are separate and depend on your state.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Regikart professional fee: trust deed drafting and registration with the sub-registrar | From ₹9,999 |
| Regikart professional fee: 12A registration (Form 104 or 105) | ₹3,499 |
| Regikart professional fee: 80G approval (Form 104 or 105) | ₹3,499 |
| Regikart professional fee: CSR-1 filing | ₹3,499 |
| Government fee: stamp duty on the deed and sub-registrar registration fee | Set by your state; quoted before filing |
| Government fee: PAN application (physical card, Indian address) | ₹107 |
| Government fee: income-tax registration and approval (Forms 104 and 105) | No government fee |
Professional fees exclude GST at 18%. Government fees, where they apply, are paid at actuals to the department and are shown separately. Fees verified on 22 September 2026.
After registration: PAN, bank account and tax approvals
A registered deed lets the trust exist. To receive donations properly, it needs a PAN, a bank account and income-tax registration. The order matters.
| Step | What it does | When |
|---|---|---|
| PAN in the trust's name | Needed for the bank account and every tax filing | Right after registration |
| Bank account in the trust's name | Keeps trust money separate from the trustees' money | After PAN |
| Income-tax registration and approval (old 12A and 80G) | Exempts the trust's income and lets donors claim a deduction | Form 104 soon after PAN; Form 105 later |
| NGO Darpan | Unique ID on NITI Aayog's free NGO portal, often asked for in government grant applications | After PAN |
| CSR-1 | Needed to receive CSR funds from companies | Once 12A and 80G are in place |
| FCRA | Needed to receive any foreign contribution | Registration after three years of operation; prior permission earlier for a defined project |
From 1 April 2026, registration is under section 332 and approval for donor deduction under section 354 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. A new trust files Form 104 for provisional registration and approval; the order comes in Form 106. It then files Form 105 for regular registration within six months of starting activities, or at least six months before the provisional registration expires. Regular registration is valid for five tax years, or ten in some cases for smaller trusts (see our 12A registration page).
Trusts that applied in FY 2025-26 did so under sections 12A, 12AB and 80G of the Income-tax Act, 1961, in Forms 10A and 10AB; registrations valid on 1 April 2026 continue until they expire. For details, see 12A registration, 80G registration and CSR-1 registration. The full post-registration stack, including FCRA registration, is explained on our NGO registration guide.
Yearly compliance for a charitable trust
A registered charitable trust keeps books, gets them audited where the income-tax conditions apply, and files an income-tax return every year. If it has donor-deduction approval, it also reports donations.
| Filing | What | Law and year |
|---|---|---|
| Books of account | Receipts, payments, donations, corpus and project spending | Every year |
| Audit report | Audit of accounts where the income-tax conditions apply | Every year |
| Income-tax return | ITR-7 | FY 2025-26 under the Income-tax Act, 1961 |
| Donation statement | Form 113 (old Form 10BD), with donor certificates in Form 114 (old Form 10BE) | If approved for donor deduction; late fee of ₹200 a day (s.429 of the Income-tax Act, 2025; s.234G of the 1961 Act) |
| State public trust filings | Accounts or changes reported to the state authority | Only where a state public trust Act applies |
| FCRA annual return | Foreign contribution received and used | Only if FCRA registered |
We can keep the trust's books and handle these filings each year. See accounting services and tax audit.
Changing trustees or the deed later
You can change trustees by following the appointment and removal clause in the deed, usually through a trustees' resolution. Where the deed or your state requires it, a supplementary deed is executed and registered, and the bank is informed.
Changing the objects is more serious. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, a trust that modifies its objects must apply afresh in Form 105 within 30 days of the modification. Draft the objects carefully at the start so you do not need to change them.
Trust, society or Section 8: a quick comparison
A trust is quickest to set up and keeps control with the trustees. A society is run by elected members, and a Section 8 company has the most governance and filings.
| Point | Trust | Society | Section 8 company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Created by | Trust deed | Memorandum and rules | MoA and AoA, with a licence through SPICe+ |
| Registered with | Sub-registrar | State Registrar of Societies | Registrar of Companies |
| Control | Trustees named in the deed | Elected governing body | Board of directors |
| Ongoing filings | Lightest | Moderate | Heaviest |
For fees, member minimums and timelines of all three, read our NGO registration comparison, or see Section 8 company registration.
Mistakes that delay trust registration
Most delays and later tax problems come from the deed. These are the ones we see most.
- Objects copied from another deed that include trading or unclear purposes.
- No succession clause, so the trust stalls when a trustee dies or resigns.
- A clause letting income or property return to the settlor or trustees. Charitable status depends on the opposite.
- Wrong stamp duty, leading to the deed being impounded or returned at the sub-registrar's office.
- Mismatched names between PAN, Aadhaar and the deed for the settlor or trustees.
- Waiting too long for Form 104, so early donors cannot claim a deduction.
Why founders use Regikart for trust registration
Trust registration is part legal drafting, part tax planning. Our CA and CS team does both, so the deed you register is the deed the Income-tax Department will accept.
- Reviewed by a Company Secretary, who drafts the deed with the income-tax registration in view.
- Stamp duty quoted in writing for your state before you pay anything.
- Current law: Forms 104, 105, 113 and 114 under the Income-tax Act, 2025.
- One team after registration: PAN, 12A, 80G, Darpan, CSR-1, books and returns.
- 250+ clients served from our offices in Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru.