Society Registration

Overview
A society defined as an organized group of persons, the main objectives of  all the members of the society is to serve society and not to earn a profit.
The Societies Registration Act, 1860 regulates all the societies and any person proposing to register a society shall do the same according to the said Act of Parliament.
Upon registration of society, it becomes a become a legal entity, having its own character and identity separate from its members.
The purpose the society is to undertake the charitable activities such as cultures, poverty, relief, religion, sports, arts, and education.
There are two bodies regulating the affairs of the society i.e. General body and Governing Body. The General Body member’s duties include the election of governing body members, alteration of rules and regulations, name and objects,if necessary.
The Governing body members are entrusted with the management of the affairs of the society.

Requirements for registering a Society
The following are the requirements that are required to be fulfilled before registering a society :

1. Number of Members : The Minimum number of members  required for registration of society is  10.
2. Object of society : The object of the society should be to promote the economic interests of its members which shall be in accordance with the Co-operative principles.
3. Economical requirements : The society proposed to be registered should be capable of being run on economically sound lines.
4. No Adverse Effect : The proposed society shall not have an effect that is adverse, on the Co-operative movement.
5. Minimum Capital requirement : The proposed society shall fulfil the minimum capital requirements. The prospective members should contribute a minimum amount of share capital as stated in its byelaws.

Documents Required for registration of Society
The Documents required for applying for Society Registration under Societies Registration Act, 1860  are mentioned as follows :

1. Address Proof : All the members of the Proposed society shall submit their Address Proof. The following can be used as an Address proof:

• Passport
• Utility Bill
• Bank Statement
• Driving License
• Aadhaar Card

2. PAN Card : All the members of the proposed society shall submit their copy of PAN Card  with the application.

3.Memorandum of Association : The  Memorandum of Association of the Proposed Society has to be prepared containing the following clauses and information:

• The objects of the society along with work for which it is being established
• Members Details forming the society
• Registered office address of the society

4. Article of Association : The Articles of Association of the Proposed Society also have to be prepared containing the following clauses and information::

• Rules and regulations of the society and the maintenance of day to day activities
• Auditors Information
• Rules informing about the eligibility and procedure for taking the membership of the society
• Arbitration clause and its form,  in case of any dispute between the members of the society
• Meetings and the frequency of meeting of members of the society
• Details regarding circumstances and ways of dissolution of the society will also be mentioned

The rules formed, can be changed anytime but the new set of rules can be adopted only when they are signed by the President, Chairman, Vice President and the Secretary of the Society.

5. Covering Letter :  A covering letter signed by all the founding members of the society, shall be annexed with the application. It shall; contain the objective or the purpose for which the society is being formed.

6. Address Proof : A copy address proof of the registered office of the society shall also be submitted. The address proof shall be submitted along with a NOC from the landlord if any of the premises..

7. List of members : A list of all the members of the governing body along with their signatures shall be given

8. Declaration by president of society :  A declaration by the president of the proposed society that he is willing and competent to hold the said post shall also be submitted along with application.
The list of documents mentioned above is not exhaustive. There may be several other documents that the registrar may call, on a case to case basis and the applicant must have to submit those documents to obtain registration.

Process for Applying for society Registration
The Process for applying for society Registration under Societies Registration Act, 1860 is as follows :

1. Preparation of documents : The first step is to prepare the documents as prescribed for registration of Society.
The Applicant shall ensure that the documents shall be legible, true and correct.

2. Submission of documents : The documents prepared shall be submitted to the Registrar of Societies for registration of society.
The documents shall be submitted in two sets of copies along with the requisite fees.

3. Scrutiny of documents : On receiving the application along with documents, the registrar of society shall sign the first copy as acknowledgment and return it to the applicant and keep the second copy or acrutiny.

4. Issue of Registration certificate : The registrar shall make a proper scrutiny of the documents, if the registrar of society considers that the documents are true and correct then the registrar will issue an Incorporation Certificate by allotting a registration number to the society.  

FAQ’s

Q 1 Can societies be formed for profits?
Ans: No, A society under Societies Registration Act, 1860 cannot be formed for profits. The only objects of the society is for welfare of members and society at large.

Q 2 Can Memorandum of society registered can be altered?
Ans: Yes, the memorandum of society registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860 can be altered by following the prescribed procedure.

Q 3 What are the minimum number of members required for registration of society?
Ans: A minimum of 7 number of members are required for registration of society under Societies Registration Act, 1860

Q 4 Is there any limit of Maximum number of members of the society?
Ans: No, There is no such limit of maximum number of members for society registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860.