What is a CIN?
A Corporate Identification Number (CIN) is a 21-character identifier used for an Indian company in the MCA register. Use the current CIN together with the legal name when matching records. A CIN can change following changes such as a transfer of registered-office jurisdiction; it is not an immutable string for the entire life of a company. When joining historical records, preserve former identifiers and check the official documents connecting them.
Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) have their own equivalent called an LLPIN, and Foreign Companies get an FCRN. But for the vast majority of Indian companies — private limited, public limited, One Person Companies, Section 8 non-profits, and government companies — the CIN is the canonical identifier you will see on every MCA filing, MoU, bank document, and statutory notice.
The six segments of a CIN
Although it looks like random characters, a CIN is actually a highly structured identifier. It encodes six distinct pieces of information about the company, in a fixed order. Once you know the pattern, you can read a CIN almost at a glance.
The six segments, in order, are: (1) Listing status — 1 character; (2) Industry classification — 5 characters; (3) State code — 2 characters; (4) Incorporation year — 4 characters; (5) Ownership type — 3 characters; (6) Registration number — 6 characters. Together they total exactly 21 characters.
For an illustrative CIN such as U72200KA2014PTC075612, split the characters as U | 72200 | KA | 2014 | PTC | 075612. This demonstrates the format only. Do not treat the example as a verified company record or translate an industry code without checking the classification version used by the source.
Segment 1 — Listing status (1 character)
The first character of a CIN indicates whether the company is listed on a recognised stock exchange. 'L' marks a listed company; 'U' marks an unlisted company. The overwhelming majority of Indian companies are unlisted, so you'll see 'U' at the start of most CINs you encounter.
Because only a small fraction of companies are publicly listed, this prefix is a quick way to identify listed entities when scanning a CIN list.
Segment 2 — Industry (NIC code, 5 characters)
The five-character activity segment is a classification recorded in the CIN. Classification systems and versions differ: MoSPI released NIC 2025 with six-digit subclasses, replacing the five-digit structure of NIC 2008. A five-digit code stored in an older company dataset must not be assumed to have been migrated to NIC 2025. Use the source label and version where available.
Keep in mind that the NIC code in the CIN reflects what the company declared at incorporation. Companies may expand, pivot, or shift activities over time without updating the NIC code captured inside the CIN. For that reason, the industry code inside a CIN should be treated as an approximate indicator rather than a guarantee of current operations.
Segment 3 — State code (2 characters)
Characters 7 and 8 encode a state abbreviation. Compare this segment with the registered-office state recorded in the latest official company information; neither field identifies every place where a company operates.
An interstate registered-office transfer can result in a changed CIN. If an older identifier and a newer address disagree, investigate their dates and the transfer documents instead of assuming that the original state code must remain unchanged.
Segment 4 — Year of incorporation (4 characters)
Characters 9 through 12 are the four-digit year of incorporation. This is the single most useful piece of information encoded in the CIN for anyone doing due diligence — it tells you at a glance how old the company is without needing to look up the full record.
The incorporation year describes legal formation, not the start of trading or a causal explanation for a registration trend. To study a cohort, use the full incorporation date, a defined observation period and a documented dataset with coverage limitations.
Segment 5 — Ownership type (3 characters)
Characters 13 through 15 encode the ownership structure and liability form. Common values include: PTC for Private Limited Company, PLC for Public Limited Company, OPC for One Person Company, NPL for Section 8 non-profit, FTC for foreign subsidiary (Private), FLC for foreign subsidiary (Public), GOI for Government of India undertaking, and SGC for State Government company.
These codes help identify recorded legal form. A public limited company is not necessarily stock-exchange listed; listing and company form are separate questions. Confirm the current classification and any conversion against the official record.
Segment 6 — Registration number (6 characters)
The final six characters are the registration-number segment. Keep leading zeros when storing or comparing identifiers.
Do not estimate registration volumes from adjacent registration numbers: allocation, transfers and historical data may make that inference unreliable. Count records using a defined dataset and incorporation dates instead.
Where you'll see CINs
Company disclosure requirements cover the CIN in specified communications and publications under the applicable Act and rules. Obtain the current identifier from official records and compare it with the company's own documents; an identifier printed on a website is a claim to verify.
Search using the current CIN where known, then confirm the legal name and dated source. For older documents, retain the identifier printed on the document and establish any link to a changed CIN before merging records.