How to register a company online through the OCR portal
A click-by-click walkthrough of the Office of the Company Registrar's online portal at companies.gov.np: creating your account, reserving a company name, filling the registration application, uploading the Memorandum and Articles of Association, paying the fee online, and what to do after you get the certificate of incorporation.
If you already know which entity type you want and what the fees look like, this guide skips that and goes straight to the portal itself: what screen you land on, what you click, which documents get uploaded as PDFs, and where people usually get stuck. If you still need the broader picture, entity types, the full fee table by authorised capital, and the required-documents checklist, that's on our /company-registration page, and this guide assumes you've already made that decision.
The Office of the Company Registrar (OCR) runs its registration process through companies.gov.np. Almost the entire application, name reservation, the incorporation form, document uploads, and the fee payment, happens online now. The one part that still needs a visit or courier in some cases is submitting notarised copies or originals for verification, and that depends on what the OCR officer reviewing your file asks for. Budget about a week from a clean application to certificate, sometimes less, sometimes longer if your documents get sent back for correction.
This walkthrough covers a private limited company with Nepali promoters, since that's the most common case. If you have foreign investors, you need prior approval from the Department of Industry (or the Investment Board for large projects) before OCR will accept your application, and that approval process runs separately and takes longer, so don't start the OCR steps until you have it in hand.
Create your account on companies.gov.np
Everything starts with an account on the OCR's online system. Go to companies.gov.np and look for the registration or sign-up option for company promoters (as opposed to the staff login).
You'll register with your citizenship number, a mobile number and an email address. The system sends an OTP or verification link, so use a number and inbox you actually check, since your name-approval and payment notices come through the same channels.
- Open companies.gov.np and find the applicant/promoter sign-up link.
- Enter your citizenship details exactly as printed on the certificate, mismatches here cause rejections later.
- Verify your mobile number and email through the OTP or link sent to you.
- Set a password you'll remember: you'll log back in multiple times over the next week to check status.
Reserve and get your company name approved
Before you can fill the main application, your proposed company name has to clear OCR's name-reservation check. This is a separate step inside the portal, done first.
You can usually propose two or three name options in order of preference. The system checks against the existing company register for duplicates and against a list of restricted or reserved words (names implying government affiliation, certain regulated terms like 'bank' or 'insurance' without the relevant licence, and so on). If your first choice is rejected you fall back to the next one, so it's worth listing genuine alternatives rather than three versions of the same name.
- Log in and open the 'name reservation' or 'company name search' section.
- Search first to see if something close already exists, this saves a rejection cycle.
- Submit your proposed name(s) along with the proposed entity type (private limited, in this case).
- Wait for the approval notification inside the portal, this step commonly clears within a day or two but can take longer during busy periods.
- Once approved, the name is held for you for a limited window, so don't sit on it before starting the full application.
Fill the company registration application
With the name approved, you move to the actual incorporation application (sometimes labelled 'company registration' or 'incorporation application' in the portal menu). This is a form-driven process: registered office address, authorised and issued capital, number of shares, share value, and the details of every promoter and director.
Enter each promoter's citizenship number, address, and shareholding split exactly as agreed among the founders. If there's more than one shareholder, the portal will also ask you to attach a consensus agreement, essentially a document showing the founders agree on the share split and terms; get this drafted before you sit down to fill the form, not while you're mid-application.
- Enter registered office details: district, municipality/ward, and address.
- Enter authorised capital and paid-up/issued capital, and how it's divided among shareholders.
- Add each promoter and director with citizenship number, contact details, and shareholding percentage.
- Attach the consensus agreement if there is more than one shareholder.
- Save progress as you go; the form is long enough that you'll likely need more than one sitting.
Upload the Memorandum and Articles of Association
The Memorandum of Association (MOA) and Articles of Association (AOA) are the two founding documents of the company, the MOA sets out the company's objectives and capital structure, the AOA sets out its internal rules of governance. Both get drafted (often with a lawyer or a company secretary, since the wording matters for how flexible the company will be later) and uploaded as PDF attachments in this stage of the portal.
Some applicants use OCR's own template clauses where the standard wording covers their situation, which speeds up review since the officer already knows what to expect. If you're doing anything non-standard, custom share classes, unusual transfer restrictions, get it drafted properly rather than editing a generic template, because these documents get requested again if a bank or investor ever needs to see them.
- Prepare the MOA and AOA as signed PDF documents.
- Upload them in the document-attachment section of the application, alongside citizenship copies of all promoters and directors.
- Double-check page order and that signatures/thumbprints are visible before uploading, blurry scans are a common cause of a document being sent back.
- Keep the original signed paper copies; OCR or your bank may ask to see them later.
Pay the registration fee online and submit
Once the form and documents are complete, the portal calculates your fee based on the authorised capital you entered. Payment is typically done through the connected online payment gateway (options have included bank e-payment and mobile wallets); confirm what's currently accepted on companies.gov.np, since payment integrations get updated from time to time.
After payment clears, you submit the full application for review. You'll get a reference or application number, keep this, it's what you use to track status and it's what OCR staff will ask for if you call or visit to follow up.
- Review every section one more time before paying, since fields can't always be edited after submission.
- Pay the fee shown by the portal (which scales with your authorised capital, see the fee table on /company-registration).
- Submit and note your application/reference number.
- Watch your email and the portal dashboard, if a document needs correction, you'll be notified there rather than by phone.
After submission: approval, certificate, and what comes next
An OCR officer reviews your application and documents. If everything matches (name approval, MOA/AOA, promoter details, payment), you get approved and can download your certificate of incorporation from the portal. If something's off, a mismatched address, an unclear scan, a capital figure that doesn't reconcile, you'll get a note asking for correction, and you resubmit that piece rather than starting over.
The certificate of incorporation is not the end of setting up, though. It registers the company as a legal entity, but you still need a Permanent Account Number (PAN) from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) before you can legally invoice, open a proper business bank account, or hire staff, and VAT registration on top of that if your turnover requires it. PAN registration is a separate system (through IRD, not OCR), so don't expect the OCR certificate to cover it automatically. For the full walkthrough of getting your business fully operational after incorporation, including PAN, local ward registration and what a general small business needs beyond a private limited company, see our small-business registration guide.
- Check your dashboard/email for approval or correction requests.
- Once approved, download the certificate of incorporation from the portal.
- Register for PAN at the Inland Revenue Department, this is a separate application, not automatic.
- Register for VAT if your expected turnover requires it.
- Open your company bank account using the certificate and PAN.
Key takeaways
- ✓The OCR registration process runs mostly online at companies.gov.np: account creation, name reservation, the incorporation form, document upload and fee payment.
- ✓Name reservation is a separate, earlier step, submit two or three options since duplicates and restricted words get rejected.
- ✓The Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association are uploaded as PDFs; get them properly drafted if your structure isn't standard.
- ✓If there's more than one shareholder, you need a consensus agreement attached to the application.
- ✓The registration fee is calculated from your authorised capital and paid through the portal's online payment gateway.
- ✓A certificate of incorporation is not the same as being tax-registered, PAN at the Inland Revenue Department is a separate follow-on step.
- ✓Foreign-invested companies need Department of Industry (or Investment Board) approval before starting the OCR application.
Explore the data behind this guide
How to Register a Company Online Through the OCR Portal (Step by Step), FAQ
Can I register a company in Nepal fully online, start to finish?+
Most of it, yes: account creation, name reservation, the incorporation form, document upload and fee payment all happen on companies.gov.np. In practice, OCR staff sometimes ask for a document to be resubmitted or clarified, and a small share of cases require in-person verification, so treat it as mostly online rather than guaranteed fully remote.
How long does OCR take to approve an online application?+
Name reservation commonly clears within a day or two, and a clean incorporation application (documents in order, capital figures reconciled, correct signatures) is often approved within about a week. Applications with mismatched details or unclear scans take longer because they bounce back for correction. Confirm current processing times on companies.gov.np since volume affects turnaround.
What's the difference between the Memorandum of Association and the Articles of Association?+
The Memorandum of Association (MOA) states the company's objectives, capital structure and basic scope of business. The Articles of Association (AOA) set out how the company runs internally, share transfers, meetings, director powers. Both are required uploads in the OCR application, and OCR does allow standard template clauses for straightforward setups.
Do I need PAN before or after OCR registration?+
After. The certificate of incorporation from OCR registers your company as a legal entity; PAN registration at the Inland Revenue Department is a separate step you take once you have that certificate. You can't legally invoice or open a full business bank account without PAN, so don't leave a long gap between the two.
Can foreign investors register a company through the OCR portal directly?+
Not as a first step. Foreign direct investment needs prior approval from the Department of Industry (or the Investment Board of Nepal for larger projects) before the OCR application is submitted. Attempting the OCR portal steps without that approval in hand will not get your application accepted.
Related guides
Sources & data note
The sources listed are the authorities that publish the procedure this guide describes; the step ordering, screen descriptions and practical notes are our own synthesis written for a general reader based on the publicly documented OCR process, not a transcript of the portal. Portal screens, fees and processing times change, confirm the current steps and fee schedule on companies.gov.np or ocr.gov.np before you apply. Guides are written from primary sources, Nepali government departments, operators, park authorities and standards bodies, and each guide lists the sources used for its own facts. Rules, fees and prices in Nepal change; treat figures as current at the review date shown on each guide and verify anything money- or visa-critical with the issuing authority before you rely on it.