Shops and Establishments registration in Delhi, UP and Haryana (2026)

What Shops and Establishments laws cover

Each State or Union Territory passes its own Shops and Establishments Act. These laws generally deal with registering the establishment with the Labour Department, working hours and overtime, weekly holidays, leave, the employment of young people and women, and the records an employer must keep. Each Act has its own definitions of a shop, an establishment, an employee or a worker, and its own exemptions, so the details differ from one State to the next.

Registration, or a simpler intimation where the law allows it, tells the Labour Department that your establishment exists at a particular address. It is a labour-law requirement. It is separate from GST registration, which is a tax registration, and from Udyam registration, which records a business as a micro, small or medium enterprise.

Delhi: the 1954 Act and the 2026 amendment

In Delhi the law is the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954, administered by the Labour Department of the Government of NCT of Delhi. The Delhi Shops and Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2026 received assent on 23 February 2026 and was published in the Delhi Gazette on 11 March 2026. It limits the Act to establishments with 20 or more employees. It also raises the minimum age for employment to 14, relaxes overtime limits and allows women to work night shifts with safeguards.

The amendment comes into force on a date the Delhi government notifies. Check the Labour Department’s notice to see whether that date has been notified. Until it is, the 1954 Act continues to apply to establishments of every size.

Separately, a Labour Department notification of 7 August 2025 exempts all shops and establishments except liquor shops from the Act’s opening and closing hour rules, and allows women’s night work subject to conditions.

Registration is made online on the Labour Department’s portal, labourcis.nic.in. According to the department’s FAQ, the portal does not charge a fee and issues the certificate in real time. New companies can also apply through the Agile-Pro form, which is part of the SPICE+ incorporation process on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs portal.

Uttar Pradesh: the 1962 Adhiniyam and the 2025 amendment

In Uttar Pradesh the law is the Uttar Pradesh Dookan Aur Vanijya Adhishthan Adhiniyam, 1962, administered by the Labour Department (Shram Vibhag). Registration services are on the department’s website, uplabour.gov.in.

In 2025 the State replaced an ordinance with the U.P. Dookan Aur Vanijya Adhishthan (Sanshodhan) Vidheyak, 2025, which PRS Legislative Research lists as passed and assented. The amendment changes which establishments must register, linking the requirement to the number of employees so that smaller establishments are treated differently from larger ones. We have not been able to confirm the final Act number, its commencement date or the exact thresholds from the gazette, so check the current position with the UP Labour Department before relying on a particular headcount or deadline.

Haryana: the 1958 Act as amended in 2025

Haryana applies the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958, which the 2025 amendment refers to as the Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958. The Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2025 was published in the Haryana Government Gazette on 18 December 2025 and is deemed to have come into force on 12 November 2025. It sets two routes:

• Establishments with 20 or more workers apply for registration online within one month. The certificate remains valid until the establishment closes.
• Establishments with fewer than 20 workers file an online intimation within one month and receive a Basic Information Performa ID.

Why this matters for NCR businesses across State lines

The law follows the premises, not the head office. A business with an office in Delhi, a warehouse in Noida or Ghaziabad and a sales office in Gurugram or Faridabad deals with three different Acts, three Labour Departments and possibly three different outcomes, depending on how many people work at each place. Each premises is assessed under the law of the State where it is located.

Headcount thresholds also need care. Each Act sets out who counts as an employee or worker and how they are counted, so check those definitions for each premises rather than using one figure for the whole business. If a site grows past 20 people, or you open or move a site, check the position again. GST works on a similar State-by-State basis, so expansion across NCR usually means reviewing both labour and tax registrations at the same time.

The central Labour Codes

The four central Labour Codes, including the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, came into force on 21 November 2025, according to an answer given in Parliament. The OSH Code has its own registration of establishments. We have not confirmed how that registration interacts with each State’s Shops and Establishments Act, so ask the relevant Labour Department or a qualified professional how both apply to your business.

Practical checklist

1. List every premises with its full address, district and State.
2. Count the employees or workers at each premises using that State’s definitions.
3. Identify the Act that applies and its current threshold. In Delhi, check whether the 2026 amendment has been notified; in UP, confirm the position after the 2025 amendment.
4. Register or file the intimation on the State’s official portal within the time allowed, for example within one month in Haryana.
5. Keep the certificate or intimation ID with your business records, and check what the Act requires when details such as the address or headcount change.
6. Review the position whenever you open, move or close a site, or a site’s headcount crosses a threshold.
7. Check your GST and Udyam registrations at the same time. They do not replace a Shops and Establishments registration, and it does not replace them.

Where TrueOrbis fits

TrueOrbis does not file Shops and Establishments registrations or represent businesses before Labour Departments. We help with GST registration, including additional places of business and registrations in other States, and with Udyam registration. We can explain where a Shops and Establishments registration sits alongside them when you plan a new office or warehouse. For the filing itself, use the official State portal or a qualified professional.

Common questions