URC Full Form
In MSME and banking, the URC full form is Udyam Registration Certificate. The Reserve Bank of India uses the same short form: for Priority Sector Lending, banks classify a business as micro, small or medium by what is recorded in its Udyam Registration Certificate (URC).
The certificate replaced the old Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum (UAM) when Udyam Registration started on 1 July 2020.
| Short form | Full form | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| URC | Udyam Registration Certificate | The MSME certificate issued on the Udyam portal |
| URN | Udyam Registration Number | The 19-character number printed on the certificate, in the form UDYAM-XX-00-0000000 |
| UAM | Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum | The older registration, replaced by Udyam on 1 July 2020 |
| URC-1 | Form URC-1 under the Companies Act, 2013 | A company law form with no link to MSME registration (explained below) |
URC Certificate: What Is on It
The URC certificate is a PDF issued by the Ministry of MSME. It shows the Udyam Registration Number, the name and type of the enterprise, the registered address, the date of commencement, the NIC code of the activity and the class of the enterprise: micro, small or medium. It also carries a QR code that anyone can scan to confirm the certificate is genuine.
There is no fee for the certificate on the government portal and it has no expiry date. The details have to be kept up to date when turnover, address or activity changes.
URC Verification: How to Check a URC Number
Anyone can verify a URC on the government portal without logging in. Banks, buyers and tender officers do this before they accept a certificate.
- Open udyamregistration.gov.in.
- Open the Print/Verify menu and choose Verify Udyam Registration Number.
- Enter the 19-character Udyam Registration Number exactly as printed, with the hyphens.
- Enter the captcha and click Verify.
If the number is valid, the portal shows the enterprise name, its class and the registration details. You can also scan the QR code on the certificate, which opens the same record.
URC Registration: How to Get the Certificate
URC registration is simply Udyam Registration. The application is made online with the Aadhaar number of the proprietor, managing partner or authorised signatory and the PAN of the business. Investment and turnover figures are taken from income tax and GST records, so no documents are uploaded.
Registration is free on udyamregistration.gov.in. We are a private consultancy and charge a fee for filling and checking the application for you. The usual reasons an application gets stuck are a name mismatch between PAN and Aadhaar, the wrong NIC code, or figures that do not match the last income tax return.
URC for Retailers, Wholesalers and Small Vendors
Retail and wholesale traders can get a URC too. Their benefit is limited to Priority Sector Lending. See Udyam Registration for retailers and wholesalers.
The Other Meaning: Form URC-1 Under the Companies Act
In company law, URC-1 is the form used when an existing firm, LLP, society or similar body registers itself as a company under Section 366 of the Companies Act, 2013. This is the "unregistered company" route some websites describe as URC registration. It is filed with the Registrar of Companies and has nothing to do with the MSME certificate.
If your bank, a buyer or a tender document asks for a URC, they mean the Udyam Registration Certificate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the URC full form?
URC stands for Udyam Registration Certificate, the MSME certificate issued on the Udyam portal.
Q. What is a URC number?
It is the Udyam Registration Number printed on the certificate. It has 19 characters in the form UDYAM-XX-00-0000000.
Q. How do I do URC verification online?
On udyamregistration.gov.in open Print/Verify, choose Verify Udyam Registration Number, enter the number and the captcha, and click Verify.
Q. Is URC the same as Udyog Aadhaar?
No. Udyog Aadhaar (UAM) was the older registration. It was replaced by Udyam Registration on 1 July 2020, and the URC is the certificate under the new system.
Q. Is there a fee for URC registration?
The government portal does not charge a fee. A private consultancy charges for its help with the application.