DIR-3 KYC is now triennial: what GSR 943(E) changed, and the new 30 June deadline

Every September, CS and CA firms used to run the same chase: hundreds of directors, one DIR-3 KYC deadline, and a long tail of OTPs that would not arrive. That rhythm is now broken — deliberately. By notification G.S.R. 943(E), dated 31 December 2025, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs issued the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Amendment Rules, 2025, substituting Rule 12A of the 2014 Rules. From 31 March 2026, DIR-3 KYC is a triennial obligation, filed through a single web form, with a standing 30-day duty to report personal-detail changes in between.

What changed

Three things, all in the substituted Rule 12A and the amendments around it:

• The cycle. Rule 12A(1) now reads: every individual who holds a Director Identification Number (DIN) as on 31 March of a financial year shall file KYC intimation in Form No. DIR-3 KYC Web to the Central Government on or before 30 June of the immediately following every third consecutive financial year. One filing covers three years, not one.
• Change reporting stays live. Rule 12A(2): a DIN holder whose personal mobile number, email address or residential address changes must submit Form DIR-3 KYC Web within 30 days of the change, with the fee provided under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014. The triennial cycle is not a reason to let contact details go stale for three years — the form itself verifies mobile and email by OTP, so a stale number can block a filing at the worst moment.
• One form, one route. The references in Rule 11 to the e-form DIR-3-KYC and the old web service are replaced by references to Form No. DIR-3-KYC-Web, and the Annexure substitutes a single form — titled Intimation of Changes or Reactivation of DIN — for the earlier DIR-3-KYC and DIR-3-KYC-WEB forms. The form's stated purposes are DIN reactivation, KYC compliance, and updates to mobile number, email ID and permanent or present residential address. It carries the DIN holder's declaration and certification by a practising Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant or Company Secretary.

The notification makes one unrelated change worth noticing in passing: in Rule 11, "Regional Director (Northern Region), Noida" is substituted with "Regional Director, Northern Region Directorate I".

Who is affected

• Every DIN holder — directors of companies, designated partners who hold a DIN, and individuals who hold a DIN but currently hold no appointment. The rule keys off holding a DIN as on 31 March, not off holding office.
• Firms advising them. The compliance calendar entry that used to recur every year now recurs on a three-year cycle per director — and different directors on the same roster can sit in different cycles, because the count runs from each holder's position.
• Directors with changed details mid-cycle. A new mobile number, email address or residential address triggers the 30-day filing regardless of where the triennial date falls.

Key dates

Count the cycle the way the rule words it, for a director holding a DIN as on 31 March 2026: the three consecutive financial years are FY 2026-27, FY 2027-28 and FY 2028-29, and the filing falls due on or before 30 June of the third of those years — 30 June 2028. A director whose cycle is anchored a year later falls due a year later. The date is derived per director, exactly as AOC-4 and MGT-7 dates are derived per company from its AGM.

What firms should do

1. Rebuild the DIR-3 KYC calendar on cohorts, not on a single annual date. For every director on the roster, record the financial year their position is anchored to and derive the 30 June that ends their third year.
2. Stop promising clients an annual September exercise — and tell them, in writing, what replaced it: a triennial filing plus a 30-day duty whenever their mobile, email or address changes.
3. Collect change events through the year. The 30-day clock runs from the change, not from when the firm hears about it; a standing instruction to clients to report a new mobile number immediately is now a compliance control, not a courtesy.
4. Verify OTP reachability before the season. The web form sends OTPs to the director's personal mobile and email; discovering a dead number in the last week of June is the new version of the old September problem.

FAQ

Does a director still file DIR-3 KYC every year?

No. Under the substituted Rule 12A, the KYC intimation is filed once every three consecutive financial years, on or before 30 June of the third year. What remains annual in spirit is accuracy: changes to mobile number, email address or residential address must be reported within 30 days of the change, in any year.

Which form is used now — the e-form or the web form?

Form No. DIR-3-KYC-Web. GSR 943(E) replaces the Rule 11 references to the e-form DIR-3-KYC and the earlier web service with the single web form, and substitutes one combined form in the Annexure covering KYC compliance, DIN reactivation and updates to contact and address details.

A director changed her mobile number in the middle of the cycle. When must it be reported?

Within 30 days of the change, by submitting Form DIR-3 KYC Web with the fee provided under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014 — Rule 12A(2). The triennial filing date does not shelter an unreported change.

When do the new rules start applying?

The Amendment Rules came into force on 31 March 2026. The first triennial dates are derived from each DIN holder's position as on 31 March of a financial year, counting three consecutive financial years from that anchor.

What happens to a DIN that needs reactivation?

Reactivation of DIN is one of the stated purposes of the substituted Form DIR-3-KYC-Web, alongside KYC compliance and detail updates — the same single form now carries all of these.

Metiq recomputes DIR-3 KYC due dates on the triennial cycle for every director on a firm's roster — so each director's 30 June is a derived date on the calendar, not a firm-wide guess.

General information only — not professional advice.