Legislation: Charitable societies in India are registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860, which is a federal act based on which many state governments have formulated rules to suit their own requirements. Registration rules differ from state to state. Some states for instance, require an annual renewal of registration, whereas in many others registration is a one-time process except when changes need to be notified to the registering authority.
Memorandum of association and rules and regulations: The main instrument of any society is the memorandum of association and rules and regulations (no stamp paper is required), which states the aims, objectives and mode of management of the society.
Trustees: A society needs a minimum of seven managing committee members; there is no upper limit to the number of managing committee members. The board of management is in the form of a governing body or council, or a managing executive committee.
Registration can be done either at the state level (in the office of the Registrar of Societies) or at the district level (in the office of the District Magistrate or the local office of the Registrar of Societies).
The procedure varies from state to state. Generally the application should be submitted with the following documents:
All the required documents should be submitted in duplicate, together with the required registration fee.
Unlike the trust deed, the memorandum of association and rules and regulations need not be executed on stamp paper.