Design Registration in India: Fees, 10+5-Year Term, Renewal and Restoration
How to register a design in India, what it costs, how the 10 plus 5 year term works, how to extend it, and how to restore a design that lapsed. Last verified October 2026.
How-to · Design Registration
A design is easy to register and just as easy to lose. The first filing is a one-time task, but the term runs for years, and one missed date can end your rights. This guide explains how to register a design in India, what it costs, how the term works, how to extend it before it ends, and what to do if it has already lapsed. Last verified October 2026 against the Designs Act 2000 and the IP India fee schedule.
- Term: 10 years from registration, plus one extension of 5 years (section 11), so 15 years at most.
- Classes: 32 Locarno classes, with a separate fee for each class.
- Form 1 fee: Rs 1,000 for natural persons, startups and small entities; Rs 4,000 for others, per class.
- Extension: Form 3, filed before the first 10 years end.
- Restoration: within 1 year of lapse for non-payment of the extension fee (section 12, Form 4).
- Last verified: October 2026.
01What a design registration protects
Under the Designs Act, 2000, a design means the look of an article: its shape, pattern, ornament or colour, as seen by the eye. It does not protect how the article works. A working idea belongs under patent law, not design law.
To be registered, a design must be new and original, and it must not have been published or disclosed anywhere before you file. This is the most common reason applications fail. If you showed the product at a fair or put it online before filing, take advice first.
Which office?
Designs are filed with the Design Wing of the Patent Office under IP India. Copyright registration is a separate system run by the Copyright Office, and it is not covered here.
02Step by step: how to register a design in India
- Check novelty. Search the IP India design database and the open web for the same or a similar look. A design that already exists, even abroad, may be refused.
- Choose your Locarno class. India uses the Locarno Classification, which has 32 classes. Each class is a type of product, such as furniture or packaging. You pay per class, so pick the right one. The Locarno 15th edition came into force on 1 January 2025. See our guide to the Locarno classes used in India.
- Prepare representations. You need clear drawings or images of the article from every useful angle. Add a short statement of novelty. Keep the images free of extra matter you do not want to claim.
- File Form 1 online. File through the IP India e-filing portal with the fee. If you want a priority date from an earlier foreign filing, claim it in the application, and the Designs Rules set a time limit for it.
- Examination. An examiner reviews the application and may raise objections. You reply within the time allowed.
- Registration. If objections are cleared, the design is registered and published. The date of registration starts your term.
If you cannot answer an objection, or the Controller refuses the design, a hearing may follow. Keep every date from the examination report in your calendar.
03Fees
The Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2021 created two fee tiers. Natural persons, recognised startups and small entities pay the lower fee. All other applicants pay the higher fee. The figures below are in rupees, per class, and should be checked on the IP India fee page before you pay.
| Step | Form | Natural person, startup, small entity | Other applicants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application for registration | Form 1 | Rs 1,000 | Rs 4,000 |
| Extension of term (second period of 5 years) | Form 3 | Rs 2,000 | Rs 8,000 |
| Restoration of a lapsed design | Form 4 | See IP India fee schedule | See IP India fee schedule |
Professional fees are extra and vary by firm. This is not a price list from any agent. Fee schedules change, so always confirm on the official site.
04The 10 plus 5 year term and renewal
Section 11 of the Designs Act sets the term. Copyright in a registered design runs for 10 years from the date of registration. Before those 10 years end, you can apply to extend it once, for a second period of 5 years. The maximum is 15 years in total. There is no third period.
People call this a renewal, but the Act calls it an extension of the copyright period. You apply on Form 3 and pay the fee shown above. You must apply before the 10 years run out.
The maximum life of an Indian design is 15 years: 10 years from registration, plus one extension of 5 years.
How to work out your date
Count 10 years from the date of registration, not from the date you filed. Mark the date at least six months before, and set a second reminder three months before. Do not leave it to the last week.
What happens when the term ends
After 15 years the design falls into the public domain. Anyone may copy it. Also note that a registered design can lose protection earlier if you skip the extension at year 10.
05Restoration after a lapse
If the design stopped having effect because you did not pay the extension fee under section 11(2), section 12 gives you one more chance. The proprietor, or the legal representative, can apply for restoration within one year from the date the design ceased to have effect. The application is made on Form 4.
Three points to remember:
- The window is one year. After that, the right to apply is gone.
- Restoration is not automatic. The Controller decides, and the rules allow others to oppose it.
- Restoration only applies to a lapse for non-payment of the extension fee. It is not a way to extend beyond 15 years.
If someone started using your design during the lapse, the position gets complicated. This is a point for a design lawyer, and any dispute may end up in the courts, where the Delhi High Court IP Division and others hear design cases. For the court side of design work, see our guide on litigation search through an API for how court records can be checked in bulk.
06How to track your designs
The law is simple. The trouble is keeping dates. A company with ten designs has ten registration dates, ten extension deadlines and a restoration window behind each. Three ways to manage this:
- A spreadsheet. Free and fine for a few designs. Risky when the person who built it leaves.
- Your IP agent. Many agents send reminders. Ask them in writing which dates they track and how early they warn you.
- Software. A docketing or IP tool that holds the registration date, the extension date, the restoration deadline, documents and tasks in one place. For options in this space, read our eLawOffice alternatives guide.
Whatever you use, store the registration certificate, the Form 1 receipt, the representations and every Form 3 receipt together. Check the status on the IP India portal once a year as a cross-check.
07Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
Registering and renewing a design keeps the right alive on the register. Whether that design has been copied, enforced or cancelled is a court question. Claw tracks cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with 30 crore+ judgments and results in under 5 seconds, covering the Supreme Court from 1950 and the High Courts from 1990. So you can see how the High Court IP divisions have treated similar designs and prior-publication arguments.
Claw does not use customer documents to train AI models. Create a FREE Claw account to follow design disputes by party or design holder. To search the wider body of law, see case search across Indian courts.
08Sources and further reading
Check every figure here against the primary sources. Last verified October 2026.
- IP India (filing, forms, fee schedule): ipindia.gov.in
- The Designs Act, 2000 on India Code: indiacode.nic.in
- The Designs Act and Rules on WIPO Lex: wipo.int
- Locarno Classification (WIPO): wipo.int/classifications/locarno
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Fees and forms can change, so confirm them on the IP India site.
09Frequently asked questions
How long does a design registration last in India?
Ten years from the date of registration. You can extend it once for 5 more years by filing Form 3 before the first 10 years end. The maximum is 15 years under section 11 of the Designs Act, 2000.
What is the fee to register a design in India?
Form 1 costs Rs 1,000 per class for natural persons, startups and small entities, and Rs 4,000 per class for other applicants. Confirm on the IP India fee schedule, as fees can change.
Can I renew a design after 15 years?
No. After the 5 year extension the design enters the public domain and cannot be extended again.
What if I missed the extension date?
Under section 12 you can apply for restoration on Form 4 within one year from the date the design ceased to have effect. The Controller decides the application.
How many design classes are there in India?
India uses the Locarno Classification, which has 32 classes. You pay a fee for each class you file in.
Can Claw track design extension deadlines?
Claw has an IPR Solutions tab that tracks IP India registry matters, including designs, with pending compliances, documents and tasks, and it follows IP litigation in the courts. It does not track copyright registration. IP features come with the Premium or Enterprise plan.