The MCA portal maintains a central repository of all documents filed by Companies and LLPs in India — incorporation certificates, balance sheets, charge documents, director changes, and more. There are two ways to access them depending on whether you are accessing your own entity’s documents or another company’s documents.

MethodWho can useCostAccess level
View Public Documents (V3)Anyone₹100 per Company/LLPAny registered Company or LLP
Company/LLP LoginAuthorised persons onlyFreeYour own entity only

Method 1: Download Documents via View Public Documents (₹100)

This is the standard method for professionals conducting due diligence, lenders, investors, or anyone accessing filings of a company they are not associated with.

Documents you can download:

  • Incorporation documents (Certificate of Incorporation, MOA, AOA)
  • Annual Returns and Balance Sheet eForms (MGT-7, AOC-4 and attachments)
  • Charge documents
  • LLP Forms
  • Other eForm documents

Note on Change in Directors / Designated Partners: Forms related to director changes (such as DIR-12) are currently not visible via View Public Documents on MCA V3. MCA has restricted access to these as they contain directors’ personal details. If you need current director information, the MCA Master Data of a company shows the list of active directors including their DIN and date of appointment.

Steps

  1. Go to MCA Portal → MCA Services → Document Related Services → View Public Documents V3 → View Public Documents

  2. Enter the Company/LLP Name or CIN / LLPIN in the search box.

  3. Click on the company name from the results. Select the Document Category (e.g., Annual Returns and Balance Sheet eForms) and the year of filing, then click Submit.

  4. Select the documents you need and click Add to Cart.

    • You can add multiple companies to the same cart.
    • Maximum 5 Companies/LLPs can be added per transaction.

  5. Login to your MCA account (or register if you don’t have one).

  6. Proceed to payment of ₹100 per Company/LLP. Payment options accepted:

    • Credit / Prepaid Card
    • Internet Banking
    • NEFT
    • Challan (Pay Later)

  7. After successful payment, go to My Workspace → Documents section. Your purchased documents will appear here.

  8. Click Download against the company. Browse by category and click each document name to download the PDF.

Important: Documents are available in My Workspace for 7 days only from the date of payment. Download them immediately — they cannot be re-accessed after expiry without paying again.

How to open AOC-4 attachments (Balance Sheet)

The AOC-4 PDF downloaded from MCA is an eForm with the Balance Sheet and other financials embedded as attachments, not as regular pages.

To access them:

  1. Open the AOC-4 PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  2. Click the paperclip / attachment icon in the left sidebar.
  3. The Balance Sheet, P&L, Directors’ Report, and Auditor’s Report will appear as separate attachments — click each to open or save.

Method 2: Access Your Own Company/LLP Documents for Free

If you are an authorised person — Director, Designated Partner, Company Secretary, or other authorised signatory — you can access all filings of your own entity at no cost through the Company/LLP’s MCA login.

Steps

  1. Log in to the MCA portal using the Company/LLP’s registered credentials (not your personal user account).

  2. Navigate to My Applications.

  3. All e-forms and returns filed on behalf of the entity will be listed under the Approved tab — including AOC-4, MGT-7, and all attachments filed with each form.

This method is free but limited to authorised users of that entity only. It is not available for accessing documents of other companies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I download a balance sheet of a private limited company for free? Not through the public route. Balance sheets of private limited companies are accessible via View Public Documents at ₹100 per company. If you are a Director or authorised signatory of that company, you can access them free via the Company’s MCA login.

Can I download documents of multiple companies in one payment? Yes. You can add multiple companies to the cart and pay for all in a single transaction. However, the limit is 5 documents per Company/LLP per transaction.

How long are documents available after payment? 7 days from the date of payment. After that they expire from My Workspace and you will need to pay again for re-access.

What if the document I need is not showing in the list? Some older filings from MCA V2 may not be available via View Public Documents V3. In such cases, you can apply for a Certified Copy through MCA’s Get Certified Copy service.

The documents I downloaded have a .OCT extension — how do I open them? MCA officially recommends extracting .OCT files using 7-zip and then opening them in Adobe Acrobat Reader. However, 7-zip does not always work reliably with MCA’s .OCT files. A more dependable method is to use our OCT to PDF Converter tool which handles the conversion directly without needing 7-zip.

Is there a free way to check if a company has filed its annual returns? Yes — you can check the filing status without paying using: MCA Services → Check Annual Filing Status. This shows whether forms have been filed but does not allow document download.

Summary

  • Use View Public Documents (₹100) to access filings of any Company or LLP — ideal for due diligence, credit checks, or compliance verification.
  • Use the Company/LLP’s MCA login for free access to your own entity’s filed documents.
  • Always download within 7 days of payment — documents expire from My Workspace after that.
  • To read financials from AOC-4, open in Adobe Acrobat Reader and check the attachments panel.