Shop and Establishment Registration in Bihar (2026): After the Shops Act Repeal, What You Must Register and Follow

If you run a shop, office, clinic, coaching centre or restaurant in Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur or anywhere else in Bihar, the "shop and establishment registration" most guides describe no longer exists in the form they describe. Bihar replaced its 1953 shops law in 2025 and then, in June 2026, repealed the replacement because the central Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (the OSH Code) covers the same ground. This guide is for owners, small employers and their accountants. It explains what changed and when, who must now register and where, the working-time and leave rules that apply, what the short-lived 2025 Act required, and a worked example for two Patna businesses.

Quick answer

Bihar no longer has a state shops and establishments law in force. The Bihar Shops and Establishments Act, 2025 was repealed by an ordinance published on 1 June 2026, and the repeal was made permanent by Bihar Act 15 of 2026, published on 3 August 2026. Shops and establishments employing 10 or more workers now register under the OSH Code on the State's online system, within 60 days.

• Fewer than 10 workers: no labour-law registration, but wage and other laws still apply

• Anything done under the 2025 Act before repeal stays valid

• Hours, overtime, leave and night work now follow the OSH Code and Bihar's OSH rules

• Municipal trade licence, GST, FSSAI and professional tax are separate and unaffected

What happened to Bihar's shop act

For more than seventy years, shops in Bihar registered under the Bihar Shops and Establishments Act, 1953, using Form I with the local Labour Inspector. Many websites, banks and payment gateways still refer to that Act. It is no longer the law.

In August 2025 the State enacted the Bihar Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2025 (Bihar Act 09 of 2025), published in the Gazette on 12 August 2025. Section 31 of that Act repealed the 1953 Act. The new Act was narrower: section 1(4) applied it only to shops and establishments employing ten or more workers, and it replaced the old registration certificate with a "Labour Identification Number".

The 2025 Act did not last a year. On 21 November 2025 the four central Labour Codes came into force, including the OSH Code, which itself requires establishments with ten or more workers to register and sets hours, leave and safety rules. Bihar decided the two laws overlapped. The Governor promulgated the Bihar Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) (Repeal) Ordinance, 2026 (Bihar Ordinance No. 01 of 2026), published on 1 June 2026 with immediate effect. In the monsoon session the Legislature passed a Repeal Bill; the Governor assented on 2 August 2026 and it was published as Bihar Act 15 of 2026 on 3 August 2026. That Act repeals both the 2025 Act and the ordinance, and says anything done under them stays valid.

The preamble gives three reasons: the OSH Code came into force on 21 November 2025; its provisions overlap with the 2025 Bihar Act; and the State wants to attract new industrial investment, which duplicate compliance under several laws was holding back.

Bihar shops law, 1953 to 2026

1953

Bihar Shops and Establishments Act, 1953 — registration for shops in notified areas

12 Aug 2025

Bihar Act 09 of 2025 published; repeals the 1953 Act; applies only to 10+ workers

21 Nov 2025

Central OSH Code and other Labour Codes come into force

1 June 2026

Repeal Ordinance No. 01 of 2026 published; 2025 Act repealed with immediate effect

3 August 2026

Bihar Act 15 of 2026 published; repeal made permanent, ordinance repealed

One loose end. The 2025 Act said it would come into force on a date the State notified. We could not find that commencement notification in any source we checked. The State, the Repeal Act and practitioners all proceed on the basis that the 2025 Act replaced the 1953 Act and has now been repealed, and that is how this guide treats it. If an official or a bank insists on a certificate under the 1953 Act, ask the district Labour Superintendent's office to confirm the position in writing.

Who must register now

The registration duty now comes from section 3 of the OSH Code. An "establishment" under the Code, for registration purposes, is a place where 10 or more workers are employed, and that includes shops, offices, showrooms, restaurants, clinics and coaching centres. The employer of each such establishment must apply for registration electronically within 60 days of the Code applying to it, which for a new business means within sixty days of reaching ten workers. Factories, which the Code defines by higher thresholds, have separate licensing rules.

Counting workers. Count everyone employed to work in the establishment, including people supplied by a contractor such as guards and housekeeping staff. Managers and supervisors drawing high salaries may fall outside the Code's definition of "worker", but they still count for some purposes, so if you are close to ten, treat yourself as covered.

Fewer than ten workers. A shop with nine or fewer workers has no registration duty under the OSH Code, and Bihar now has no shops act that could impose one. That is a real change for the many small traders who used to register under the 1953 Act. It does not mean no rules apply: minimum wages, timely payment and appointment letters under the Code on Wages apply to every employer, and you still need the non-labour registrations described below.

Already registered under the 1953 or 2025 Act? Your old certificate or Labour Identification Number remains a valid record of what was done at the time, because both repeal laws save past actions. It is not something you renew. If you have ten or more workers, you should register under the OSH Code; the old certificate does not substitute for that.

Bihar at a glance (2026)

None

State shops act in force

repealed 1 June 2026

10+

Workers that trigger OSH registration

10 or more workers

60 days

To apply under the OSH Code

from the Code applying

₹11,336

Unskilled minimum wage a month

from 1 April 2026

How to register under the OSH Code in Bihar

Bihar has notified its own rules under the Code, the Bihar Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2025, under reference No. 1/OSHC-01/2021-79; compliance publishers listed the notification in December 2025. The rules run to several hundred pages in Hindi and set the forms, the authority and the fee. Registration is online on the portal the Labour Resources Department designates, and the certificate is issued electronically.

We could not confirm the Bihar registration fee schedule from an official source we could open, so we have not quoted one. Pay only what the portal calculates, and treat any extra charge from an agent as a service fee. The Ministry of Labour's compliance handbook says changes in the registered particulars must be intimated electronically within 30 days. Practitioner summaries of the Bihar framework add that an application not processed within seven days is treated as approved; check that on the portal when you apply.

Registering a Bihar establishment under the OSH Code

1. 1

   Check your headcount

   Count everyone working in the establishment, including contract staff. At 10 or more workers the Code's registration duty applies.

2. 2

   Open the State labour portal

   Use the online registration service of the Labour Resources Department, Bihar, for establishments under the OSH Code. Central-sphere establishments such as banks use the Shram Suvidha portal instead.

   Shram Suvidha portal
3. 3

   Enter establishment and employer details

   Name and address, nature of business, date of commencement, employer and manager, and the number of workers by category, including contract workers.

4. 4

   Upload documents and pay

   PAN and identity of the employer, proof of premises, and constitution documents for a firm or company. Pay the fee the portal shows.

   Tip: Keep the application number. If the registration is deemed approved, it is your proof.

5. 5

   Keep the certificate and update changes

   Download the electronic certificate, display the registration number on appointment letters and keep details current when ownership, management or headcount changes.

Other registrations a Bihar shop still needs

• Municipal trade licence from the Patna Municipal Corporation or your local urban body
• GST registration once turnover crosses the threshold or for inter-state supply
• FSSAI registration or licence for any food business
• Professional tax in Bihar for the business and salary deductions where applicable
• ESIC at ten employees and EPF at 20 or more employees
• Udyam registration, which is optional but useful for MSME benefits

Working hours, overtime, leave and night work now

With no state shops act, the working-time rules for Bihar shops come from the OSH Code, the Bihar OSH rules made under it, and the Code on Wages. The headline rules are these.

Hours. The normal working week is 48 hours. The rules set the daily hours, the rest intervals and the spread-over; practitioner summaries of the Bihar framework describe a spread-over of up to twelve hours a day and a rest interval after six hours of continuous work.

Overtime. Work beyond the normal hours is overtime. It needs the worker's consent and is paid at twice the normal rate of wages under the Code on Wages. The central rules cap it at 144 hours a quarter, and practitioner summaries say Bihar's framework uses the same cap.

Weekly rest. Every worker gets at least one day off a week. If a worker works on the weekly rest day, a substitute day off and overtime pay are due.

Annual leave. A worker who has worked 180 days in a calendar year earns leave with wages at 1 day for every 20 days worked. Unused leave can be carried forward up to 30 days, and on leaving, unpaid leave must be encashed.

Appointment letters and identity cards. Every worker must get an appointment letter; for workers already employed when the Code started, the deadline was within three months of the Code's commencement. Practitioner summaries of the Bihar rules say the letter should show the establishment's registration number, the worker's UAN and ESIC numbers where applicable, designation, wage and date of joining.

Women at night. Under the OSH Code, women may work at night, before 6 am and after 7 pm, only with their consent and subject to the safety, holiday and working-hour conditions the rules prescribe, which typically include safe transport, lighting and CCTV, and compliance with the POSH Act.

Repealed 2025 Bihar Act vs the OSH Code framework now

Rule	Bihar Act 09 of 2025 (repealed)	OSH Code framework (2026)
Who registers	10 or more workers; Labour Identification Number	10 or more workers; electronic registration
Weekly hours	48	48
Overtime pay	Twice the ordinary rate	twice the normal rate of wages
Overtime cap	144 hours in three months	144 hours a quarter (central rules)
Annual leave	1 day per 20 worked after 240 days	1 day for every 20 days worked after 180 days
Other leave	7 days sick + 8 days casual	Not set by the Code; see wage and State rules

Who registers

Bihar Act 09 of 2025 (repealed)

10 or more workers; Labour Identification Number

OSH Code framework (2026)

10 or more workers; electronic registration

Weekly hours

Bihar Act 09 of 2025 (repealed)

48

OSH Code framework (2026)

48

Overtime pay

Bihar Act 09 of 2025 (repealed)

Twice the ordinary rate

OSH Code framework (2026)

twice the normal rate of wages

Overtime cap

Bihar Act 09 of 2025 (repealed)

144 hours in three months

OSH Code framework (2026)

144 hours a quarter (central rules)

Annual leave

Bihar Act 09 of 2025 (repealed)

1 day per 20 worked after 240 days

OSH Code framework (2026)

1 day for every 20 days worked after 180 days

Other leave

Bihar Act 09 of 2025 (repealed)

7 days sick + 8 days casual

OSH Code framework (2026)

Not set by the Code; see wage and State rules

What the repealed 2025 Act required

People who registered or were advised under the 2025 Act often ask what it said. It applied only to shops and establishments with ten or more workers, who had to apply within six months of the Act's commencement or of opening, and receive a Labour Identification Number within a week. Adults could work up to nine hours a day and 48 a week on a six-day week, ten hours on a five-day week, or eleven and a half on a four-day week, with a half-hour break after five hours and a twelve-hour spread-over. Overtime was paid at twice the ordinary rate and capped at 144 hours in three months.

The Act gave seven days' sick leave and eight days' casual leave a year, plus earned leave at one day for every twenty worked after 240 days, accumulating to forty-five days. Wages had to be paid within seven days of the end of the wage period and into a bank or post-office account. Fines started at ₹10,000 and could reach ₹25,000, rising to ₹20,000–₹50,000 for repeat offences.

None of that binds you now, except for anything that happened while it was in force. If you followed it, you were already close to the OSH Code standard, and moving across is mostly a matter of registration and paperwork.

Worked example: two Patna businesses

A pharmacy on Boring Road with six staff. Six is below ten, so there is no registration under the OSH Code and no Bihar shops act to register under. The owner still pays at least the State minimum wage — for an unskilled helper ₹11,336 a month from 1 April 2026 — issues appointment letters, holds a drug licence and GST registration, and keeps the municipal trade licence current. If she hires a seventh, eighth and ninth person, nothing changes. If she hires a tenth, she has 60 days to register under the Code, and ESIC applies at the same point.

An electronics showroom on Fraser Road with fourteen staff. Twelve sales and service staff plus two agency guards make fourteen workers. The showroom registered under the 1953 Act years ago. That certificate is now only a historical record, so the owner registers the establishment under the OSH Code on the State portal and puts the new registration number on fresh appointment letters.

In the Chhath and Diwali season a salesman works 54 hours in a week, six over the 48-hour limit, with his written consent. On the unskilled rate of about ₹436 a day and an eight-hour base, his ordinary rate is about ₹55 an hour; at twice the rate, six overtime hours cost about ₹660. The hours count towards the quarterly overtime cap. Actual wages are usually higher, so calculate on real pay; our Bihar minimum wages page has the current rates.

Penalties and enforcement

Because the 2025 Act has been repealed, its fines no longer apply to anything done after the repeal. Breaches now fall under the OSH Code and the Code on Wages, which use graded monetary penalties and give first-time offenders an opportunity to comply before prosecution in many cases. Failing to register an establishment of ten or more workers, missing appointment letters, unpaid overtime and unsafe night-shift arrangements are the issues most likely to come up in an inspection.

Proceedings that started under the 2025 Act before 1 June 2026 continue, because both the ordinance and the Repeal Act save them. If you received a notice under the 2025 Act, reply to it in the usual way.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Applying under the 1953 Act. Some agents and portals still offer "Form I" registration. Fix: check the date of any certificate you are offered; anything issued after the repeal under a shops act is meaningless.

Assuming no registration at all. The repeal removed the state law, not the OSH Code. Fix: at ten or more workers, register under the Code within 60 days.

Undercounting workers. Contract guards, housekeeping staff and part-timers count. Fix: count everyone working at the premises and register if the total is ten or more.

Treating the old Labour Identification Number as current. It was issued under a law that no longer exists. Fix: obtain an OSH Code registration and update appointment letters.

Using the old leave rules. The 2025 Act's sick and casual leave entitlements have gone with it. Fix: follow the OSH Code's annual leave rule and any leave your contracts, standing orders or the State rules provide; never reduce a benefit employees already enjoy without advice.

Official links

• Bihar Act 15 of 2026 — Repeal Act (PDF, PRS)Published 3 August 2026
• Bihar Act 09 of 2025 — the repealed Shops Act (PDF, PRS)Published 12 August 2025
• Bihar e-GazetteOfficial gazette notifications
• Shram Suvidha portalOSH Code registration for central-sphere establishments

What to do next

Count everyone who works in your shop or office. If the number is ten or more, register under the OSH Code on the State portal and put the registration number on appointment letters; if it is fewer, keep a note of the repeal and focus on wages, pay dates and your municipal, GST and food licences. Check pay against the Bihar minimum wages; our salary slip generator itemises overtime and the hourly rate calculator works out the double rate. For the wider picture, see our Labour Codes guide, and if you also trade in Lucknow or Varanasi, the Uttar Pradesh shop act guide.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

Is shop and establishment registration still required in Bihar?

Not under a Bihar shops law. The Bihar Shops and Establishments Act, 2025, which had replaced the 1953 Act, was repealed by an ordinance published on 1 June 2026 and then by Bihar Act 15 of 2026, published on 3 August 2026. Shops and offices employing 10 or more workers now register under the OSH Code instead.

Why did Bihar repeal its Shops and Establishments Act?

The Repeal Act says the central Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025 and overlaps with the 2025 Bihar Act. It also says Bihar needs new industrial investment and that duplicate provisions under different laws were a burden. Anything already done under the 2025 Act remains valid.

Does a small shop with fewer than 10 workers need to register in Bihar?

Not under labour law. The OSH Code's registration duty applies to establishments employing 10 or more workers, and the repealed 2025 Bihar Act also applied only at ten or more. A small shop still needs its municipal trade licence, GST registration if over the threshold, FSSAI for food, and must pay minimum wages.

How do I register an establishment in Bihar under the OSH Code?

The employer applies electronically on the portal the State designates under the Bihar Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2025, within 60 days of the Code applying. We could not confirm the Bihar fee schedule from an official source, so pay only what the portal shows and keep the receipt.

What are the working hours for shops in Bihar now?

The OSH Code framework applies: a 48-hour week, rest intervals and a daily spread-over set by the rules, and overtime only with the worker's consent, paid at twice the normal rate of wages under the Code on Wages. Practitioner summaries of the rules put the overtime cap at 144 hours a quarter and the spread-over at 12 hours.

What leave are shop employees entitled to in Bihar?

Under the OSH Code, a worker who has worked 180 days in a calendar year earns annual leave with wages at 1 day for every 20 days worked, and can carry forward up to 30 days. Weekly rest days and national and festival holidays continue under other laws and the State rules.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 13 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Bihar Gazette (Extraordinary) No. 921, 3 August 2026 — Bihar Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) (Repeal) Act, 2026 (Bihar Act 15 of 2026) — Law Department, Government of Bihar (gazette copy via PRS Legislative Research) · accessed 13 October 2026
2. 2.Bihar Gazette (Extraordinary), 12 August 2025 — Bihar Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2025 (Bihar Act 09 of 2025) — Government of Bihar (gazette copy via PRS Legislative Research) · accessed 13 October 2026
3. 3.Bihar Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) (Repeal) Ordinance, 2026 — TeamLease RegTech · accessed 13 October 2026
4. 4.Bihar repeals Shops and Establishments Act, 2025 by ordinance — SCC Online · accessed 13 October 2026
5. 5.Bihar Repeals Shops and Establishments Act: Will Other States Follow Through? — India Briefing (Dezan Shira & Associates) · accessed 13 October 2026
6. 6.Notification of the Bihar Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2025 (No. 1/OSHC-01/2021-79) — Labour Resources Department, Government of Bihar (listing via Simpliance) · accessed 13 October 2026
7. 7.Notification details — Bihar Repeal Ordinance No. L.G-01-13/2026/4240 — Comply4HR · accessed 13 October 2026
8. 8.Compliance Handbook for Employers under the Four Labour Codes (February 2026) — Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India · accessed 13 October 2026
9. 9.e-Gazette, Government of Bihar — Secretariat Press, Government of Bihar · accessed 13 October 2026