Factory plan approval and licensing in Tamil Nadu

What DISH approves

Before premises can be used as a factory, the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health takes you through the stages below, in this order. You need its permission before you build, extend or install new plant. You then build to the approved drawings and certify the building's structural stability, and only after that is the factory registered and licensed.

Where the law stands. The Factories Act, 1948 was repealed when the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025 (OSH Code, s.143(1)). The Code keeps rules made under the old Act in force so far as they are not contrary to it, until they are repealed (s.143(3)), and a licence granted before that date runs for the period it was issued for (s.119(5)). Tamil Nadu had not notified final rules of its own under the Code when we last checked the Gazette, and DISH's published Single Window procedures for plan approval, licensing and renewal still run on the Tamil Nadu Factories Rules, 1950 forms. That is the procedure described on this page. The transition itself, including what the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 345(E), 8 May 2026) govern, is explained in OSH Code transition in Tamil Nadu: what factories need to know.

Registration under section 3 of the Code and the factory licence are different instruments, even where one portal collects both, so make sure each has actually issued.

The licence fee can be paid for up to fifteen consecutive calendar years at a time, either when the licence is first granted or at renewal (Tamil Nadu Factories Rules 1950, rule 4(6-A), as amended by G.O. Ms. No. 125, Labour and Employment, 23 July 2019). Paying for a longer term does not widen what the licence covers: a change in workers, power or process still needs an amendment. Confirm the term DISH will grant before you pay, and see renewing your factory licence for the cycle once the licence is in force.

A factory that carries on a hazardous process listed in the First Schedule to the Code has more to deal with. Its initial location or expansion may need a Site Appraisal Committee recommendation (OSH Code, s.83), its on-site emergency plan must be approved by the Chief Inspector (s.84(4)), and the saved State rule requires a Safety Committee where 250 or more workers are employed or any dangerous or hazardous operation is carried on (rule 61-M). Site appraisal is covered further down this page.

What it costs to get wrong

The penalty sections of the Factories Act went with the Act, and this page does not state a fine or a term of imprisonment under the Code. The exposure that matters day to day is more immediate. Using premises as a factory without the permission and licence the rules require is itself the breach, and the Chief Inspector can refuse grant, renewal or registration where the rule 3 conditions were ignored, where the building is structurally unsound or presents a dust, gas or fume hazard, or where the Form No. 1 papers are incomplete (Tamil Nadu Factories Rules 1950, rule 7A). The reasons have to be recorded in writing and given to you. A licence cannot be revoked or suspended mid-term without first giving you the chance to respond (rule 7-AA).

In practice the more common cost is sequencing. Construction that starts before plan approval, or commissioning that runs ahead of the stability certificate and the issued licence, forces rework and holds up Form No. 4.

The process

1. Get written permission from the Chief Inspector before you build, extend or install new plant.

   Form

   Form No. 1, online through the DISH portal or the Single Window Portal (rule 3(2), as amended in 2017)

   Authority

   Chief Inspector or Deputy Chief Inspector

   Fee

   None for plan approval, under DISH's published Single Window procedure

   Deemed permission

   Arises only where an electronic application carrying the plans and specifications the rules require receives no order within the prescribed period, which cannot exceed 30 days (OSH Code, s.79(2)). It is not an approval that arrives on day 30 regardless.

   Appeal

   Within 30 days of a refusal (OSH Code, s.79(3))

   Documents and filing route

   The plan approval file is built around the drawings and the process. DISH's published procedure asks for blueprints of the topographical plan, a site plan at 1:400 and detailed building plans at 1:100 showing the machinery installation, in triplicate; a process flow chart; the document that gives you occupation of the premises, such as a sale, lease or rental deed; and government-issued proof of the occupier's identity and address.

   Under rule 3 the drawings must show the surroundings, roads and drains and, in plan, elevation and section, the lighting, ventilation, fire escapes, plant and machinery, aisles and passageways. The process description should say which chemicals are used, how dust, fumes and gases are removed and how trade waste is disposed of. For a complex chemical factory, expect to be asked for a TNPCB certificate on the effluent and air-pollution arrangements.

   You file online at dish.tn.gov.in or through the Tamil Nadu Single Window Portal, either of which also handles payment and status tracking. If you use the State's single-window common application, a separate Form No. 1 is not required (G.O. Ms. No. 203, Industries, 24 December 2001).

   Tamil Nadu Factories Rules 1950, rule 3OSH Code, s.79(2) and s.79(3)Factories Act 1948, s.6, repealed

2. Build exactly to the approved plans, and keep them on site for inspection.

   Covered

   Every part built or extended, and any new machine, prime mover or fixture

   Keep on site

   The approved plans and the current licence

   Later extensions

   Need fresh rule 3 permission, not an informal update

   Exception

   A like-for-like replacement machine that takes up no more floor area than the one approved does not need a plan amendment. Anything that changes the layout, the floor area in use or the process does.

   Rule 3(5)(a)Rule 3(5)(b)Rule 12B(1)

3. Send the Certificate of Stability, then apply for registration and the licence in Form No. 2.

   Certificate of Stability

   Before manufacturing starts in a new or extended building; valid for three years

   Licence application

   Form No. 2, online (rule 4(2), as amended in 2017)

   Fee

   Set by your horse power and worker slab under the Schedule to rule 4. DISH's procedure applies the schedule in G.O. Ms. No. 132, Labour and Employment (M2), 28 September 2018.

   Notice of occupation

   Form No. 2, at least 15 days before occupying or using the premises

   Licence issues as

   Form No. 4

   Documents, and your position while the application is pending

   The Certificate of Stability must be signed by a Competent Person recognised by the Chief Inspector under rule 2-A, which requires a degree in civil or structural engineering and at least ten years' relevant experience. A fresh certificate is due within 30 days of the three-year expiry.

   For the licence, DISH's published procedure asks for the document that gives you occupation of the premises, government-issued proof of the manager's identity and address, the memorandum and articles of association or the partnership deed, the list of directors or partners, and a list of machinery with horse power. The application is scrutinised, queries are raised if needed, and the factory is inspected before the licence issues.

   If you have filed a valid application in time with the fee paid, the rules treat the premises as licensed until the authority grants or refuses in writing (rules 7(4) and 12B(5)). That protection ends with a written refusal, so treat it as cover for a delayed decision and not as a reason to leave the file incomplete. Because the rule is a saved one, get DISH's confirmation in writing if you are relying on it.

   Rule 12B(3)Rule 2-ARule 4Factories Act 1948, s.7, repealedRule 12Rule 12B(5)

4. Keep the licence particulars current, and amend before you exceed them.

   Amendment

   File at least 15 days ahead with the Deputy Chief Inspector. A higher power or worker slab can change the fee, which is not stated here.

   Transfer and duplicate

   Each is a separate application; the fee is not stated here

   Renewal

   Fresh Form No. 2, at least two months before expiry (rule 7(2))

   Welfare and staffing thresholds that follow headcount

   As the workforce grows, the Code attaches facilities and appointments to headcount directly. The standard each facility must meet is prescribed under the Code, by the Central Government in the case of welfare facilities (OSH Code, s.24), so the Central Rules govern those even for an ordinary private factory in Tamil Nadu. A saved Tamil Nadu rule that asks for more continues to apply so far as it is not contrary to the Code (s.143(3)).

   Workers ordinarily employed	Requirement	Source
   100 or more, including contract labour	Canteen	OSH Code, s.24(1)(v)
   More than 50	Shelters or rest rooms, and a lunch room	OSH Code, s.24(2)(iii)
   More than 50	Crèche, or a common crèche facility	OSH Code, s.24(3)
   More than 500	Ambulance room	OSH Code, s.24(2)(i)
   250 or more	Welfare Officer	OSH Code, s.24(2)(iv)
   500 or more, or 250 or more in a factory carrying on a hazardous process	Safety Officers	OSH Code, s.22(2)(a) and (b)
   Any number, in a factory carrying on a hazardous process	A written health and safety policy, sent to the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator and the local authority when the factory is registered	OSH Code, s.84(2)

   The saved Tamil Nadu rule 62-B also asks for a written health and safety policy at 50 or more workers with power, or 100 or more without. Renewal is covered in detail on the renewal page.

   Rule 4(7)Rule 6Rule 8Rule 10Rule 7

Boiler registration

A boiler is not covered by the factory licence. Its registration, and the certificate that authorises its use, come from the Directorate of Boilers, Tamil Nadu under the Boilers Act, 2025, which has been in force since 1 May 2025 and repealed the Boilers Act, 1923 (Boilers Act, 2025, s.45(1)). Section 45(2) keeps notifications, rules and regulations made under the 1923 Act until they are replaced, treats a boiler already registered under the old Act as registered under the new one, and continues a certificate that was in force at commencement until the date shown on it, unless it is cancelled.

A boiler that is not yet registered needs an application under the 2025 Act, and on registration the Chief Inspector orders a certificate authorising its use for a period not exceeding twelve months (s.12(6)). Plan the commissioning and the next inspection around the current Act, not the old 1923 section numbers, a six-month provisional order or a portal timetable written for the repealed Act, and confirm the filing the Directorate accepts, including any regulation saved under section 45(2)(a). Boiler registration sits alongside the factory plan approval and licence above. The full account is on boiler registration.

Site Appraisal Committee for hazardous factories

The Code allows the appropriate Government to constitute a Site Appraisal Committee to recommend on permission for the initial location or the expansion of a factory involving a hazardous process (OSH Code, s.83). In Tamil Nadu the committee is the one constituted under rule 61-Q of the Tamil Nadu Factories Rules, 1950, a rule kept alive by section 143(3) so far as it is not contrary to the Code; we have not found a final State rule replacing it. Where constituted, it is chaired by the Chief Inspector of Factories, with a State Pollution Control Board representative, town planning and environment representatives and an occupational safety and health expert as standing members, and further experts co-opted for a particular application.

The trigger is a hazardous process in the First Schedule to the Code. A separate set of duties can arise where a hazardous chemical is held above the threshold in Schedule 3 to the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989, and the two questions need to be answered independently. The application form, the number of copies and any acknowledgment or hearing period are not stated here. Nor does section 83, by itself, require the recommendation to be in hand before planning permission, TNPCB consent and DISH plan approval in every case, so confirm the order the authorities will apply to your site. The detail is on site appraisal for a hazardous-process factory.

Common failure points

• Starting construction before Form No. 1 permission. DISH can refuse the licence where the rule 3 conditions were never met (rule 7A), and can require rework where the building does not match what was, or would have been, approved.
• Commissioning without a current Certificate of Stability. Manufacturing in a new or extended building before the certificate is sent, or after its three years have run without a fresh one within 30 days, breaches rule 12B and commonly leads to a show-cause notice.
• Outgrowing the licence. A change in workers, horse power or the factory's name needs a rule 6 amendment at least 15 days ahead. The licence can look current on paper while its particulars no longer cover what you are doing.
• Crossing a welfare or staffing threshold in the table above without putting the facility or the officer in place.
• Treating the Form No. 2 acknowledgement as the licence. Form No. 4 is the licence. An in-time application with the fee paid protects you only until a decision is given in writing (rule 12B(5)), and a refused file is no authority to operate. Written reasons for a refusal must reach you, and that is what you appeal within 30 days (OSH Code, s.79(3)).
• Working from the wrong rulebook. The April 2022 Tamil Nadu draft rules are not law, and where the Code leaves a matter to the Central Government for every establishment, such as welfare facilities, the Central Rules apply. A licence granted before the Code does not, by itself, authorise a later expansion of layout, workers, power or process.
• Treating environmental clearance or Consent to Establish as site appraisal. They are different permissions, and whether section 83 applies is a separate question.
• Overlooking a hazardous process. Locating or expanding a hazardous-process factory without checking whether a Site Appraisal Committee recommendation is needed (s.83), or running without an approved on-site emergency plan, is a breach separate from the licence. Such a factory also needs the health and safety policy in s.84(2).

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