You can now apply for GST registration in several states at once. GSTN Advisory No. 674 dated 1 October 2026 added a Multistate Registration option on the GST portal: you select the states, get one Master TRN, enter the common details once, and the portal creates a separate application for each state. Each state still needs its own principal place of business (PPOB), additional places of business (APOB) and Aadhaar authentication.
The facility saves typing, not paperwork. A seller registering in five states still needs five sets of premises documents, and each state application is still decided on its own.
This guide covers the steps, the 15-day deadline on the Master TRN, and the address planning that decides whether all your applications go through.
Key facts at a glance
Question | Position as on 9 October 2026 |
|---|---|
Source | GSTN Advisory No. 674 dated 1 October 2026 |
Who can use it? | Taxpayers seeking registration in more than one State or UT under the same PAN; currently Normal Taxpayers only |
Where is it? | A "Multistate Registration" tab on the GST portal homepage |
What is entered once? | Business details, promoter or partner details, authorised signatory, authorised representative, goods and services |
What is entered per state? | PPOB, APOB, state-specific information and Aadhaar authentication |
Deadline | The Master TRN must be submitted within 15 days |
What the Multistate Registration facility does
The facility removes repeated data entry across state applications. According to the advisory, once you select the States or UTs you need, the portal generates a Master TRN. Using it, you file the Common Registration Information (CRI) once.
After you submit the CRI, the portal generates an individual TRN for each state you selected. The common information is auto-populated into every individual TRN and remains editable there, so a different authorised signatory for one state is still possible.
What the facility does not change is the law. GST registration remains state-wise under Section 25(1) of the CGST Act, and each individual application is still processed under the registration rules for that state.
How to apply for GST in multiple states with a Master TRN
These steps follow GSTN Advisory No. 674. Screen labels may differ slightly on the live portal.
Open the GST portal homepage and click the Multistate Registration tab.
Select every State or UT in which you want registration under your PAN.
Note the Master TRN the portal generates and the date. You have 15 days to submit it.
Log in with the Master TRN and fill the Common Registration Information: business details, promoters or partners, authorised signatory, authorised representative, and goods and services.
Submit the CRI. The portal now creates one individual TRN per selected state.
Open each individual TRN, review the auto-filled common details and edit them where that state differs.
Enter the PPOB and any APOB for that state and upload the possession documents for each.
Fill the state-specific information and complete Aadhaar authentication for that TRN, then submit.
Treat steps 6 to 8 as five separate filings if you picked five states. Each one needs its own care.
What stays state-specific, and why it decides the outcome
Premises are the part of every application that the facility cannot share. A Haryana PPOB proves nothing about your Gujarat registration.
Under para 6A of CBIC Instruction No. 03/2025-GST dated 17 April 2025, each PPOB is proved by documents that match the nature of possession: one ownership document for owned premises, a rent agreement with the owner's documents for rented premises, or a consent letter with the owner's ID and one ownership document for consented premises. Our guide to proof of principal place of business lists the document sets in full.
Aadhaar authentication is also per state. Under para 8(iii) of the same instruction, skipping or failing authentication, or being flagged as risky, sends that application to physical verification with a 30-day timeline. One state going to verification does not need to hold up the others.
Plan your premises before you generate the Master TRN
Our position: do not click the Multistate Registration tab until every state's premises documents are in hand. The 15-day clock starts at the Master TRN, and the states that slip are always the ones still waiting for a rent agreement or a consent letter.
State on your list | Premises you will declare | Documents ready? |
|---|---|---|
Home state | Owned or rented office | Ownership document or agreement plus owner's documents |
Each marketplace state | Documented virtual office or other premises | Agreement, owner's ownership document, NOC where applicable |
Each fulfilment centre | APOB under that state's GSTIN | Marketplace address details and possession documents |
For states where you have no office, the address usually comes from a virtual place of business arrangement. Our guide to documents for GST registration with a virtual office covers what that file must contain.
If you are a small B2C marketplace seller, check Rule 14B before committing to virtual offices in every state. The 57th GST Council recommended it on 8 October 2026 to let such sellers declare a marketplace warehouse as their PPOB, though it is not yet notified.
Multistate Registration or one state at a time
Your situation | Better option |
|---|---|
New business entering three or more states at launch | Multistate Registration |
Existing GSTIN, adding one more state | A normal application, using the auto-populate option for existing GSTINs under the same PAN |
Premises ready in some states but not others | Register the ready states now; add the rest later |
Composition, casual or other non-normal registration | Normal application; the facility is currently for Normal Taxpayers only |
On 10 September 2026, GSTN also announced an auto-populate option in Part B of FORM GST REG-01 for applicants who already hold an active GSTIN under the same PAN. It copies eligible details after OTP consent from the existing registration's primary authorised signatory. For one extra state, that is usually simpler than a Master TRN.
A note on legal status
A GSTN advisory describes how the portal works. It is not a notification or a rule. Commentary on Advisory No. 674 has pointed out that the facility sits on Section 146 of the CGST Act, which lets the common portal facilitate prescribed functions, and does not change the conditions for registration in any state.
In practice that means two things. Every individual application must still meet Rule 8 and Rule 9 of the CGST Rules for its state, and a query from one state's officer is answered in that state's application.
Expanding into several states this quarter? Talk to Keshav's team about virtual places of business for every state on your list, with documents ready before the Master TRN clock starts.
Your next step: list every state you need, write the premises and document set against each one, and generate the Master TRN only when the list has no gaps.
