The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on March 16, 2026, issued this circular following the implementation of the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025, effective from February 5, 2026. The circular lays down transitional arrangements for the payment of annual fees and issuance of Certificate of Registration (CoR) for insurance intermediaries.
The circular applies to a wide range of insurance intermediaries, including brokers, corporate agents, insurance marketing firms, web aggregators, common service centres, surveyors and loss assessors, insurance repositories, third-party administrators, and other registered entities.
As background, the amended law changes the registration framework by providing that the Certificate of Registration will remain valid indefinitely, subject to payment of an annual fee, unless suspended or cancelled by the Authority.
Accordingly, the earlier system of a three-year validity of CoR and renewal fees has been discontinued from February 5, 2026. Going forward, registration will continue as long as the annual fee is paid as per regulations.
As a transitional measure, intermediaries receiving fresh registration or renewal between February 5, 2026, and June 30, 2026, are required to pay an interim annual fee at the time of issuance of the CoR. This interim fee structure is specified in Annexure I and applies to both new registrations and renewals falling within this period. This arrangement is temporary until detailed regulations are notified.
For cases where renewal was granted on or after February 5, 2026, but renewal fees had already been paid earlier, the amount collected will be adjusted against the interim annual fee, and any excess will be refunded.
The Authority also retains the power to issue further clarifications or directions to address any implementation difficulties under the amended provisions.
Overall, the circular marks a shift from a fixed-term renewal system to a continuous registration model with annual fee payment, supported by transitional provisions to ensure smooth implementation.
[Ref: IRDAI/INT/CIR/MISC/41/3/2026]
