NISM Fees and Registration Costs 2026: MFD, SIF & PMS Guide

What Changed in July 2026

On July 14, 2026, NISM introduced NISM-Series-V-D: Mutual Fund - Specialized Investment Fund Distributors Certification Examination, a single exam that replaces the old two-exam path (NISM-Series-V-A for mutual funds, plus NISM-Series-XIII for SIF) with one unified certification. AMFI confirmed the mechanics in circular CIR/ARN-33/2026-27, dated July 28, 2026: pass V-D and you're eligible for both mutual fund and SIF distribution without separately holding V-A. The older NISM-Series-XIII path for new SIF eligibility closes after September 21, 2026. Everything below has been updated to reflect this, including a new, higher combined ARN fee schedule for anyone registering under the V-D route. For the full comparison, see our dedicated NISM V-A vs V-D breakdown.

Why NISM fees are just the starting point

For each distribution license, you pay two separate charges. First, the NISM exam fee to clear the certification. Second, a registration fee to the relevant industry body to get your distribution rights.

The NISM exam fee is flat for everyone and already includes GST (only payment gateway charges are extra) for most exams, though V-D's ₹3,000 fee is quoted plus applicable taxes rather than inclusive. The registration fee is different: it excludes GST and scales by entity type, and the gap between an individual and a bank is more than 130x.

One thing I'd flag upfront, because it trips people up constantly: passing the NISM exam gives you a certificate, not a license. Until the registration fee is paid and the ARN, SIF registration, or APRN is issued, you cannot earn commission on that product category.

The three-stage distributor journey

Most distributors in India follow the same progression. You start with the mutual fund distribution license because it is the foundation: the widest product access and the most established infrastructure. You can read the full process in our guide on how to become a mutual fund distributor.

From there, SIF distribution is the natural second step. SEBI created the SIF category in February 2025, with a minimum investment of ₹10 lakh per investor, and the framework went live in April 2025. PMS distribution is typically the third layer, serving HNI clients at a ₹50 lakh minimum ticket.

As of July 2026, there are two ways to reach the mutual fund plus SIF stage: the older two-exam route, or the new unified NISM-Series-V-D exam. Here's how the exams compare:

Sources: NISM's consolidated certification table, NISM Series XIII exam page, NISM's July 14, 2026 communiqué on Series V-D, revised XXI-A structure notified via APMI.

In my experience, veteran MFDs underestimated the SIF exam the most, because NISM XIII was a derivatives paper (equity, currency, and interest rate derivatives combined) built in 2014 for exchange dealers, not fund distributors. NISM-Series-V-D fixes the worst of that: it drops currency derivatives entirely, gives 45% weightage to mutual fund content most MFDs already know, and cuts negative marking to 10%. If you're studying for the mutual fund portion either exam requires, Creso's free prep portal at prep.creso.in has chapter-wise study material and timed mock exams.

Stage 1: MFD-only license (NISM V-A + ARN)

What it covers: Regular mutual fund schemes, SIPs, NFOs, and all AMC products on BSE StAR MF, MFU, and similar platforms. No SIF eligibility.

Exam: NISM Series V-A (Mutual Fund Distributors Certification). Fee ₹1,500, 100 questions, 2 hours, 50% to pass, no negative marking. Certificate valid 3 years. For the syllabus and preparation strategy, see our NISM Series V-A exam guide or practice for free at prep.creso.in.

Registration: AMFI issues your ARN (AMFI Registration Number), valid 3 years. Per AMFI's July 28, 2026 circular, distributors who pass V-A and register only for mutual fund distribution keep the older, lower fee structure below, effective October 1, 2024, per the official AMFI fee structure.

All registration fees above attract 18% GST on top.

A detail that matters for any non-individual entity: AMFI will not grant a corporate ARN without at least one employee holding a valid NISM certificate and a registered EUIN. So a private limited company's real entry cost includes the ₹1,500 plus GST EUIN fee, on top of the ₹40,000 plus GST entity fee.

Stage 1 total for an individual: ₹1,500 (NISM) + ₹3,540 (ARN incl. GST) = ₹5,040

Stage 2: SIF eligibility, two paths

What it covers: Specialized Investment Funds, the SEBI product category that sits between mutual funds and AIFs. Minimum investment of ₹10 lakh per investor. As of July 2026, there are two ways to get here, and the older one is on a countdown clock.

Path A: NISM-Series-XIII (legacy route, closes to new candidates after September 21, 2026)

This was the only route from April 2025 until NISM-Series-V-D launched. It's still valid for now, but per AMFI's July 28, 2026 circular, it stops being a valid new pathway into SIF distribution after September 21, 2026. Anyone who already holds a valid XIII certificate can keep using it until it expires, provided they also hold a valid V-A certificate alongside it.

Exam: NISM Series XIII (Common Derivatives Certification). Fee ₹3,000, 150 questions, 3 hours, 60% to pass, 25% negative marking. Currency, equity, and interest rate derivatives all included, which is why this is the toughest of the older exams.

Registration: AMFI, per circular CIR/ARN-29/2025-26 dated July 30, 2025. Your existing ARN is updated to include SIF rights within about a day of payment. Fees mirror the standard ARN structure: ₹3,000 for individuals, ₹40,000 for Pvt Ltd / OPC / LLP, ₹4 lakh for banks and public limited companies, ₹1,500 for EUIN holders, all plus GST.

Path A total for an individual (on top of Stage 1): ₹3,000 (NISM XIII) + ₹3,540 (SIF registration incl. GST) = ₹6,540. Combined with Stage 1, that's ₹12,120 to reach mutual fund plus SIF eligibility the old way.

Path B: NISM-Series-V-D (unified route, replaces V-A entirely)

This is the exam introduced July 14, 2026 and the route AMFI now points new distributors toward. Passing it makes you eligible for both mutual fund and SIF distribution in one shot, and you never need to sit NISM-Series-V-A at all.

Exam: NISM Series V-D (Mutual Fund - SIF Distributors Certification). Fee ₹3,000 plus applicable taxes (~₹3,540 incl. 18% GST), 150 questions, 3 hours, 60% to pass, 10% negative marking. Syllabus is 45% mutual fund content, 35% equity derivatives, 20% interest rate derivatives, with no currency derivatives module. Full breakdown in our NISM V-D exam guide.

Registration: AMFI's July 28, 2026 circular introduced a separate, combined mutual fund and SIF registration fee for anyone qualifying via V-D, effective July 22, 2026. It runs roughly double the standalone mutual-fund-only ARN fee for almost every entity type.

All figures exclude GST. Source: AMFI circular CIR/ARN-33/2026-27, dated July 28, 2026.

Path B total for an individual (replaces Stage 1 entirely): ₹3,540 (NISM V-D incl. GST) + ₹5,900 (combined ARN registration incl. GST) = ₹9,440.

That makes Path B cheaper overall than Path A for anyone starting fresh, ₹9,440 versus ₹12,120, because you're paying one exam fee and one registration fee instead of two of each. It also future-proofs you against the September 21, 2026 deadline. The tradeoff: your ongoing renewal cost is higher (₹3,000 instead of ₹1,500 for an individual), and the exam itself is longer and stricter than V-A alone was.

Which path should you take? If you only want to distribute mutual funds, skip both and stay on Stage 1 (V-A). If you want SIF eligibility and are starting from scratch, go straight to Path B (V-D). If you already hold V-A and want to add SIF before September 21, 2026, Path A is still available and doesn't disturb your existing ARN. After that date, Path A closes and V-D becomes the only way in for anyone who doesn't already hold both older certificates.

Two fine-print points that still apply either way. For individuals, SIF eligibility tied to NISM-Series-XIII stays valid only as long as that certificate does, not a fixed 3 years. And if your underlying ARN lapses, your SIF registration lapses with it automatically, regardless of which path you took to get it.

Stage 3: PMS license (NISM XXI-A + APMI registration)

What it covers: Distribution of SEBI-registered Portfolio Management Services. Minimum investment of ₹50 lakh per client.

Exam: NISM Series XXI-A (PMS Distributors Certification). Fee ₹1,500, 100 questions, 2 hours, 60% to pass, 10% negative marking. Certificate valid 3 years.

Here's a piece of recent history that tells you something about this exam: failure rates were high enough that APMI formally asked for a review, and NISM relaxed the paper in March 2025, cutting negative marking from 25% to 10% and rebalancing the syllabus. If you attempted it before March 2025 and failed, the current version is measurably easier.

Registration: APMI (Association of Portfolio Managers in India) issues your APRN. Registration has been mandatory since January 1, 2025 per SEBI's directive. Fees per APMI's distributor registration criteria:

All fees exclude 18% GST. The APRN stays valid as long as your NISM XXI-A certificate does; renewal requires a fresh CPE or re-examination first.

Two structural quirks worth knowing. First, PMS distribution does not require an ARN at all. The APRN is a standalone license, so an individual can sell PMS without ever registering with AMFI. Second, SEBI put real teeth into the APRN mandate: PMS providers were directed to withhold commissions of unregistered distributors from January 2025, and after July 31, 2025, commission accrued by non-compliant distributors gets credited back to investors. Not withheld. Gone.

Stage 3 total for an individual: ₹1,500 (NISM XXI-A) + ₹590 (APMI incl. GST) = ₹2,090

The PMS license is the cheapest of the three by a wide margin, which surprises people given it serves the wealthiest client segment.

Total cost: all three licenses, by entity type

Individual or sole proprietor, going straight for mutual funds, SIF, and PMS (via the new unified V-D route):

Individual, using the older two-exam route instead (V-A now, XIII later, only possible before September 21, 2026):

Going the unified V-D route saves an individual ₹2,140 and one exam sitting, on top of not having to worry about the September 21, 2026 deadline.

Private limited company, all three licenses (via the new unified V-D route):

For a private limited company, the savings from going the unified route are small (about ₹960) because the entity-level registration fee comes out roughly the same either way; AMFI's combined V-D fee for companies is set at exactly double the old standalone ARN fee, which is close to what two separate registrations used to cost anyway. The real advantage for companies is operational simplicity (one exam sitting, one registration) and beating the September 21, 2026 deadline, not a big cost saving.

The corporate figure is roughly 9x the individual one for identical distribution rights, because non-individual entities pay the entity fee and the qualifying employee's fee at every stage. This is why most new distributors register as individuals or proprietors first and incorporate only when business volume justifies it. (When that crossover happens is a separate question; we're working on a dedicated article on it.)

Renewal costs every three years

The renewal fee is generally half the original registration fee at AMFI, both for the standalone ARN and for the new combined V-D registration. Verified figures for an individual:

Here's the oddity nobody points out: re-taking the V-A exam costs ₹1,500, while the one-day CPE refresher that exempts you from the exam costs ₹2,500. The shortcut is ₹1,000 more expensive than the exam it replaces. Plenty of cost-conscious distributors just sit the exam again.

Timing matters more than the fee. AMFI's own guidance is to start renewal 30 days before expiry because the full cycle (CPE certificate issuance plus processing) takes over 15 working days. Miss the window and the consequences compound:

• Trail commission for the lapsed period is withheld, and under the norms effective April 1, 2025, forfeited entirely if you renew more than 3 months late. The April 2025 relaxation protects your pre-expiry trail, which used to be forfeited too, but the lapsed-period income is gone either way.

• Any SIP instalments triggered while your ARN is invalid get shifted to direct plans, and those instalments never come back to your ARN.

• Your SIF registration goes invalid automatically the moment the ARN does, whether you got there via the legacy Path A or the unified V-D route.

One more renewal-adjacent trap: the Annual Declaration of Self-Certification (DSC), due to AMFI by June 30 each year. Miss it and AMCs withhold all accrued commission from July 1; miss the September 30 hard deadline and the withheld amount is forfeited. It costs nothing to file. It costs a quarter's income to forget.