{"id":45159,"date":"2022-07-09T11:21:16","date_gmt":"2022-07-09T05:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/?p=45159"},"modified":"2026-07-04T14:09:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T08:39:02","slug":"society-vs-trust-registration-in-india-key-differences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/society-vs-trust-registration-in-india-key-differences\/","title":{"rendered":"Society vs Trust Registration in India: Key Differences, Benefits &amp; Compliance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">In India, there are various forms of organisation which are established with the aim of providing services to the members rather than earning a huge amount of money. Trust and Society are two such organisations in India. Society is established when a group of people come together for a common charitable purpose. Whereas Trust is a legal arrangement in which an individual holds property for the sake of some other individual. The basic distinguishing feature between a Trust and a Society is the purpose for which they are created; once you know the purpose behind the establishment of a Society and a Trust, then you can easily differentiate Society and Trust. Scroll down to check the key differences between Society vs <a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/trust-registration\"><strong>Trust Registration<\/strong><\/a> in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Page Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/society-vs-trust-registration-in-india-key-differences\/#Definition_of_Trust_and_Society\" >Definition of Trust and Society<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/society-vs-trust-registration-in-india-key-differences\/#Talk_To_Expert\" >Talk To Expert<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/society-vs-trust-registration-in-india-key-differences\/#Need_Help_Contact_Our_Experts_Today\" >Need Help? Contact Our Experts Today.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/society-vs-trust-registration-in-india-key-differences\/#Comparison_Table_of_Society_vs_Trust_Registration_in_India\" >Comparison Table of Society vs\nTrust Registration in India<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/society-vs-trust-registration-in-india-key-differences\/#_Conclusion\" >&nbsp;Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Definition_of_Trust_and_Society\"><\/span>Definition of Trust and Society<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we\ndiscuss the key differences between Society and Trust Registration in India,\nlet\u2019s first understand the meaning of Trust and Society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Society<\/strong>: It&#8217;s a group of individuals who are associated together for a common purpose, and the purpose may be related to promoting any charitable, literary, or scientific work. <a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/society-registration\" title=\"society registration check online\"><strong>Society Registration<\/strong><\/a> is easy, require a minimum of 7 members to sign the MoA (Memorandum of Association) and then file it to the ROC (Registrar of Companies). Registration of a Society is done under the <strong><em>Societies Registration Act, 1860<\/em><\/strong><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Societies_Registration_Act,_1860\"><strong>[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/sup><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trust<em>: <\/em><\/strong>It&#8217;s an entity created by a single party in which the second has the right to hold the first party&#8217;s assets for the benefit of the third party. Here, the first party refers to the Trustor or the author of the Trust; the second party or person is known as a Trustee, who accepts the proposal of Trust &amp; maintains the Trustor&#8217;s property on behalf of the third party (beneficiary). The subject matter of the Trust is known as Trust Property &amp; the document in which all the terms &amp; conditions regarding the Trust are written is known as a <strong><em>Trust Deed<\/em><\/strong>. Now let\u2019s discuss the Society vs Trust Registration (Key Differences).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Talk_To_Expert\"><\/span>Talk To Expert<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><div class=\"calling-person blog_cta my-4\"> \n    <div class=\"row\"> \n        <div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-12 col-md-12 col-lg-12\"> \n            <div class=\"d-flex flex-nowrap\"> \n                <div class=\"user-online\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/img\/user.jpg\" alt=\"corpbiz\"> <\/div> \n                <div class=\"user-online-details ms-3 align-self-center\"> \n                    <h2 class=\"text-white mt-0\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Need_Help_Contact_Our_Experts_Today\"><\/span>Need Help? Contact Our Experts Today. <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2> \n                    <p class=\"mt-3\"><i class=\"fa fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fa fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fa fa-star\"><\/i><i \n\n                            class=\"fa fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fa fa-star-half-full\"><\/i><span \n\n                            class=\"ms-2 text-white\">(4.8)<\/span><\/p> \n                <\/div> \n            <\/div> \n        <\/div> \n        <div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-12 col-md-12 col-lg-8 mx-auto\"> \n            <div class=\"d-flex justify-content-between call-chat\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/wa.me\/919289379709?text=Hi%20Corpbiz%2C%20I%20need%20help%20choosing%20between%20Society%20and%20Trust%20Registration%20in%20India\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <span>Schedule Meeting<\/span><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ms-2\" \n\n                src=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/img\/chat-with-expert.png\" alt=\"Schedule Meeting \" width=\"32px\"> <\/a> <\/div> \n        <\/div> \n    <\/div> \n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Comparison_Table_of_Society_vs_Trust_Registration_in_India\"><\/span>Comparison Table of Society vs\nTrust Registration in India<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can check\nthe comparison table of Society vs Trust Registration mentioned below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"table table-bordered\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Particulars<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  <strong>Society<\/strong>\n  <\/td><td>\n  <strong>Trust<\/strong>\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Meaning<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  Society is established when a group of people is\n  associated together for a common charitable purpose, but it&#8217;s not limited to\n  charitable purposes but may extend further to multiple other fields.\n  <\/td><td>\n  Trust is the oldest form of a charitable\n  organisation. It&#8217;s an arrangement between parties whereby one party holds\n  ownership over property on behalf of another person or individual.\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Registering   Authority<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  Registrar of Company\n  <\/td><td>\n  Registrar\/Deputy Registrar of Societies of the\n  concerned State or Charity Commissioner.\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n  <strong>Governing\n  Legislation<\/strong>\n  <\/td><td>\n  A Society is established under &amp; governed by\n  Societies Registration Act, 1960.\n  <\/td><td>\n  A Private Trust is established under &amp;\n  governed by the Indian Trust Act, 1882.\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Objectives<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  Must be specific.\n  <\/td><td>\n  It can be general.\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Document   of Constitution<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  Memorandum of Association (MoA) and Rules &amp;\n  Regulations.\n  <\/td><td>\n  Trust Deed.\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Minimum   Members Required<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  A minimum of 7 members are required (5 for Jammu\n  &amp; Kashmir and Telangana).\n  <\/td><td>\n  A minimum of 2 Trustees are required.\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Registration   under the IT Act, 1961<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  Allowed\n  <\/td><td>\n  Allowed\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Transparency   <\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  Low\n  <\/td><td>\n  Low\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Annual   Compliances<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  The Society must file the list of names,\n  addresses, and occupations of the Managing Committee members of the Society\n  to the Registrar annually.\n  <\/td><td>\n  There are no mandatory yearly compliances to be\n  met by a Trust\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Nature   of Control<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  Decisions are made by voting. A power struggle\n  may ensure.\n  <\/td><td>\n  Settler (one-man control).\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Amendments   <\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  Relatively more complex and both the Rules &amp;\n  Regulations and MoA need to be changed.\n  <\/td><td>\n  It can easily be done through a supplementary\n  Trust Deed.\n  &nbsp;\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Family   Members<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  The Registrar objects to family members becoming\n  part of the Governing Body.\n  <\/td><td>\n  Can become Trustees.\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Winding-up<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  It can be wound up if 3\/5<sup>th<\/sup> of the\n  members want.\n  <\/td><td>\n  Trust is usually irrevocable and cannot be wound\n  up.\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Geographical   area of activities<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  Separate Registration for the All India level is\n  required (8 members from different states are required).\n  <\/td><td>\n  All India (no need to mention this in the Trust\n  Deed).\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Tenure   of Officer Holders<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  Members hold office for a period of time &amp;\n  may stand for re-election.\n  <\/td><td>\n  Trustees hold office for their entire life.\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Issue   of Name Approval<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  If any other NGO is not incorporated with the\n  required name in the specific jurisdiction of Registration, then it&#8217;s\n  possible, and if any other Society (NGO) is incorporated with the name in\n  that Registrar, then it cannot be approved &amp; provided.\n  <\/td><td>\n  Approval of the name is not required if the name\n  is not under Emblem Act.\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Transfer   of Membership or Directorship or Trusteeship<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  Society membership is not transferable as per\n  the Act.\n  <\/td><td>\n  There is no such provision to transfer the\n  Trusteeship in the Indian Trust Act for the Charitable Trust as an NGO.\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Can a   Foreigner be a Director or Member or Trustee<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  A foreigner can be a society member with certain\n  permission &amp; terms of the Indian Government &amp; the concerned Union\n  Territory of India where the Registration Process is applied.\n  <\/td><td>\n  There is no restriction &amp; provision for\n  foreigners to be or not be members. So foreigners can be Trust members, but\n  certain Government Rules &amp; Regulations are applied.\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Eligible   for College or School Formation<\/strong>   <\/td><td>\n  Society is eligible for College or School\n  formation in all States of India, including Rajasthan.\n  <\/td><td>\n  Trust is eligible for College or School\n  formation except in a few certain States like Rajasthan. So if anyone desire\n  to form College or Scholl in those States, you need to register as an\n  individual Society &amp; can run a Trust as an NGO for social development\n  works.\n  <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"_Conclusion\"><\/span>&nbsp;Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After discussing the difference between Society vs Trust Registration, it is clear that the purpose behind establishing a Trust is that an individual will hold another individual&#8217;s property for the benefit of a 3<sup>rd<\/sup> individual. In contrast, Society is created to promote any literary, charitable and other similar objective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"text-align:center; margin: 30px 0;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/wa.me\/919289379709?text=Hi%20Corpbiz%2C%20I%20need%20help%20choosing%20between%20Society%20and%20Trust%20Registration%20in%20India\"\n     style=\"\n       display: inline-block;\n       padding: 16px 36px;\n       background: linear-gradient(135deg, #1A73E8, #1558D6);\n       color: #ffffff;\n       text-decoration: none;\n       font-size: 18px;\n       font-weight: 600;\n       border-radius: 50px;\n       box-shadow: 0 6px 18px rgba(26, 115, 232, 0.35);\n       transition: all 0.3s ease;\n       letter-spacing: 0.5px;\n     \"\n     onmouseover=\"this.style.transform='translateY(-3px)'; this.style.boxShadow='0 10px 24px rgba(26,115,232,0.45)'\"\n     onmouseout=\"this.style.transform='translateY(0)'; this.style.boxShadow='0 6px 18px rgba(26,115,232,0.35)'\"\n  >\nBook a Free Consultation with Our Experts.<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-left\"><b>Read our Article<\/b>:<mark style=\"background: #fffd03 !important;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/approach-ngo-registration-in-india\/\">How to approach NGO Registration in India? Forms &amp; Features<\/a><\/mark><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In India, there are various forms of organisation which are established with the aim of providing services to the members rather than earning a huge amount of money. Trust and Society are two such organisations in India. Society is established when a group of people come together for a common charitable purpose. Whereas Trust is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":45160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[324],"tags":[2484],"acf":{"service_id":"10"},"authorName":"Karan Singh","authorImageUrl":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/processed-1-150x150.jpeg","authorDescription":"A legal writing enthusiast, a wanderer, and a zealous reader. After gaining a lot of knowledge about the diverse legal topics and developing research skills, Karan joined the league of legal content writers to deliver quality-rich blogs.","postViews":45116,"readingTime":4,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45159"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45159"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72309,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45159\/revisions\/72309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}