Statutory Registers under the Labour Codes: Wage, Attendance, Deduction and Overtime Registers

Statutory registers are the records an inspector asks for first: who works for you, when they attended, what they were paid and what was deducted. Before the Labour Codes, an employer kept a separate set under each Act, from the Minimum Wages and Payment of Wages Acts to the Factories and Contract Labour Acts, and the 2017 "ease of compliance" rules had already merged many of them into combined Forms A to E. The Labour Codes and the Central Rules notified on 8 May 2026 now set the formats. This guide covers which registers you need, what goes in each, how to maintain a wages register (including in Excel), how long to keep it, and what happens if you don't.

The registers at a glance

These are the formats in the Central Rules, which apply to establishments for which the Central Government is the "appropriate Government" (for example, railways, mines, oil fields, major ports, banks, insurance companies and Central public sector undertakings) and serve as the model most States follow.

The wage-related registers appear in both sets of Central Rules with very similar content: rule 51 of the Wage Rules and rule 72 of the OSH Rules. In practice, most employers keep one electronic register that captures every particular required by both forms, rather than two parallel registers. Under the Code on Wages, the duty to keep registers and display notices sits in section 50; under the OSH Code, in section 33.

Employee register (Form I)

The employee register is the master record of every person employed, including contract and fixed-term workers you employ directly. Form I asks for the establishment's Labour Identification Number and PAN or TAN, and for each employee details such as name, gender, date of birth, father's or spouse's name, designation, category of skill, date of joining, UAN, ESIC number, PAN, Aadhaar, bank account, EPS or NPS details, nominee and date and reason of exit. Make the entry on the day a person joins, alongside the new joiner payroll setup, and close it on exit.

Wages register: wages, overtime, advances, fines and deductions (Form IV)

Form IV is the register most people mean by "wages register" or "salary register". It combines what used to be the register of wages, the overtime register, the register of advances, the register of fines and the register of deductions for damage or loss. For each employee and wage period it shows:

• rate of wages and days or hours worked;
• earnings: basic, dearness allowance, other allowances (HRA can be shown here), and overtime;
• gross wages;
• deductions: EPF, ESIC, income tax, society, insurance, advances, fines, damage or loss, and others (for example, professional tax);
• net payment, date of payment and receipt or bank transaction ID.

Fines and their realisation are recorded here under section 19(8) of the Code, and deductions for damage or loss under section 21(3). Before a fine, a deduction for absence or a deduction for damage or loss is entered, the Wage Rules require the employee to be told and given seven days to explain. For the full list of what may be deducted and the 50% cap, see our salary payment rules guide and payroll deductions list.

Example: one row of the wages register

A worker in Delhi earns ₹20,000 a month: basic and DA ₹15,000 and HRA ₹5,000. In November 2026 they work 6 overtime hours and repay ₹1,000 of a salary advance. Wages as defined in the Code are ₹15,000 (HRA is excluded and is only 25% of pay), so the hourly rate is ₹15,000 ÷ 26 ÷ 8 = ₹72.12 and overtime at twice that rate is ₹144.23 an hour.

The overtime base above uses the wage definition; check how your State's rules define the overtime rate and use our overtime calculator to check the figure. The point of the example is the discipline: every rupee between gross and net has its own column, and net must match the bank credit.

Attendance register-cum-muster roll (Form IX)

Form IX records, for each employee and each day of the wage period, whether they were present, absent, on leave, on the weekly rest day or on a holiday, with hours worked and overtime hours. It is the source for paid days, loss of pay and overtime in the wages register, so the two must agree.

Form IX itself has, for each employee: serial number, employee code, name, designation, shift, place of work or department, the 'In' and 'Out' time for each day of the month, total days worked, total overtime hours and brief details of any tour or work outside the workplace. Many employers add a working sheet that codes each day (P, A, L, WO, H) to count paid and unpaid days. Totals from this sheet flow straight into the wages register, so a formula-driven count of P, L and A codes avoids most mismatches. Keep shift timings and any change in the weekly rest day on record too, because the rest-day notice must be updated before the change takes effect. Biometric or app-based attendance is fine as long as the system can produce the register in the prescribed form. See loss of pay and our attendance calculator; for a ready Excel attendance sheet, use our attendance sheet template.

Leave and accident registers (OSH Rules)

• Register of leave with wages (Form XX, rule 76): leave earned, availed and balance for each employee, shared with the employee once a calendar year or on demand. It feeds leave encashment on exit; see our leave accrual calculator.
• Register of accidents and dangerous occurrences (Form XIX, rule 75): every reportable accident or dangerous occurrence, which also feeds the notice that must be displayed.

How to maintain a wages register (step by step)

The cut-off and payment timings are covered in our payroll cut-off date guide and the payroll compliance calendar.

Wages register in Excel or software

The Central Rules allow registers to be kept "electronically or physically", so an Excel workbook or payroll software is acceptable. To make an electronic register stand up in an inspection:

• use the column order and every particular of the prescribed form, even if some are blank for you;
• keep one sheet or export per wage period, and protect it once wages are paid;
• keep the formulas simple and visible: gross, total deductions and net;
• keep an audit trail of corrections instead of overwriting old figures;
• be able to print or export each register for the Inspector-cum-Facilitator on demand;
• back up the files and keep them for the full five years, including for employees who have left.

The monthly payroll summary your software produces (the payroll register) is a useful report, but it is not a substitute for the statutory form unless it carries all the prescribed particulars.

How long to keep registers

• Wage Rules (rule 51): five years from the date of the last entry.
• OSH Rules (rule 72): five calendar years from the date of the last entry; the leave with wages register (rule 76) for five years after the last entry.

Payroll records also support PF, ESI and income-tax assessments, which can reach further back, so many employers keep wage records for eight years or more.

Notices, wage slips and the annual return

• Wage slip: Form V under the Wage Rules (Form XVI under the OSH Rules), issued electronically or physically on or before the day wages are paid. See salary slip explained.
• Notices: the establishment must display, at a conspicuous place, details such as working hours, the wage period, the date of payment of wages and the Inspector-cum-Facilitator's details.
• Annual return: under the OSH Rules (rule 74) the annual return in Form XVII is filed electronically by the last day of February for the previous calendar year; the Wage Rules (rule 48) use the same OSH return rather than a separate one.

Old registers and what replaces them

If you are moving from the old Acts, this is how the familiar registers map to the Central formats. The old forms remain relevant for past periods and wherever a State has not yet notified its own forms.

Factories Act leave registers were prescribed by each State's factory rules, not the 2017 rules. The biggest practical change is that fines, damage deductions, advances and overtime now sit in the same register as wages, so one row per employee per month tells the whole pay story.

Central or State rules: which forms apply to you?

Most private shops, offices and factories fall under their State Government, not the Centre. For them the forms are those in the State's own rules under each Code, which often follow the Central formats but number them differently: Uttar Pradesh's wage rules, for example, use Form II for the employee register and Form I for the wages register. Where a State's rules are not yet final, some employers continue the State's earlier formats or the 2017 combined Forms A (employee), B (wages), C (loans and recoveries) and D (attendance) until the new forms apply; check with your State's labour department, and see our Labour Code State rules tracker for the current position.

Penalty for not maintaining registers

Under section 54(2) of the Code on Wages, non-maintenance or improper maintenance of records is punishable with a fine of up to ₹10,000, and the offence can be compounded under section 56 by paying half the maximum fine. For a first contravention, section 54(3) requires the Inspector-cum-Facilitator to give the employer a written direction and time to comply before starting prosecution, unless a similar violation is repeated within five years (see the text of section 54(2) of the Code on Wages). A missing register also weakens your defence on any wage claim, because the employee's version is hard to rebut without records.

Common mistakes

• Keeping only the payroll software summary and no register in the prescribed form.
• Attendance and wages registers that don't agree on paid days.
• Fines or damage deductions entered without the written or electronic intimation and seven-day reply window.
• Net pay in the register differing from the bank credit.
• Deleting records of employees who have left before five years have passed.
• No register for workers engaged directly on a daily or casual basis.

For the Central formats and rule-by-rule notes, see the Taxmann chapter-wise guide to the Wage Rules and our overview of the Central Rules under the Labour Codes.

Related reading: Payroll compliance in India · Code on Wages guide · OSH Code guide · Payroll vs salary vs wages

Frequently asked questions

Which registers must an employer maintain under the Labour Codes?

For establishments under the Central Government, the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 prescribe three registers: the Employee Register in Form I, the Register of Wages, Overtime, Advances, Fines and Deductions for Damage and Loss in Form IV, and the Attendance Register-cum-Muster Roll in Form IX. The OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 add an employee register, attendance register, wages register, a register of leave with wages and a register of accidents and dangerous occurrences. Establishments under a State Government follow that State's rules.

What is the wages register format?

Under the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 the wages register is Form IV. For each employee and wage period it records the rates and days worked, basic, dearness allowance, other allowances and overtime, gross wages, deductions (EPF, ESIC, income tax, advances, fines, deductions for damage or loss and others), net payment, and the date of payment with the bank transaction ID. Under the older 2017 combined-register rules the wage register was Form B.

How do I maintain a salary register?

Keep one row per employee per wage period, using the columns of the prescribed form. Fill it from approved attendance and payroll, make sure gross minus deductions equals the net amount actually credited, record fines and deductions only after the employee was given a chance to explain, lock the register once wages are paid, and keep it for five years from the last entry. It can be kept electronically.

Can statutory registers be maintained in Excel or software?

Yes. The Central Rules allow registers to be kept electronically or physically, so an Excel workbook or payroll software is acceptable if it captures every particular of the prescribed form, cannot be quietly altered after the period is closed, and can be produced or printed for the Inspector-cum-Facilitator on demand.

How long must wage and attendance registers be kept?

Registers under the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 must be preserved for five years from the date of the last entry. Under the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026, registers are kept for five calendar years from the last entry, and the register of leave with wages for five years after the last entry.

What is the penalty for not maintaining registers?

Under section 54(2) of the Code on Wages, 2019, non-maintenance or improper maintenance of records is punishable with a fine of up to 10,000 rupees. For a first contravention, the Inspector-cum-Facilitator must ordinarily give the employer an opportunity to comply before prosecution is started.

Position as of 15 November 2026. Based on the Code on Wages, 2019 (sections 50, 54 and 56), the Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2026 (rules 48, 51 and 52), the OSH Code, 2020 and the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 (rules 72 to 76). State rules may prescribe different form numbers. General information, not legal advice.