How to Solve “Either your Principal Contact has not registered a DSC” Error in Income Tax Portal (2025-26)

Either your Principal Contact has not registered a DSC Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Fix Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) Error

If you are trying to file your Income Tax Return and seeing this message:

“Either your Principal Contact has not registered a DSC with e-Filing or validity of the digital signature certificate registered by your Principal Contact in e-Filing has expired.”

Don’t worry — this is one of the most common DSC errors in the Income Tax portal, especially for companies and professionals who use a Digital Signature Certificate to file returns.

In this detailed article, we’ll cover:

• Why this error appears
• The exact root cause behind it
• A step-by-step solution to fix it permanently
• A YouTube video tutorial to visually guide you

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⚙️ Why Does the “Principal Contact has not registered DSC” Error Occur?

This error appears when your Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is not registered in your individual e-Filing account.

Here’s what happens in most cases:

• You try to file your company return using your company’s login.
• The system checks whether the Principal Contact’s DSC (usually the director, partner, or authorized signatory) is registered.
• If your individual e-Filing account does not have a valid DSC registered, or your DSC validity has expired, the system shows this error message.

🧠 In short:

The DSC of the principal contact is not registered or expired in their individual e-Filing account.

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🧭 Step-by-Step Solution to Fix the Income Tax DSC Error

Follow these easy steps to register your DSC correctly and remove the error permanently.

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🪜 Step 1: Logout from Your Company or Professional Account

Start by logging out of your company or professional account on the Income Tax portal.

👉 Why:
The DSC registration must be done only from your individual PAN-based account, not the company’s login.
The Income Tax portal verifies DSC from the individual profile of the Principal Contact.

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🪜 Step 2: Login to Your Individual e-Filing Account

Now open https://www.incometax.gov.in and log in with your individual credentials (PAN number).

Once logged in, go to your Dashboard — this is where you will find the “My Profile” option to register your DSC.

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🎥 YouTube Tutorial: Fix DSC Error Step-by-Step

If you want to understand the process visually, watch our full YouTube tutorial video below.
In this video, we have shown how to log in, register your DSC, and fix the “Principal Contact DSC not registered” error in just a few minutes.

“How to Fix Income Tax DSC Error | Principal Contact DSC Not Registered”)

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🪜 Step 3: Go to My Profile → Register DSC

After logging in, click on ‘My Profile’ in the top-right menu.
Select the ‘Register DSC’ option from the drop-down.

A pop-up will appear asking for DSC details.
Select your certificate from the list and click Proceed.

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🪜 Step 4: Enter Token Password and Sign

Now connect your DSC token to the system.
Enter your DSC token password, then click on ‘Sign’.

Wait a few seconds until you see the message:

✅ “Digital Signature Certificate has been successfully registered.”

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🪜 Step 5: Re-Login into Your Company Account and File Return

Now log out from your individual account and sign back into your company or professional account.
Proceed to file your Income Tax Return again.

This time, your registered DSC will be detected automatically — and the error will be gone! 🎯

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💡 Pro Tips for Smooth DSC Registration

• Always renew your DSC before it expires to prevent re-registration issues.
• Make sure you use the same PAN-based DSC linked with your e-Filing account.
• Keep your USB token drivers (ePass, ProxKey, WatchData, etc.) updated.
• For best performance, use the Chrome or Microsoft Edge browser.

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. Why does this DSC error appear on the Income Tax portal?
➡ It occurs when your DSC is not registered in your individual account or has expired.

Q2. Can I register DSC from my company account?
➡ No, DSC must be registered through the individual e-Filing account of the Principal Contact.

Q3. How often do I need to register DSC?
➡ Only once per DSC validity period. When you renew or get a new DSC, register it again.

Q4. What type of DSC is required for company returns?
➡ A Class 3 Individual DSC is mandatory for companies, LLPs, and professionals.

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🏁 Conclusion

That’s it!
You’ve successfully learned how to fix the “Either your Principal Contact has not registered a DSC or DSC validity has expired” error on the Income Tax portal.

Just log in to your individual e-Filing account, register your Digital Signature Certificate, and you can file returns without any interruption.

If you still face issues, watch our YouTube video tutorial linked above for a complete walkthrough.

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🔗 Need Help with DSC Registration?

Visit: https://digitalsignaturespot.com
📞 Contact: +91-7579984381