SHe-Box Registration: The Step Most Employers Have Skipped

Most employers with 10 or more employees know they need a POSH Internal Committee - but a large number have never taken the follow-up step of registering that committee on the government's SHe-Box portal, and that gap is becoming harder to ignore.

Key facts at a glance

• SHe-Box (Sexual Harassment electronic Box) is the government portal for reporting workplace sexual harassment complaints.
• The Supreme Court has pushed for mandatory registration of Internal Committees on SHe-Box.
• The Supreme Court has also directed district-wise surveys and audits of POSH compliance.
• Internal Committees are mandatory for workplaces with 10 or more employees.
• Employers increasingly face board-report disclosure expectations tied to POSH compliance status.
• Non-compliance carries growing risk of licence-renewal friction, beyond the direct legal exposure.

What SHe-Box actually is

SHe-Box was originally built as a portal where any employee, in any sector, could file a sexual harassment complaint and have it routed to the appropriate Internal Committee or Local Committee. Over time, its role has expanded: it is increasingly the platform where employers are expected to register their Internal Committee's existence and details, so that both employees and authorities can verify a committee is actually in place and reachable, rather than existing only on paper inside the company.

Why so many employers have missed this step

The basic POSH obligation - constitute an Internal Committee once you cross 10 employees - is relatively well known among HR teams. What is less widely understood is that simply forming the committee internally is no longer treated as the finish line. SHe-Box registration is a separate, additional step, and because the push toward making it effectively mandatory has strengthened more recently through court directions and public pressure, many companies that set up their ICC a few years ago never went back to complete this registration.

The gap between "having a committee" and "being verifiable"

Why this matters more in 2026 than it did before

The regulatory backdrop has shifted. The Supreme Court's direction for district-wise surveys and audits means authorities are actively checking whether Internal Committees exist and are properly registered, not just relying on employer self-certification. Combined with growing expectations that POSH compliance status shows up in board reporting, and reports of licence-renewal friction for companies that cannot demonstrate compliance, the SHe-Box registration gap has moved from a minor administrative oversight to a real, visible risk area.

How to check where you stand

Start by confirming your Internal Committee is properly constituted - correct composition, a senior woman employee as presiding officer, and an external member, as required. Then separately verify whether that committee has actually been registered on the SHe-Box portal, since this is the step most often missed even by companies that got the committee formation right. If you operate multiple locations, check registration status per location, since the underlying ICC requirement itself can apply per workplace.

What to do if you find the gap

If your committee exists but is not registered on SHe-Box, treat this as a straightforward, fixable administrative step rather than a sign of deeper non-compliance - but do not delay it, given the direction of regulatory scrutiny. Document the registration once completed, and keep it alongside your other POSH records so it is readily demonstrable in the event of a district-level audit or a board-reporting request.

If you are not sure whether your Internal Committee is properly registered and compliant, ComplianceCheck's POSH assessment gives you a clear picture in a few minutes.

Sources

• Ministry of Women and Child Development - wcd.nic.in
• SHe-Box portal (Sexual Harassment electronic Box) - shebox.wcd.gov.in
• Respective state Women and Child Development / District Officer office

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements vary by state, sector and headcount - confirm specifics with a compliance professional or the relevant authority.