What ART clinic registration means
Every fertility clinic in India is required to register with the National ART and Surrogacy Registry under the ART (Regulation) Act 2021. Registration means a clinic is on the official government register and has been given a level: L1 for basic ART such as IUI, or L2 for advanced ART including IVF and ICSI. It confirms a clinic's legal standing. It does not, on its own, tell you how good the clinic is or what its success rates are.
In India, a fertility clinic cannot legally offer ART (assisted reproductive technology) unless it is registered. The ART (Regulation) Act 2021 set up a National ART and Surrogacy Registry, an official record of every clinic allowed to provide these services. When a clinic appears on that register, it has met the basic legal requirements to operate and has agreed to be accountable under the Act.
We show each clinic's registration on its profile because it is the clearest, most verifiable signal of legitimacy available to a patient. It is a fact on a government record, not an opinion or a rating.
The two levels: L1 and L2
The registry sorts clinics into two levels based on the procedures they are approved to carry out.
| Level 1 (L1) | Level 2 (L2) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Basic ART, such as ovulation monitoring and intrauterine insemination (IUI) | Advanced ART, including IVF and ICSI, embryo culture and transfer, and freezing |
| In plain terms | Helps sperm and egg meet inside the body | Fertilisation and embryo work happen in a lab |
| What the badge tells you | The clinic is registered for basic procedures | The clinic is registered for the full IVF pathway |
A higher level is not a quality score. It only describes the range of procedures a clinic is registered to perform. An L2 clinic is not automatically better than an L1 clinic. It is approved for more complex work. If you are likely to need IVF or ICSI, you will be looking for an L2 clinic. If you are starting with IUI, an L1 clinic may be all you need.
Why some clinics show "registered, level unverified"
For a small number of clinics, the registry record does not clearly state a level, or records it in an older format. When that happens we show the clinic as registered but mark the level as unverified, rather than guess. The clinic is still on the official register. We just cannot confirm L1 or L2 from the source, so we say so plainly.
How to read a registration number
Each clinic's registration number is built from a few parts. Reading it can help you confirm you are looking at the right clinic and its level.
Once you understand the badge, the next question is what we do with it. We explain that on how we evaluate clinics, and where the data comes from on our data sources page.
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