A practical, step-by-step look at starting a courier franchise in India — from choosing a hub tier and location to the application, agreement, and go-live timeline with IndiaKart Express.
Starting a courier franchise in India comes down to five real steps, and most of the confusion people have is about steps 1 and 2 — everything after that is paperwork and setup. Step 1: Pick the right hub tier for your location. If you're in a single town or a pin code cluster with no existing courier hub nearby, a Mini Hub is the right entry point. If you're in a district town that could realistically feed several Mini Hubs, look at a City Hub instead. Don't over-apply for a State Hub unless you already have logistics operating experience — it's a much larger commitment. Step 2: Check serviceability and competition. Use the Serviceability tool on our website to see whether your target pin codes are already covered by an existing IndiaKart Express hub. Franchise territories are assigned to avoid two partners competing for the same pin codes, so an under-served area is a real advantage in your application. Step 3: Submit the inquiry and go through the discovery call. Fill out the Apply for Franchise form with your location, expected investment range, and any prior retail or logistics experience. Our franchise team runs a discovery call within a few working days to confirm territory availability and walk through the commercial terms — commission structure, COD float requirements, and minimum shipment volume expectations. Step 4: Sign the agreement and get onboarded. This covers the formal partnership terms, followed by technology onboarding — access to the hub-ops dashboard, rider app setup, and training on inscan/outscan, COD reconciliation, and NDR handling. Most partners are trained and comfortable with the software within a week. Step 5: Go live. Your hub starts receiving inbound shipments from the parent City or State Hub, and outbound pickups from local sellers and customers begin. Early volume typically ramps over the first 60-90 days as your hub gets added to serviceable-pincode listings across marketplaces and seller platforms that route through IndiaKart Express. The realistic timeline from application to go-live is usually 3-5 weeks, most of it spent on step 3 (discovery and paperwork) rather than anything technically complicated.