Vehicle Registration Process

Owning a car is a dream for most people living in India. If you wish to own a car, it is inevitable to go through certain processes associated with purchase and registration. When you buy a new car, your car dealer can do the registration for you in exchange for a certain price. You also have the option of finding an agent to do the registration work for you.

Though this saves a lot of time, these two options cost some extra money than what the registration process is supposed to. If you feel that the vehicle registration process is not worth spending the extra money, you can do it yourself and save some money. The following process will guide you on how to register your car in the regional transport office (RTO).

Documents to Be Collected from Your Car Dealer

There is a list of documents that you must collect from your car dealer before you visit the RTO to initiate the registration process. Make sure that you get everything in the list in order to begin the vehicle registration process.

• Original invoice - both retail invoice and manufacturer invoice
• Sale certificate - a copy of Form 21 can be downloaded from the RTO website
• A copy of insurance documents issued by the dealer
• Pollution under control (PUC) certificate - Form 22
• Form 34 for adding details about loan hypothecation (if applicable)
• Temporary registration number

Documents to Be Submitted with the RTO

Once you have collected the above mentioned documents from your car dealer, you can initiate the proceedings in the registration process. In addition to the above documents, you must also carry the following in order to successfully register your car.

• Form 20 - application for registration of your car
• Identity proof - List of acceptable documents include PAN card, Aadhar Card, Voter ID, passport, driving license, etc.
• Proof of residence - List of acceptable documents include Aadhar card, ration card, voter ID, account statement from a nationalized bank, registered rent agreement, utility bill, etc.
• Photographs - have at least 3 copies
• Sales tax clearance certificate - applicable only if a vehicle is bought in one state and registered in another state
• No objection certificate (NOC) from RTO and dealer - applicable only if a vehicle is bought in one state and registered in another state

Disclaimer: The list of documents required for vehicle registration may vary from one city to another. For instance, rent agreement is not accepted as a valid address proof in Delhi. You can check with the local RTO about the documents acceptable for vehicle registration.

Fees to Be Paid for Vehicle Registration

There are certain fees that must be paid by the applicant in order to successfully register a car with the RTO. Except for the road tax, the charges are pretty standard in different parts of the country. Here is a list of charges may be applicable during car registration.

Registration fee - Following the twelfth amendment of the Motor Vehicle Act, the basic registration fee for a car has been increased to Rs.600.

Road tax - Payment of road tax is one of the major aspects of the registration process. If your dealer has already charged for the road tax, you must collect a demand draft from the dealer for the correct tax amount. This must be submitted to the RTO along with other registration documents.

Hypothecation charges - If you have taken a loan on your vehicle, there will be some additional charges related to processing of the hypothecation. Check with your RTO regarding the amount charged for this purpose.

In addition to the charges mentioned here, there might be some additional charges associated with registration. Make sure that you have some extra money if the charges exceed your expected amount. For road tax, the percentage of amount charged varies from one city to another. Check the RTO’s website to know the exact percentage. You can also check with an official in the RTO to calculate the exact road tax amount.

Registration Process for New Cars

Now that you have a clear understanding of the list of documents required for the registration process, you can visit the RTO office in your neighborhood and start the vehicle registration process. There are certain fees that must be paid during the registration process. When you visit the RTO, make sure that you carry enough money to pay the registration fees. The step-by-step process to be followed during registration can be given as follows.

Step 1: Visit the RTO with all the documents mentioned above. Make sure that the application form and other forms (Form 21, 22, 34, etc.) are filled at home before you visit the RTO. Also, make sure that you have the demand draft for the road tax payable.

Step 2: Once you have all the required documents, you can visit the local RTO in your city or town and submit the vehicle registration form along with all the documents. Also, pay the charges in the respective counters. It is better to have at least two photocopies of all documents mentioned in the list.

Step 3: The processing may take 2 to 3 days (sometimes longer) in the RTO. Once the documents are processed, you can receive the vehicle number from the RTO. You can also collect all the valid registration documents during this time.

In most places across the country, the registration process is quite simple and straightforward. The guidelines to be followed will be displayed in all RTO offices and their official websites. Make sure that you read all these guidelines before you visit the RTO for vehicle registration. RTO offices get hundreds of applications everyday. If you have all the documents arranged in order during submission, the vehicle registration process will go much smoother.

Re-registration in a New State

Re-registration typically happens when you move to a different state and register your vehicle there. The documents to be carried for re-registration is pretty much the same. This includes address proof, id proof, vehicle registration document, PUC certificate, loan hypothecation details, insurance details, etc.

In addition to all this, you must have the NOC from your previous registering authority. Instead of Form 20, you must fill in Form 25 for the re-registration process. One of the key things to note here is that you must pay road tax to the state government to which you are moving. Calculate the road tax amount for the state and pay the same. Once you submit all the documents, the whole processing might take up to 15 days and a new registration number will be issued.

Conclusion

By following the above guidelines, you can register your car on your own without depending on your dealer or any third-party brokers. Registering a vehicle need not necessarily be a hassle that you have to face. However, you must be well-informed of the procedures before you visit the RTO office. In addition to reading these guidelines, check the RTO website for any other specific rules that must follow. Once all the documents are properly collected and submitted, vehicle registration process is both simple and straightforward.