How To Transfer Your Car From One State To Another

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Registering your car with the government authority is mandated by the law in India. It is necessary to register your vehicle so that there is clear ownership established between the individual and the vehicle. It also helps in taxing car owners in the right way.

All vehicles are associated with a license or registration number that is displayed on the number plate. This is issued by the Regional Transport Office (RTO) at the district level.

Conditions That Necessitate Re-Registration:

When an individual moves his/her vehicle from one state to another and intends to use the vehicle for more than 1 year following that, he/she will have to re-register the car in the new state. The road tax/lifetime tax will have to be paid again and this will depend on the depreciated value of the car. After this, the vehicle owner will have to get the reimbursement of paid road tax from the previous state by submitting the new road tax receipt. He/she will then have to follow the re-registration regulations of the new state.

There are several car owners who approach middlemen for the required work, as they assume that the process involved is long-winded and complicated. Here, we elaborate on the vehicle re-registration process after inter-state transfer for your understanding and reference.

Step 1 - Procure The No Objection Certificate (NOC) From The Traffic Department:

In order to get the NOC from the Regional Transport Office (RTO), the car owner will have to submit two NOCs, as indicated below:

• NOC from the traffic police that indicates there are no fines pending with the individual.
• A report from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) that clarifies that the car was not involved in any accident and was not stolen. This is required in some states.

The documents required to get NOC from the NCRB and traffic department are listed below:

1. A letter addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Traffic
2. Copy of the car’s RC, insurance papers, and Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate
3. Driving license copy
4. Address proof of the car owner - This can be the driving license, ration card, passport, or bank passbook
5. Clearance letter from the financing bank, if the car is under a loan

You should ensure that you carry all the original documents when you visit the Traffic Police office for the verification process. The NOC may be provided after a few days. The process of getting the NOC from NCRB is similar to that for the NOC from the traffic department.

Step 2 - Visit The Rto With Relevant Documents:

After the NOCs from the traffic department and NCRB are obtained, the car owner will have to visit the RTO with the documents listed below:

1. Form 28 - This is the Application for No Objection Certificate and Grant of Certificate
2. Copy of the Registration Certificate, attested
3. Documents that indicate the payment of the road tax - This is applicable for only commercial vehicles
4. The car’s valid insurance document
5. Valid PUC Certificate of the car
6. NOC from the traffic police that indicates the absence of any fines or dues
7. Clearance from NCRB - This is needed only in some states
8. NOC from the financing bank if the car is under hypothecation

The car owner should take care to fill up Form 28 accurately. If all fields are not updated, then it is necessary to write “N/A” in the fields that are not relevant.

Step 3 - Submission Of The Documents:

The car owner should submit all the aforementioned documents to the RTO and pay the applicable fees. It may take a few days to receive the NOC. As soon as the car owner receives the NOC from the RTO, he/she can request for re-registration of the vehicle in the new state.

Step 4 - Vehicle Re-Registration After Interstate Transfer:

The car owner can approach the RTO in the new state and apply for re-registration of the vehicle. The documents required for re-registration are as follows:

1. Registration certificate from another state, in original
2. Form 20 - This is the application form for the registration of a vehicle
3. The NOC that the car owner has received from the previous RTO
4. Form 27 - This is the application form for assigning new registration certificate to a vehicle (If the car is under hypothecation, a duplicate copy of this will be returned to the financing bank after the re-registration process)
5. Form 33 - This form intimates about the change of address in the registration certificate
6. Copy of the address proof, attested
7. Copy of the valid driving license of the car owner, attested
8. Attested copy of the PUC Certificate
9. PAN Card, Form 60, or Form 61, as relevant
10. Passport sized photos of the applicant
11. Lending bank NOC if the vehicle is under a loan

Some states require the No Objection Certificate from the NCRB to proceed with re-registration. After all the above documents are submitted, the new registration number will be issued in a few weeks time. You should visit the RTO in case there is a long delay in issuance of the registration mark.

It is also important to inform your insurance company of the re-registration and get this updated in the insurance document through an endorsement.

Step 5 - Payment Of Road Tax:

The car owner is required pay road tax again in the new state he/she has moved to. The RTO officer will calculate the road tax on the basis of the original invoice of the vehicle. The applicant will have to pay the road tax through a demand draft. After this payment, he/she can get the previous road tax reimbursed. The documents required for processing the road tax refund are as follows:

1. Application for road tax refund
2. Updated and signed Form 16, which is essentially the applicant’s salary certificate from the employer
3. Copy of the new registration certificate
4. Copy of the old registration certificate
5. Insurance policy with new registration number
6. Proof of ID
7. Address proof

After the submission of the above documents, the RTO in the new state will contact the RTO in the old state for registration number authentication. The old RTO will also seek confirmation of re-registration through an intimation referred to as CRTI. Once the old RTO receives the CRTI, the refund request will be processed. It could take up to 6 months to get the road tax refund.

How To Cancel Noc If You Change Your Mind:

Consider a scenario in which your vehicle was registered in one state, say Kerala. You then decided to get it moved to Karnataka and requested for an NOC. Due to personal problems, you were unable to move for an extended period of time. Hence, you will not be required to re-register your vehicle in Karnataka.

In this scenario, you will have to apply for the cancellation of the NOC you received from the original RTO. You will have to approach the RTO and request for the procedure to cancel the NOC. The procedure involves the procurement of a Non Utilisation Certificate (NUC) of NOC. This will have to be obtained from the RTO to which the NOC was initially addressed.

Points To Note:

1. Road tax varies between states and is also dependent on the age of the car.
2. If the car is registered in one state and is then moved and used in another state for more than 12 months, the application for re-registration of the car should be submitted within 30 days from the date of expiry of 12 months.
3. If this is not done, the car owner will have to bear a penalty on the road tax.
4. You should remember to carry all the relevant documents when approaching the RTO to get your vehicle re-registered. You may also be required to submit a blank self-addressed envelope affixed with stamps.

In conclusion, the process of re-registration of your vehicle after inter-state transfer is a complicated process. But if you are aware of the formalities and prepared with the paperwork, you will not face too many issues while proceeding on your own. It is not necessary to get an agent involved in the process if you have done your homework. It is advisable to initiate the process as soon as you decide to shift, as re-registration may take up to a month for completion.