We all know that a driving license is mandatory for us to drive on the Indian roads. Likewise, a vehicle is allowable to be driven in public roads after its registration by the respective registration authority as per the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, section 39. Vehicle Registration is a process whereby you get the number plate of your vehicle and the same is registered under the list and records of the government. The main purpose of registration is to link the owner and the vehicle through a distinct identification number and shows a vehicle registration number plate. It is of extreme importance to register the vehicle to have a separate identity which is given to the vehicle and its owner.
Another important point to note here is that without proper registration, you will not get the coverage for insurance. Therefore, registration certificate or RC book can be defined as a sanctioned and authenticated document which acts as proof that the vehicle is listed and registered in the records of the Government of India. You will have to register the vehicle within 7 days compulsorily from the date of delivery of the vehicle. The transport authority has facilitated to have RC copy downloaded from the website as well.
RC is of two types as follows:
Though the registration is done by the dealers in India as mentioned above, you need not have to spend your time and energy on this, however your certain vital points which you must remember for your knowledge which are stated as below:
As mentioned above authorized dealers of vehicles in India are officially allowed to perform the registration process for the newly bought vehicle on behalf of you when you are buying a new vehicle. The vehicle gets delivered to you only post the process of registration is completed, in this case, the vehicle is being registered through the dealer. You can also do the registration yourself where you have a choice to go to the respective RTO to register your vehicle. Post the authentication of all the required documents and examination of your vehicle, the register gives the registration certificate or the RC book to you and allots registration number to your vehicle. But keeping in mind our busy life, no one opt for the registration by himself or herself, instead wants the car dealers to do the same for us.
The Registration Certificate is typically sent at your registered address within 7 days. But, if you want to know the status of the same in the meantime, you can visit the official site of https://vahan.parivahan.gov.in/vahanservice/vahan/ui/statevalidation/homepage.xhtml.
You need to fill in the registration number and the status of the Registration Certificate will be shown. You have also the option of downloading RC copy if you want to.
Most of us have the tendency of losing important documents, either the same gets misplaced or might be stolen etc. And hence, you need to what you will have to do in such situations. You need to follow the correct process. There might be other situations as well where you would need to get a duplicate RC.
Top #4 Reasons to apply for a duplicate RC:
Now let us see the below-stated process if your RC is stolen, lost or damaged and you can easily get a duplicate Registration Certificate:
Now let us have a look at the fees for getting theregistration certificate. Here given belowlist of RC fees for the vehicles
The following is the list of RC fees for some of the key type of vehicles: Apart from below, an extra fee of INR 200 is applicable if the RC is a smart card which has been issued or is renewed under Form number 23A.
Type of Vehicle |
Amount (INR) |
Light Motor Vehicle used for Non-Transport |
600 |
Light Motor Vehicle used for Transport |
1000 |
Two Wheelers |
300 |
Vehicles with medium goods |
1000 |
Vehicles with medium passengers |
1000 |
Vehicles with heavy goods |
1500 |
Vehicles with heavy passengers |
1500 |
Imported Motor vehicle |
5000 |
Imported Motor Cycle |
2500 |
Other vehicles not appearing in the above list |
3000 |
Like you the details which are mentioned in your PAN card like your name, date of birth, signature etc. You must be wondering what are the details which are present in the RC or the smart card. Let us see the details that can be seen in your RC Card or smart card:
These days where everything is waterproof and is laminated to avoid the document getting soiled, torn etc, likewise an RC book also can be converted to a smart card which is again a tamper-proof plastic card with an fixed microprocessor chip of 64 KB memory size that has all information about you as the owner of the vehicle with details of the vehicle as well. One can have the RC copy download in the same way as explained above.
So now, are you still worried as to what will you do if you have lost your smart card or the RC book? Well, surely you are not as you know by now what exactly you need to do in those situations and how to apply for a duplicate RC book or a smart card. So, go ahead, apply for a duplicate RC or the smart card needed and have a safe drive.
Yes, you are allowed to transfer your RC from one state to the other, however, you will have to obtain a no-objection certificate issued from the RTO where the vehicle was registered initially.
The below documents are needed for a change of address in the RC book
Cases where there is an unfortunate death of the vehicle owner, the vehicle must be re-registered by the legal heirs of the owner who is deceased. The following documents are needed:
The owner might want to take away or sell the vehicle outside the domain of the registering authority or to any other State. In such cases, the owner will have to give an application with the below documents to go ahead with the respective RTO where the vehicle was originally registered.