What is Registration and Re-Registration of Vehicles?

Bringing home a new vehicle is a matter of great joy and excitement for the whole family. But this joy comes with the trouble of undergoing various procedures to get the vehicle registration done by the authorities. You can put yourself in legal trouble by driving your new vehicle without the RC or the Registration Certificate.

Thanks to the growth of the ‘Digital India’ campaign, things are getting simplified, and one such cumbersome procedure that got simplified is the registration of a vehicle through an official site called “VAHAN”.

Let us dig deeper to discover all about vehicle registration and re-registration of a vehicle in India.

What is Vehicle Registration?

Vehicle registration is a legal procedure to obtain official authorization from a designated agency or the government to drive a vehicle on public roads. It is mandatory to obtain a vehicle registration after verifying the records of taxation, road rage, and similar facts about the vehicle owner. The original registration of a vehicle is done when it is first purchased. The Registration Certificate or the RC along with the license plate is often obtained from the Department of Motor or DMV once the vehicle is registered.

What is the Re-Registration of a Vehicle?

As soon as the vehicle becomes 15 years old, it needs a re-registration, otherwise, you can be penned with heavy fines. During this procedure, all the details such as the insurance, tax, criminal record, and the fitness of the vehicle in terms of pollution control are verified.

Sometimes the original RC of a vehicle becomes invalid when one shifts to another state, and in that case, also one has to re-register the vehicle in the new state. The third instance, where one must re-register the vehicle is when one transfers the vehicle to someone else.

The table below shows the summary of when re-registration of a vehicle becomes mandatory:

Re-Registration Reason	Explanation
Ownership Issue	When the original owner sells the car to someone else (a second-hand user)
State Issue	When a registered vehicle is transferred to some other state
Address Issue	When there is a change of address must be updated in the vehicle registration status

What is VAHAN?

“VAHAN”, is a Sanskrit word that means vehicle. It is a comprehensive system launched by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to simplify the procedure for vehicle registration. Through the VAHAN portal, a vehicle owner can apply for a vehicle registration or re-registration from the comfort of his/ her home.

What is the Procedure for Re-Registration of a Vehicle After 15 Years?

Having learned why it is important to re-register a vehicle after 15 years, here is a detailed explanation of how it is done. Vehicle re-registration is done by following these steps:

Submit duly filled Form 25
Submit the original vehicle registration certificate
Get the vehicle inspected at the RTO
Pay the re-registration fee at the RTO cash counter
Get all the documents (pollution control, taxation, insurance, and insurance) verified at the RTO office
Receive the new re-registration certificate for your vehicle

How to Change the Vehicle Registration Details?

At times, one may consider changing some details in the original vehicle registration certificate, such as the address. In that case, follow these steps to change the vehicle registration details during the re-registration of the car:

Gather all the revenant documents
Visit the Registering Authority Office of the original RC
Get your vehicle inspected by an official
Get the re-registration certificate

How to Re-Register Vehicles Crossing State Borders?

Mentioned below are the requirements for re-registering your vehicle upon crossing a state border:

The original RC obtains in the other state
An attested copy of an address ID valid in the new state
An attested copy of the pollution under control certificate, road tax payment proof, and insurance proof
An attested copy of a valid PAN card, and in the absence of the PAN Card, a duly filled copy of Form 60/ 61
A duly filled copy of Form 20
A duly filled copy of Form 27
A duly filled copy of Form 28
Clearance certificate from the National Crime Record Bureau of India

What is the Cost of Re-Registering a Vehicle?

The cost of registering a new vehicle is cheaper than the cost of re-registering a vehicle older than 15 years. Any delay in applying for registration of your vehicle may make you a defaulter and liable to pay heavy penalties.

Have a look at the table below to understand the cost of re-registration of a vehicle in India:

Type of Vehicle	Cost of Re-Registration
Two-Wheeler Vehicle	Rs. 1,000
Light Four-Wheeler Vehicle like a Car	Rs. 5,000
Imported Four-Wheeler Vehicle	Rs. 40,000

Registration and Re-Registration of Vehicles

Petrol-driven vehicles can run on Indian roads, for a maximum of 15 years. Diesel-driven vehicles can be driven for a maximum of 10 years. Vehicles crossing the maximum limit will be fined as per the norms of different states of India.

All vehicles driven in India need to abide by the Central Motor Vehicle Rules. All private vehicles must be re-registered after 15 years and all commercial vehicles must be re-registered after 20 years from the original registration.

The cost of re-registration of a vehicle in Delhi was approx. Rs. 600, but w.e.f. April 1st, 2022, the revised cost for the same is Rs. 5,000. It applies to all vehicles over 15 years old. The revised cost of re-registration of a two-wheeler in Delhi has also increased from Rs. 300 to Rs. 1,000.

There was a special provision laid for vehicle scrapping in the Union Budget 2023-24. Adequate funds were allocated to facilitate the procedure to replace vehicles that are older than 15 years.

In India, the Registration Certificate or RC of a vehicle should be renewed after 15 years from the date of the first registration. Post that the RC should be renewed after every 5 years, till the time the vehicle is considered safe by the RTO.

The scrap value of a car depends on its actual weight. Generally, it is between approx. Rs. 15- 20 per Kg of metal scraped from the car.

Author Bio

Paybima Team

Paybima is an Indian insurance aggregator on a mission to make insurance simple for people. Paybima is the Digital arm of the already established and trusted Mahindra Insurance Brokers Ltd., a reputed name in the insurance broking industry with 17 years of experience. Paybima promises you the easy-to-access online platform to buy insurance policies, and also extend their unrelented assistance with all your policy related queries and services.

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