RTO Offices in India: Find Yours and Decode Any Plate
An RTO, or Regional Transport Office, is the government office that registers vehicles, issues driving licences and collects road tax for the district you live in. Which office is yours is decided by your address, not by which one is nearest, and that is the part people get wrong. Pick your state below to see every office it runs, the codes they issue, what each service costs, and what your next car will cost to register.
Find Your RTO Office
Pick your state and city to see every RTO office in it, with the address, the timings and the areas each one covers.
Jurisdiction is the part people get wrong. An office three kilometres away may still not be the one that can register your car — it is decided by your address, not by distance.
Decode a Number Plate
Enter any Indian registration number and we will tell you which state issued it, which office the code belongs to, and roughly how old the series is.
Both formats work: a normal state plate like MH 12 AB 1234, and a BH (Bharat) series plate, which stays valid when you move state.
Browse RTO Offices by State
The Most Searched RTO Offices in India
The offices people look up most often, with the code each one issues. Editors curate this list in the CMS.
What an RTO Does: The Eight Jobs You Will Actually Need
Most people visit an RTO three or four times in a lifetime. These are the tasks that bring them there, and how much of each is now online.
Your dealer usually files this, but the registration certificate is issued in your name by the office that covers your address. Needs Form 20, with Form 21 and Form 22 from the dealer and manufacturer.
Both the buyer and the seller have to file, which is why used-car deals stall here. Form 29 is the seller's intimation, Form 30 the buyer's application.
You need an NOC when the vehicle moves to a different RTO, inside your state or out of it. Apply on Form 28 at the office that registered it; the office confirms no dues or cases are pending.
Once your car loan is repaid, the lender's name stays on the RC until you remove it. Form 35 plus the lender's no-dues letter clears it, and an uncleared RC will hold up a future sale.
The learner test is online in most states now. The permanent licence needs a driving test at an office with a test track, so not every office can do it.
Renew within a year of expiry and it is a simple online application. Past that you may be asked to retake the test, so the date matters more than the paperwork.
High security registration plates are mandatory nationwide. You book through your state portal or the manufacturer's site and have them fitted at an approved centre, not at the RTO counter.
New vehicles pay a one-time lifetime tax at registration. If you move states you may owe tax again in the new state, with a partial refund due from the old one.
What Will Your Next Car Cost to Register?
Pick a car and a state to see the road tax, insurance and on-road price.
Indian Number Plate Format
Every plate carries four pieces of information, and each one tells you something.
What each block on the plate means:
- State code, the first two letters. MH is Maharashtra, KA is Karnataka, TN is Tamil Nadu. There are 36 in use.
- RTO code, the two digits. These identify the registering office. MH-12 is Pune. A large city can run several side by side, the way Gurgaon uses HR-26, HR-55 and HR-72.
- Series, the letter pair. Issued in order as numbers run out, which makes it the closest thing a plate has to a date stamp.
- Unique number, the last four digits. Allotted in sequence unless you book a choice number.
The consequence shows up when a vehicle leaves the state it was registered in. Past twelve months you need an NOC from the original office and, in most states, to re-register and pay tax again where you now live.
RTO, ARTO, RTO Circle and Check Post: What Is the Difference?
All four are transport department offices, but they do not offer the same services. Going to the wrong one is the most common reason a first visit is wasted.
What is an RTO?
The full office for a district or a city zone, headed by a Regional Transport Officer. It does everything: registration, licences, permits, tax and transfers, and it issues its own RTO code.
What is an ARTO?
An Additional or Assistant RTO. In practice it is a full-service office, usually created when one district outgrows a single RTO, and it gets its own code, the way Gurgaon South took HR-72.
What is an RTO Circle?
A smaller sub-office under an RTO. It handles routine work such as licence renewals, address changes and tax receipts, but may not run driving tests or issue a new series of its own.
What is a Check Post?
A border or highway post, not a service office. It exists to check permits, tax and documents on vehicles in transit. You cannot register a vehicle or apply for a licence at one.
What each office can actually do
| Service | RTO | ARTO | RTO Circle | Check Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New vehicle registration | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Driving test and permanent licence | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Licence renewal and address change | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Road tax payment and receipt | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Ownership transfer and NOC | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Commercial permits and fitness | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Document check on vehicles in transit | No | No | No | Yes |
Why Car Prices Vary by State in India
Road tax is set by each state, so registering an identical car can cost three times as much depending on where you live.
Figures below are for a car at Rs. 15,00,000 ex-showroom. Pick a make and model to price your own.
| State | Rate applied | Road tax payable |
|---|---|---|
| Haryana | 8% of ex-showroom | Rs. 1,20,000 |
| Delhi | 10% of ex-showroom | Rs. 1,50,000 |
| West Bengal | 10% of ex-showroom | Rs. 1,50,000 |
| Maharashtra | 12% of ex-showroom | Rs. 1,80,000 |
| Telangana | 17% of ex-showroom | Rs. 2,55,000 |
| Tamil Nadu | 18% of ex-showroom | Rs. 2,70,000 |
Rates are the lifetime tax on a private petrol car and change with state notifications. Open a state page for its current slabs.
Looking for a Traffic Challan?
Challans are issued by the traffic police, not by the RTO, and they are paid on a separate portal.
Frequently Asked Questions
RTO stands for Regional Transport Office. It is the state transport department office that registers vehicles, issues driving licences, collects road tax and grants permits for the district it covers.
Your RTO is decided by your residential address, not by which office is closest. Enter your pin code in the finder at the top of this page, or open your state page and check the office list against your district.
Most RTOs are closed on the second and fourth Saturday of the month and open on the others, on shorter hours and usually for payments and collections only. Sundays and state government holidays are closed.
The RTO code is the two-digit number after the state letters on a plate, and it identifies the office that registered the vehicle. In MH-12-AB-1234, MH is Maharashtra and 12 is the Pune office.
A lot of it, yes. Learner licence tests, renewals, address changes, duplicate RCs, NOC applications and tax payments are online on Parivahan and Sarathi. A driving test, and usually document verification, still needs a counter visit.
No. Every service has an official fee published by the transport department and an online application route. An agent only saves you the queue, so anything charged above the statutory fee is convenience, not a government charge.
The registration fee itself is small, but the road tax on top of it is the real cost and it is set by your state, ranging from about 6 to 20 per cent of the ex-showroom price. Use the calculator on this page for your car and state.
Beyond twelve months you need an NOC from your original RTO, then have to re-register in the new state and pay its road tax. You can claim a partial refund of the tax already paid in the state you left.
Fees and tax rates checked against state transport department notifications and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.