Transfer an Old Car’s Registration Number to a New One

First of all, you need to understand that owning a car comes with a lot of responsibilities. Once you buy a car, you need to be responsible for the society, the environment, and the passengers that may sit in your car. That is why you must procure a third-party car insurance policy and a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate.

If you want to protect your car from losses or damages arising due to any unforeseen incident, you may buy a comprehensive car insurance policy. It will cover your car against natural and mad-made mishaps, including fire, theft, vandalism, riot, earthquake, tsunami, storm, flood, lightning, and road accidents, among others.

Now coming back to the topic, it’s essential to register your car with a Regional Transport Office (RTO) before you can drive it on the roads. As per the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, you need to apply for the registration of your car and obtain a Registration Certificate (RC) from the RTO to drive it on Indian roads.

By registering your car with the RTO, you confirm its ownership to the Government. When you apply for the registration of your car, the RTO notes your full name and residential address and links them with the engine number and chassis number of your car. You also get a unique registration number for your car.

This registration number helps the Transport Ministry and other Government authorities to keep track of all vehicles running on roads. In the case of a theft or accident, they may use this registration number to identify the vehicle and its ownership details. The registration number of a vehicle also tells you about the state and RTO in which it is registered.

When you apply for the registration of your car, the RTO may allot a random registration number based on the availability. However, the RTO cannot allot the same registration number to any other vehicle, even when you resell or scrap your existing car.

However, some people like Rohit in the opening few paragraphs of this article may want to keep their old vehicle’s registration number and transfer it to their new vehicle. So the question that arises here is, “If this is possible or not?”

The answer is “Yes”. The Government of India allows you to transfer your old car’s registration number to a new car through a vehicle registration number portability facility. However, to become eligible for using this facility, you will need to own your old registration number for at least three years. In other words, your existing car must be a minimum of three-year-old.

Also, your old car’s number must belong to the four VIP car number categories finalised by the Government for vehicle registration number portability.

As mentioned, the Transport Ministry of India has finalised four categories of vehicle registration numbers that are allowed for portability. These categories are VIP number plates, attractive number plates, most attractive number plates, and other general number plates.

The VIP number plates include unique and costly numbers, such as 0001, 0002, 0007, etc. On the other hand, the attractive number plates include the mildly attractive ones, such as 2244, 1001, 2345, etc. Finally, the third category, i.e., the most attractive number plates, includes highly popular numbers but not the VIP ones, such as 0786, 9999, etc.

The fees that you will have to pay for availing of the vehicle registration number portability facility depend upon the category to which your old car’s number belongs.

You can apply for the portability of your old car’s registration number to a new car online by visiting the Parivahan Seva website. Below are the steps you need to follow:

1. Visit the Parivahan Seva website or click on the link “vahan.parivahan.gov.in/vahaneservice/.”
2. Log in using your User ID and Password. If you don’t have your user id and password, sign up by entering your details on the website.
3. After successful login, move your cursor to “Online Services” and click on “Retention of Registration Number.”
4. Enter your car’s registration number, engine number, and chassis number to generate a One Time Password (OTP).
5. Enter the OTP received on your mobile and click on “Submit.”
6. Go to the “Service Details” and click on “Appointment” to book an appointment at the RTO. Select a suitable date and time from the available slots.
7. Click on the “Pay Fees” to pay the vehicle registration number portability fees online.
8. Take a printout of the receipt and appointment details, and visit the RTO on the selected date and time to complete the formalities.

With constantly emerging technologies and requirements of a superior lifestyle, you cannot avoid the up-gradation of your old car. But, with the Transport Department’s vehicle registration number portability facility, you can keep the registration number of your old car. To port the registration number of your old car, you can simply follow an online procedure and complete the formalities.

Also, you shouldn’t forget to procure a third-party car insurance policy to stay on the right side of the law. If you want to protect your car against adversities, you can buy a comprehensive car insurance policy from Tata AIG. Our four-wheeler insurance policy is easy to purchase and comes with a host of attractive features.