Andhra Pradesh: RTO code list and details

Andhra Pradesh RTOs are run by the state Transport Department, and unlike most states, they no longer give each office its own code on new plates. Since January 2019, new vehicles get a statewide code instead, first AP 39 and then AP 40, whichever Regional Transport Office (RTO) registers them.

A new Andhra Pradesh plate has the same four parts as any Indian plate, with one difference. In AP 39 AB 1234, AP is the state code, 39 is the statewide code, AB is the series and 1234 is the four-digit number, so 39 shows the state but not the office that registered the car.

Andhra Pradesh plates changed in 2019. Before then, each district had its own code, so older vehicles still carry numbers such as AP-16 for Krishna district or AP-31 for Visakhapatnam. AP 40 came later as a second statewide series. Under the Transport Department rules, series starting with T, U, V, W, X or Y are used only for transport vehicles.

An old district code and an AP 39 number behave the same way when the owner moves house: Neither one changes for a move to another part of Andhra Pradesh. The number changes only if the vehicle is registered again outside Andhra Pradesh, or if its registration details are changed.

For the High Security Registration Plate (HSRP), the dividing line is a date, not a code. A vehicle registered on or after 1 April 2019 came with the plate fitted by the maker and dealer, while an older one, such as a car with the old code AP-26, needs one fitted. The requirement is in Rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) notified it on 4 December 2018 in G.S.R. 1162(E), and on 6 December 2018 in S.O. 6052.

Older Andhra Pradesh vehicles without the plate

Vehicles registered before 1 April 2019 must have the High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) fitted by the dates Andhra Pradesh sets. The plate itself is the same on an AP-16 car from Krishna district as on a new AP 39 car.

Worth knowing: The rule is national, but the fitting dates are the state’s. Book your plate installation through the booking portal named on the Andhra Pradesh transport department website, and check the date for your AP vehicle there.

Vehicles registered in Andhra Pradesh before 2019 carry the code of the district that registered them. Larger districts had more than one code: Krishna had AP-16 to AP-19 and Visakhapatnam had AP-31 to AP-34.

Since January 2019, new registrations have used the statewide series instead: AP 39, and AP 40 after it. The old codes stay on a vehicle for as long as it is registered in Andhra Pradesh, and a car with an old district code does not need a new AP 39 number.

The Andhra Pradesh Transport Department lists 26 RTOs, from Srikakulam in the north to Hindupur in the south. Even though all of them issue AP 39, you deal with the one that covers the address on your Registration Certificate (RC).

Visakhapatnam has three RTOs, Visakhapatnam RTO 1, Visakhapatnam RTO 2 and Gajuwaka, and Vijayawada has two, Vijayawada RTO 1 and RTO 2. New vehicles from all of them get AP 39.

Older Visakhapatnam vehicles carry AP-31 to AP-34, and older Vijayawada vehicles carry the Krishna district codes, AP-16 to AP-19.

People often look up an Andhra Pradesh RTO by its town rather than its code, since new plates no longer show the office. The table pairs each main town with its RTO and the old code that its older vehicles may show.

Nellore RTO

Nellore RTO registers new vehicles under AP 39. Older Nellore vehicles carry the district code AP-26.

Chittoor RTO

Chittoor RTO registers new vehicles under AP 39. Older Chittoor vehicles carry the district code AP-03, and Gudur RTO is listed under Tirupati district.

Kadapa RTO

For Kadapa district, the department directory lists the RTO at Proddatur. Older Kadapa vehicles carry the district code AP-04.

Unlike a yearly tax, Andhra Pradesh life tax is paid once, at the first registration in the state, as a percentage of the vehicle’s cost. A new car pays 12% up to ₹10 lakhs and 14% above, a new two-wheeler pays 9%, and a second car or a company-owned car pays 14%. Since 13 January 2026, a road safety cess of 10% of the life tax is added on top.

For example, a car costing ₹8 lakhs pays life tax of 12%, which is ₹96,000, plus a cess of ₹9,600, so ₹1,05,600 in all. A car costing ₹12 lakhs pays ₹1,68,000 plus ₹16,800, which is ₹1,84,800. If the ₹8 lakhs car is your second car, it pays ₹1,12,000 plus ₹11,200, which is ₹1,23,200.

Life tax on a new two-wheeler

A new motorcycle or scooter pays life tax of 9% of its cost, whatever its engine size, plus the 10% cess on that tax. For example, a motorcycle costing ₹90,000 pays ₹8,100 of life tax and ₹810 of cess, which is ₹8,910 in all.

The rates in both tables are a percentage of the cost of the vehicle. Check the amount shown on Vahan, including the road safety cess, before you pay.

Unlike the national RTO fees, these rates are the state’s own and can be revised, so compare them with the amount on Vahan before paying.

Andhra Pradesh decides its own life tax, but the RTO service fees come from Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, so Srikakulam charges the same as Hindupur. Pay them on Vahan or at your RTO when you register a vehicle, change its owner, or renew or replace the Registration Certificate (RC).

Paid separately: The HSRP, the life tax with its 10% road safety cess, and any state service charge are not part of these fees. Unlike the life tax, these fees stay the same whatever the car costs.

In Andhra Pradesh, the dealer applies to register a new private car on the Vahan portal, so you do not need to take the car to the RTO for most registrations. Life tax, cess and the registration fee are added to the car’s price, as in most states, but the number you receive is the statewide AP 39 rather than an office code. The Registration Certificate (RC) follows once the RTO approves the application.

Important to know: The dealer needs a valid policy to register the car, but it does not have to be the dealer’s own offer. Buying the policy yourself before delivery day lets you compare plans first.

Whether the car shows AP 39 or an old code such as AP-26, a sale is recorded the same way: On Vahan, or at the RTO named on the RC. The forms, the fee and the 14-day insurance deadline do not depend on the code.

Removing a loan (hypothecation) from the RC in Andhra Pradesh

Adding a loan and removing one use different forms. Form 34 records the loan when a car is bought on finance. Once the last instalment is paid, the lender’s No Objection Certificate and Form 35 take it off: Apply on Vahan, and the RTO issues an updated RC without the loan.

Andhra Pradesh may differ from other states in its codes, but its online RTO services are the national ones. Vehicle work runs on the Vahan portal and licence work on the Sarathi portal, both reached through the Parivahan Sewa website, and an RTO visit is needed only for steps such as the driving test.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Andhra Pradesh

A replacement RC and a status check are two different jobs. If the RC is lost, stolen or damaged, the replacement is applied for with Form 26 on Vahan, at the duplicate RC fee in the fees table. To see where an AP registration stands, use Parivahan Sewa or mParivahan, or check your RC status with Kiwi Insurance.

Driving licence services in Andhra Pradesh

Vehicle work goes to Vahan, while every licence step goes to Sarathi: The learner’s licence, the driving test, renewing a licence and an International Driving Permit. Their paper forms, Form 2 and Form 4A, are in the forms grid below.

The amounts below are national, from the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, while Andhra Pradesh can compound some offences at its own amounts. So the challan, not this table, shows what is due on your vehicle.

Look up and pay a challan on echallan.parivahan.gov.in or in the mParivahan app. A number with an old district code is searched in the same way as an AP 39 number.

Keep in mind: Most of these fines depend on how a car is driven. The ₹2,000 fine for driving uninsured depends only on whether the policy is current, so renewing it on time avoids it.

If you are leaving Andhra Pradesh, the order is reversed: Get the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from your AP office first, register the car in the new state, and then claim back the unused Andhra Pradesh life tax.

AP 39 shows that a car was registered in Andhra Pradesh. A Bharat series (BH) number has no state code at all, so the same number is valid in every state, and an owner who moves needs no No Objection Certificate (NOC) and no new registration mark. It is meant for people whose work moves them from state to state.

The series dates from 2021, two years after AP 39: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) notification G.S.R. 594(E) of 26 August 2021 brought it in from 15 September 2021. G.S.R. 879(E) of 14 December 2022 then allowed a Bharat series (BH) vehicle to change owners and an existing registration to be converted.

The format is YY BH #### XX, where YY is the year of first registration, the four digits are allotted at random, and XX represents the alphabetic series, which can be a single letter or two letters. It is black on a white plate, like any other private car.

Set against the state’s own tax: An AP 39 car pays life tax of 12% or 14% of its cost once, plus the 10% road safety cess, whereas a BH car pays the rate above for each 2-year block.

Keep in mind: An AP 39 car that leaves the state needs an NOC and a new registration, and its owner claims back unused life tax. A BH car needs none of these steps.

Andhra Pradesh sets its own life tax, but its RTO forms are the national ones from the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. Most are filled in online on Vahan or Sarathi, and the PDF can be printed if an office still asks for a paper form.

A used car sale uses two of these forms, Form 29 from the seller and Form 30 from both people. After the RC change, moving the insurance to the buyer must happen within 14 days.

Worth knowing: Forms go to the RTO named on your RC. On an older car the code still points to the district, such as AP-16 for Krishna, while the RC of an AP 39 car names the office. Some services also ask for address proof or a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate, and the Parivahan Sewa website lists what each one needs. Any form missing from the grid is in the complete list on the Parivahan Sewa website.

Worth knowing: A sale needs two transfers, the RC at the RTO and the policy with the insurer. If both are completed within the same 14 days, the car is never uninsured after the sale.