Arunachal Pradesh: RTO code list and details

Every AR number plate has four parts, as AR 01 AB 1234 shows. AR stands for Arunachal Pradesh, 01 for the first Itanagar office, AB for the letter series and 1234 for the four-digit number that belongs to that vehicle alone.

The two digits after AR record the office that registered the vehicle, whichever district the owner lives in now. A move to another district of Arunachal Pradesh does not change the AR code. The code changes in two cases only: The vehicle is re-registered in another state, or its registration details are changed.

Worth knowing: AR-01 and AR-02 are both Itanagar. The second code was opened as the first filled up, so the number does not tell you which part of the capital a car comes from.

HSRP fitting for older AR vehicles

A vehicle registered before 1 April 2019 must have a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) fitted by the deadline the state sets. The booking portal for the installation is named on the Arunachal Pradesh Transport Department website, which also shows the date for your AR vehicle.

Worth knowing: AR-03 is still AR-03 after the new plate is fitted. Only the plate is replaced, so a Tawang car keeps its Tawang code.

Arunachal Pradesh codes run from AR-01 to AR-26, grouped here by region since the state is large and its districts are far apart. Each code points to the office of registration rather than to the owner’s present address.

A few older lists map these codes to different towns, since offices have moved and districts have been created. The grouping above follows the lists that agree with each other, and is worth confirming with the Transport Department.

The capital region has two codes, AR-01 and AR-02, both covering Itanagar and Naharlagun in Papum Pare district. The second was opened as the first series filled up, so they are not separate areas.

Between them these two handle more registrations than any other office in the state, since the capital region holds much of the state’s traffic.

Arunachal Pradesh has created several districts since 2014, and unlike some north eastern states it has given most of them their own transport office and code. That is why the series runs all the way to AR-26.

The newest AR codes

AR-21 Siang, AR-22 Lower Siang, AR-23 Kamle, AR-24 Pakke-Kessang, AR-25 Leparada and AR-26 Shi-Yomi all belong to districts created in the last ten years.

Arunachal Pradesh towns that changed name

AR-08 is listed in older sources as Along, which is now written Aalo, and AR-11 appears as both Lohit and Tezu, the district and its headquarters. Both refer to the same office.

Worth knowing: A new district does not change the number on an existing plate. The code reflects the office that registered the vehicle at the time.

Arunachal Pradesh charges a one-time tax on the cost of the car, covering 15 years. The rates are low by national standards, starting at 2.5% and rising in steps to 6.5% on the most expensive cars.

For example: ₹7,500 is the road tax on a car costing ₹3 lakhs, at 2.5%. ₹24,000 is the tax on a car at ₹8 lakhs, at 3%. For comparison, the same ₹8 lakh car pays about ₹80,000 in Assam.

Parivahan Sewa takes the tax under its vehicle tax service, or the dealer pays it as part of the on-road price. The state sets these rates and can revise them, so the amount Vahan shows for your car is the one to go by.

₹600 is the fee to register a new car and issue its Registration Certificate (RC) at any AR office, from AR-01 in Itanagar to AR-03 in Tawang. Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 fixes it nationally, along with the other service fees in this table.

The High Security Registration Plate (HSRP), the road tax and any state service charge come on top. None of them is included in the RTO fees above.

Worth knowing: A private car RC lasts 15 years, and each renewal after that adds 5 years. Each month of delay in renewing adds ₹300.

Vahan is where the dealer files the registration for most new private cars in Arunachal Pradesh. Road tax and the registration fee come with the car’s price, and the RTO issues the Registration Certificate (RC) after approval.

Document checks, an inspection or an office visit can still apply to some vehicles and transactions. These steps describe the usual route, not a fixed rule.

Important to know: A valid policy is all the dealer needs to register the car, and you can buy it yourself before delivery. That leaves time to compare quotes.

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

Form 35 and the lender’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) take a loan off the RC. Apply with both on Vahan after the last instalment, and the RTO issues an updated RC without the lender on it. Form 34 is the opposite step, which records a loan in the first place.

The Vahan portal and the Sarathi portal, the national Parivahan services, handle most RTO work in Arunachal Pradesh. Registration, the RC, tax and ownership belong to Vahan, licences to Sarathi, and vehicle details and challans to mParivahan and the e-challan service.

Some tasks still need a visit to the district office, and which ones depends on the service and the office.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Arunachal Pradesh

Form 26 replaces a lost, stolen or damaged RC with a duplicate, at the ₹300 car fee in the fees table. Parivahan Sewa and mParivahan both show the RC status of an AR vehicle, and you can also check your RC status with Kiwi Insurance.

Driving licence services in Arunachal Pradesh

Sarathi handles every licence step in the state: The learner’s licence, the driving test, renewal and the International Driving Permit. Each one begins with an online application on that portal.

₹2,000 is the national fine for a first offence of driving uninsured, one of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 amounts that apply in Arunachal Pradesh. The state can compound some offences at its own amounts, so the challan is what shows the sum actually due.

The Parivahan e-challan portal, echallan.parivahan.gov.in, lists any challan on an AR number, as does mParivahan, and both take payment online.

Worth knowing: ₹4,000 is the fine for a repeat offence of driving without insurance. A valid policy avoids it, and the car insurance section explains how that policy ties to your AR registration.

Documents and steps differ by vehicle, state and office, so the RTO or the Parivahan Sewa website has the current list. If you are leaving Arunachal Pradesh, follow the steps in the opposite order: A No Objection Certificate (NOC) from your district office comes first, then registration and tax in the new state, then a refund claim here for the unused tax.

A Bharat series (BH) number plate is a national registration that an eligible owner can take instead of an AR number. It has no state code, so moving to another state needs no No Objection Certificate (NOC) and no new registration, which suits owners whose jobs take them from state to state. G.S.R. 594(E) of 26 August 2021 created the series, in force from 15 September 2021, and G.S.R. 879(E) of 14 December 2022 then allowed BH numbers on an ownership transfer and on the conversion of an existing registration.

Anyone employed by the Central or a state government, the defence forces or the public sector qualifies without further conditions. Private sector employees qualify when their employer has offices in 4 or more states or union territories.

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.

How it compares: An AR registration pays a reported one-time tax of 2.5% to 6.5% of the cost for 15 years, while a BH number pays 8% to 12%, in 2-year blocks.

Form numbers, what each is for, and the official Parivahan Sewa download

The Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 lay down one national set of RTO forms, and Arunachal Pradesh uses them unchanged. Most are filled in online on Vahan or Sarathi, and the PDF can be downloaded where an office still needs the paper form.

Form 29 and Form 30 are the pair for a used car sale. Once the RC changes name, the buyer has 14 days to move the insurance.

Worth knowing: The office whose code is on your RC takes your forms, such as AR-01 in Itanagar or AR-03 in Tawang. Address proof or a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate may also be asked for, and the document list on the Parivahan Sewa website says which. The complete forms page on the Parivahan Sewa website has any form not shown here.

How insurance ties to the RTO in Arunachal Pradesh

A valid policy is the first document an AR office needs, as a new car is registered only with insurance already in place. After an ownership transfer, the buyer has 14 days to move the policy into their name. A new number after a move or re-registration is the third link, so inform your insurer of it as soon as the RC changes.

Worth knowing: Finish both the RC transfer and the policy transfer within 2 weeks, and the car stays covered from the day of the sale.