Chandigarh: RTO code list and details

A CH number plate is read in four parts, as in any state. In CH 01 AB 1234, CH stands for Chandigarh, 01 is the registration series, AB is the letter series and 1234 is the four-digit number. The difference is that the two digits do not point to a separate office.

In a state, the two digits point to a district office, while in Chandigarh they point to a series from the one RLA. The CH number stays the same when you move from one sector to another. A new number is given only if the car is registered again in a state or its registration details are changed.

Worth knowing: CH-02, CH-03 and CH-04 do not point to different offices. They are later series from the same Registering and Licensing Authority, opened as the earlier numbers ran out.

Fitting an HSRP on older cars in Chandigarh

The rule for older vehicles is national, but the deadline is not: Each state sets its own date, and in Chandigarh the union territory administration sets it for vehicles registered before 1 April 2019. To get the plate fitted, book a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) installation on the portal named on the Transport Department, Chandigarh Administration website, and check there which date applies to your CH vehicle.

Worth knowing: A new HSRP changes the plate, not the series. A CH-01 car stays CH-01, just as a state car keeps its district code.

Chandigarh does not divide into district offices the way a state does. All four CH series are issued by the Registering and Licensing Authority in Sector 17, so the number on a car tells you when it was registered rather than where.

Unlike a state list with dozens of offices, this one has a single address to check, and the Transport Department, Chandigarh Administration can confirm it before you visit.

Every CH registration and licence goes through one office, the Registering and Licensing Authority in Sector 17. It does the work a Regional Transport Office does in other states, including registration, driving licences, ownership transfer and road tax.

A separate State Transport Authority handles permits for commercial vehicles. Most vehicle and licence services now start on Parivahan Sewa, so a visit is needed only where the service asks for it.

Many people who live in Mohali, Panchkula or Zirakpur work in Chandigarh, so the question of where to register a car comes up often. You register where the address on your paperwork is, not where you bought the car.

Living in Mohali or Zirakpur, outside Chandigarh

Those towns are in Punjab, so a car registered there carries a PB number and Punjab road tax applies. See the Punjab RTO guide.

Living in Panchkula, outside Chandigarh

Panchkula is in Haryana, so the car is registered there and carries an HR number. See the Haryana RTO guide.

Worth knowing: Road tax differs between the three, so the on-road price of the same car can differ across the city boundary. Before you pay a booking amount, compare the tax where the car will actually be registered.

Like many states, Chandigarh charges road tax once, at first registration. Two things set the rate: What the car cost, and whether it was bought inside or outside the union territory. A car bought outside pays 2% more.

For example: A car costing ₹6 lakhs and bought in Chandigarh is taxed at 10%, or ₹60,000, while the same car bought outside the union territory is taxed at 12%, or ₹72,000. As in most states, the dealer collects this with the on-road price of a new car.

As in most states, the dealer usually pays the tax with the on-road price, or you pay it under the vehicle tax service on Parivahan Sewa. The difference is that the union territory, not a state government, sets and revises these rates, so go by the amount Vahan shows.

The office is an RLA rather than an RTO, but its fees are the national ones fixed by Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. Registering a new car and issuing its Registration Certificate (RC) costs ₹600, the same as at a state RTO.

As in a state, the High Security Registration Plate (HSRP), the road tax and any local service charge are paid separately and are not in this table.

Worth knowing: The RC renewal clock runs as it does everywhere else: 15 years for a private car, then 5 years at a time, with ₹500 added for each month of delay.

Registering a new car works much as it does in a state, with one difference: Every application goes to the single RLA in Sector 17 rather than to a district office. The dealer usually files it on Vahan, the road tax and registration fee are paid with the price, and the Registration Certificate (RC) is issued once the RLA approves it.

Some vehicles or transactions still call for a document check, an inspection or a visit to Sector 17. Treat the steps above as the usual order, which can vary.

Important to know: The dealer needs proof of a valid policy to register the car, and that policy does not have to come from the dealer. You can buy car insurance yourself before delivery and compare quotes first.

Removing a loan (hypothecation) from the RC in Chandigarh

Clearing a loan from a CH car follows the national steps. Once the loan is repaid, the lender provides a No Objection Certificate (NOC) and Form 35, which you submit on Vahan, and the RLA then issues an updated RC with no loan recorded. Form 34 is the form that adds a loan in the first place.

Online services in Chandigarh use the same national portals as every state. Registration, the RC, tax and ownership go through the Vahan portal, licences go through the Sarathi portal, and mParivahan and the e-challan service show vehicle details and challans. The only difference is that every request ends at the one RLA.

Some services still end with a visit to Sector 17, depending on the transaction.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Chandigarh

A lost, stolen or damaged RC is replaced through Form 26 at the RLA, just as a state RTO would replace it, for the ₹300 car fee in the fees table. RC status for any CH, PB or HR number shows on Parivahan Sewa and mParivahan, and you can also check your RC status on Kiwi Insurance.

Driving licence services in Chandigarh

As its name says, the RLA handles licensing as well as registration. Sarathi carries every step, from the learner’s licence and the driving test to renewal and the International Driving Permit.

Fines in Chandigarh start from the same national amounts as in any state, set by the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019. Like a state, the union territory can compound some offences at its own amounts, so the challan shows what is actually due.

A challan on a CH number is checked and paid the same way as one on a state number: On the Parivahan e-challan portal, echallan.parivahan.gov.in, or in mParivahan.

Worth knowing: The fine for driving uninsured, ₹2,000 and then ₹4,000, is a national amount that a valid policy avoids. The car insurance section explains how the policy links to your CH registration.

Documents can differ by vehicle and by the state you are coming from, so check the current list with the RLA or on the Parivahan Sewa website. If you are leaving Chandigarh, the steps run the other way: The Registering and Licensing Authority issues the No Objection Certificate (NOC), you register the car and pay tax in the new state, and you then claim the unused tax back here.

A Bharat series (BH) number plate can be used anywhere in India, as it is not tied to one state. With no CH code on it, the car needs no No Objection Certificate (NOC) and no new registration when the owner moves to another state. 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.

BH suits owners whose jobs move them between states, and who can apply depends on the employer, not on a Chandigarh address. Government employees at Central or state level, defence personnel, public sector staff, and private sector staff at firms with offices in 4 or more states or union territories are eligible. BH was introduced by G.S.R. 594(E), dated 26 August 2021, and has been open to applicants since 15 September 2021. A later notification, G.S.R. 879(E) of 14 December 2022, opened it to ownership transfers and to converting existing registrations.

How it compares: Chandigarh charges 10% of the cost once for a car up to ₹15 lakhs bought here, and 12% above that, while a BH number costs 8% to 12% of the price every 2 years.

Chandigarh has no forms of its own: The RLA uses the national set under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, exactly as a state RTO does. Most are completed online on Vahan or Sarathi, and you can use the PDF if the RLA still asks for a paper form.

A used car sale needs both Form 29 and Form 30, as in any state. Once the RLA records the buyer on the RC, move the insurance to them within 14 days.

Worth knowing: Where a state sends forms to the district RTO on the RC, Chandigarh sends every CH form to the one Registering and Licensing Authority in Sector 17. Some services also ask for address proof or a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate, so check the document list for yours on the Parivahan Sewa website. All RTO forms on the Parivahan Sewa website covers anything not shown here.

How insurance links to the RLA in Chandigarh

The order is the same as in any state, with the RLA in place of an RTO. The RLA registers a new car only once a valid policy is in place, a buyer moves the policy within 14 days of an ownership transfer, and after a move or a re-registration you inform your insurer of the new number.

Worth knowing: Arrange the RLA transfer and the insurer transfer in the same fortnight. The car then has no uninsured gap after it is sold.