Ahmedabad RTO offices and codes: GJ-01, GJ-27, and GJ-38

Ahmedabad district has three RTO codes: GJ-01 for the Regional Transport Office (RTO) at Subhash Bridge, and GJ-27 and GJ-38 for two assistant offices. The city, the eastern areas and the rural part of the district each have their own office, and the address on your papers decides which one registers your vehicle.

An Ahmedabad plate like GJ 01 AB 1234 is read in four parts. GJ is the Gujarat state code, 01 is the Subhash Bridge office, AB is the letter series and 1234 is the four-digit number. A Vastral car shows 27 in place of 01, and a Bavla car 38.

Worth knowing: The GJ-27 code of a Vastral car does not change when it is sold to someone in Satellite, or when its owner moves elsewhere in Gujarat. A different code is given only when the car is registered again in another state or its registration details are changed.

Whichever of GJ-01, GJ-27 or GJ-38 is on it, an Ahmedabad vehicle needs a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP). A car sold by an Ahmedabad showroom since 1 April 2019 left with the plate already fitted, so the question is really one for older cars.

Worth knowing: For a GJ-01, GJ-27 or GJ-38 car registered before that date, book the High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) installation on the booking portal that the Commissionerate of Transport, Gujarat website names, and check there which date your car must meet. Plate features and the national rule are in our Gujarat RTO guide.

Ahmedabad district uses three codes. The second table lists GJ-18, GJ-07, GJ-02 and GJ-06, which belong to the nearby districts of Gandhinagar, Kheda, Mehsana and Vadodara.

Many published lists show only GJ-01 and GJ-27 for Ahmedabad. The Commissionerate of Transport, Gujarat also has a page titled “ARTO Bavla (GJ-38)”, the third office in the district.

Ahmedabad district is split between one Regional Transport Office (RTO) and two Assistant Regional Transport Offices (ARTOs). The details below take them in turn, from the city office at Subhash Bridge to Vastral in the east and Bavla in the rural part of the district.

Subhash Bridge RTO office, GJ-01

GJ-01 Subhash Bridge is the Regional Transport Office for Ahmedabad and the main office of the district. It is in the Sabarmati area, which is why directories also list it as Sabarmati RTO.

GJ-01 is the first code in the Gujarat series. Gujarat government pages write it as GJ-1, while plates carry two digits, so GJ-1 and GJ-01 are the same Subhash Bridge office.

Vastral RTO office, GJ-27

Vastral RTO is the Assistant Regional Transport Office (ARTO) for Ahmedabad East, the page title the Commissionerate uses. Directories describe it as serving the eastern side of the city.

Bavla RTO office, GJ-38

Bavla RTO is the Assistant Regional Transport Office for the rural part of Ahmedabad district. Many published lists leave it out, but it is the third office in the district and issues GJ-38 numbers.

Worth knowing: Directory hours differ between Subhash Bridge and Vastral, and none is listed for Bavla. Book a driving test slot, and any counter service that needs one, on Sarathi before going.

The address on your Registration Certificate (RC) decides the office, and the place of purchase does not. The table gives a few example areas for each Ahmedabad office, so check your own address on Vahan before you apply.

For a car already on the road, the RTO finder near the top of the page reads the code in a registration number. Its answer is the office that registered the vehicle, and that office keeps the file. For an address near the edge of two areas, Vahan has the final word.

Worth knowing: A move within Gujarat keeps your GJ number. Change the address on the Registration Certificate (RC) and inform your insurer of it.

RTO fees are national amounts, so Subhash Bridge, Vastral and Bavla charge exactly what the Gandhinagar office (GJ-18) next door charges. The fee is paid on Vahan, and for a new car the dealer pays it as part of the registration application.

An Ahmedabad example: A new car bought on a loan by a Nikol buyer pays ₹600 registration + ₹200 smart card + ₹1,500 hypothecation = ₹2,300 in RTO fees, before any Gujarat road tax.

An older GJ-01 car renewed after its first 15 years pays ₹5,000, and ₹10,000 once it is past 20. If the renewal is overdue, a car owner pays ₹500 for each month of delay, against ₹300 a month for a motorcycle.

Worth knowing: High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) fitting and Gujarat road tax are separate payments, made in addition to the fees in this table.

The registering office is the one covering your address, whichever showroom sold the car. As an example, a Navrangpura address usually goes to GJ-01 and a Nikol address to GJ-27, and the dealer files the application on Vahan.

The RTO fee to transfer a used car in Ahmedabad is ₹300, filed on Vahan with the office on the RC: GJ-01 Subhash Bridge, GJ-27 Vastral or GJ-38 Bavla. The buyer’s own area does not change which office handles it.

The seller files Form 29, and buyer and seller both sign Form 30. A loan entry (hypothecation) on the RC is closed with Form 35 and a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the lender.

The buyer then has 14 days to put the policy in their name. Documents and the full steps are in our Gujarat RTO guide.

Most Ahmedabad RTO work can be done online, on the Vahan portal for vehicles and the Sarathi portal for licences. The office whose code is on your RC, GJ-01, GJ-27 or GJ-38, still processes each vehicle application.

A lost or damaged Ahmedabad RC is replaced with a duplicate on Form 26, and you can check your RC status with Kiwi Insurance.

Licence work, from the learner’s licence to driving test slots and renewals, runs on Sarathi, and the test itself is taken at the RTO. The full list of services is in our Gujarat RTO guide.

A GJ-01, GJ-27 or GJ-38 car driven without insurance faces a fine of ₹2,000 for a first offence and ₹4,000 for a repeat, under section 196 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

Pay an Ahmedabad challan on the Parivahan e-challan portal, echallan.parivahan.gov.in. Other fines are in our Gujarat RTO guide.

Gujarat cars keep their numbers in Ahmedabad. A car from another state must be registered again with a GJ number once it has been kept in Gujarat for more than 12 months.

If you are leaving Gujarat with an Ahmedabad car, the same steps apply in reverse: Get the NOC on Form 28 from the GJ-01, GJ-27 or GJ-38 office on your RC before the car leaves, and then register it in the new state.

Worth knowing: Inform your insurer of each change, the new address first and then the GJ number. Forms and refund steps are in our Gujarat RTO guide.

A Bharat series (BH) number has no GJ code, so an Ahmedabad owner who later leaves Gujarat needs no NOC or fresh registration. Eligible buyers take it instead of a GJ number.

It is open to government, defence and public sector staff, and to private employees whose company works across 4 or more states or union territories and gives them Form 60.

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 tax falls due every 2 years, unlike one-time Gujarat road tax. Full rules are in our Gujarat RTO guide.

The three Ahmedabad offices use the same national forms as the rest of India, and most are filled in online on Vahan or Sarathi. Use the PDF if an office still asks for paper.

Submit each form to the office whose code is on the RC, GJ-01, GJ-27 or GJ-38. More forms are on the Parivahan Sewa website, and document lists are in our Gujarat RTO guide.