Bhavnagar RTO: GJ-04 office, Botad split, and road tax

Bhavnagar registers vehicles under GJ-04, but since 15 August 2013 four of its old talukas, Botad, Gadhada, Barvala and Ranpur, have been part of Botad district, which has its own code, GJ-33. The GJ-04 office now serves what remains of Bhavnagar district.

Split GJ 04 AB 1234 into its parts and each one tells you something. The first pair, GJ, places the car in Gujarat and 04 names the Bhavnagar RTO, while AB is a letter series and 1234 is the four-digit number picking out one car in it.

Worth knowing: The code records the office of first registration. A GJ-04 car bought by someone in Amreli keeps GJ-04 on its plate, and so does one whose owner moves to Ahmedabad, since the code changes only if the car is re-registered outside Gujarat or its registration details are changed.

Our Gujarat RTO guide explains the colour stickers, the plate’s security features and the rule itself.

GJ-04 is Bhavnagar’s code. The one most often confused with it is GJ-33, the code of Botad district, which was formed in 2013 partly from the north-west of Bhavnagar district.

The Commissionerate of Transport, Gujarat lists RTO Bhavnagar under GJ-04 on its office page. Botad district, according to its own official website, took in the Botad, Gadhada, Barvala and Ranpur talukas when it was created on 15 August 2013, together with part of Ahmedabad district.

The GJ-04 Regional Transport Office deals with new registrations, driving licences, transfers, RC changes and road tax for owners living in the district. Directories agree on the locality but not on the exact address or pincode, so treat the details below as a starting point.

Bhavnagar RTO office, GJ-04

One directory puts the office at Sardar Patel Circle in Gadhechi Vadla, while two others write the locality as Dhanechi Vadla. The pincode differs between listings, so it is not given here.

Worth knowing: A family in Gadhada or Barvala now deals with the Botad office, since those talukas left Bhavnagar district in 2013. At the GJ-04 office, driving tests and other slot services are booked on Sarathi before the visit.

Which office registers a vehicle depends on the home address given in the papers. An address in Bhavnagar district goes to GJ-04, and an address in one of the four talukas moved to Botad goes to GJ-33. An official locality list could not be confirmed, so for a car already on the road the Vahan portal is the surest way to see its office.

For an existing registration, key the number, say GJ04AB1234, into the finder at the top of the page. The office it names holds the car’s file and handles any later application.

Worth knowing: Shifting from Bhavnagar to Botad, or anywhere else in Gujarat, is an address change and not a new registration. Have the RC updated, then inform your insurer of where the car now lives.

Put simply, a ₹6 lakh car registered as GJ-04 costs ₹36,000 in road tax, and the bill would be no different at the Botad or Ahmedabad office.

The fee schedule is national, so a GJ-04 registration costs the same as one at the Botad or Amreli office next door. Fees are paid through the Vahan portal, and when the car is new the dealer settles them as part of the registration.

Worked example: Suppose a Bhavnagar family buys a new car with a bank loan. The RTO charges ₹600 for registration, ₹200 for the smart card and ₹1,500 for noting the loan, a total of ₹2,300, and Gujarat road tax comes on top.

Older cars cost more to keep on the register. Renewing a GJ-04 car at 15 years costs ₹5,000, and ₹10,000 past 20. Each month a renewal is overdue adds ₹500 for a car and ₹300 for a motorcycle.

Registration of a new car in Bhavnagar is handled by the dealer on Vahan, yet the approving office is chosen by where the buyer lives. Someone from Bhavnagar city ends up with GJ-04, while a buyer from Gadhada at the same dealer receives a Botad GJ-33 number.

Selling a GJ-04 car means the Bhavnagar office updates its record with the buyer’s name, whether you file on Vahan or visit. Form 29 is the seller’s notice, Form 30 is the joint application, and the transfer fee for a car is ₹300.

If the RC still records a loan (hypothecation), get the lender’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) and file Form 35 to remove it, which costs nothing. The step-by-step procedure for a sale is in our Gujarat RTO guide.

For a Bhavnagar owner, the Vahan portal handles vehicle services and the Sarathi portal handles licences. The applications are processed by the GJ-04 office.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Bhavnagar

Lost your GJ-04 RC? A duplicate is applied for on Form 26, and the fee is ₹300 for a car. You can check your RC status on Kiwi Insurance at any time.

Driving licence services in Bhavnagar

New drivers in Bhavnagar apply for the learner’s licence on Sarathi, then book the driving test slot there and attend in person. What else Bhavnagar owners can do online is listed in our Gujarat RTO guide.

No valid insurance on a GJ-04 car? That breaks section 196 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and a Bhavnagar driver pays ₹2,000 on being caught once and ₹4,000 whenever it happens again.

The challan states what is owed. It can be paid on echallan.parivahan.gov.in or through mParivahan, and more offences are listed in our Gujarat RTO guide.

Owners who move to Bhavnagar from Ahmedabad, Rajkot or anywhere else in Gujarat keep their existing GJ number. A car with another state’s plates is a separate case. Once it has been in Gujarat for over 12 months, section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 requires it to be registered here.

If you are leaving Gujarat for another state, it works in reverse: The Bhavnagar office gives you the NOC on Form 28, and the new state then registers the car.

Worth knowing: An owner arriving from another state needs to update the insurer at both stages, when the address changes and when the GJ-04 number is issued. Every form for an interstate move is linked from our Gujarat RTO guide.

Bhavnagar owners posted from state to state can take a Bharat (BH) series number instead of GJ-04. It is valid across India, so a transfer needs no No Objection Certificate (NOC). Defence and government employees qualify, as does a private employee whose employer has offices in 4 or more states or union territories and issues 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 in place of the one-time Gujarat charge (rates: Gujarat RTO guide).

All of these come from the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 and apply nationwide, and Vahan and Sarathi now take most of them online. The paper PDF is there in case the GJ-04 office asks for a printed copy.

Before you submit: The Parivahan Sewa website gives the document checklist for every service, along with every other RTO form not shown here.