Jammu and Kashmir: RTO code list and details

Start on the left of a JK number plate and work right: First comes JK for Jammu and Kashmir, then two digits for the RTO, then one or two series letters, and last the four-digit number. On JK 01 AB 1234, the 01 tells you the car was registered at the Srinagar RTO.

Ladakh causes the most confusion. Kargil used JK-07 and Leh used JK-10 until Ladakh became a separate union territory in 2019. New vehicles there now get LA-01 at Kargil and LA-02 at Leh, and vehicles registered before the change can still carry the old JK plates.

Worth knowing: The code tells you where a vehicle was first registered, not where it is now. A car with a JK-02 plate can be driven anywhere in India. A Jammu car registered as JK-02 keeps that code when its owner moves to Srinagar or anywhere else in the union territory. It gets a new code only if it is registered again outside Jammu and Kashmir or its registration details are changed.

A new car registered in Srinagar or Jammu gets its JK number first and its High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) next, fitted by the manufacturer and dealer as on every new vehicle since 1 April 2019. The end result is a plate that meets Rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.

That rule took shape in two steps: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) notified G.S.R. 1162(E) on 4 December 2018 and then S.O. 6052 on 6 December 2018.

Older JK vehicles without HSRP

A JK vehicle registered before 1 April 2019 gets its HSRP in three steps: Book the installation on the HSRP booking portal named on the website of the Motor Vehicles Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, check there which date applies to your JK vehicle, and have the plate fitted before then. The union territory sets that date, and once the plate is on, the vehicle meets Rule 50.

Jammu and Kashmir RTO codes run from JK-01 to JK-22, with one code for each of the 20 districts. JK-07 and JK-10 are no longer used in the union territory, since Kargil and Leh are now in Ladakh.

This list follows the registering authorities list of the Motor Vehicles Department, Jammu and Kashmir, and is updated when an office moves or a code changes. The codes were last checked against that list on 30 September 2026.

Start with the address on your Registration Certificate (RC): The RTO that covers it is your RTO. If that still leaves a doubt, read the JK code on the plate or try the RTO finder at the top of this page, and you will have the office.

Outside Srinagar and Jammu, every district in Jammu and Kashmir has its own RTO and code. These four are the ones people look up most often by name.

Anantnag RTO code (JK-03)

Anantnag district in south Kashmir registers vehicles with JK-03. Nearby Kulgam has its own code, JK-18.

Baramulla RTO code (JK-05)

Baramulla district in north Kashmir registers vehicles with JK-05. Kupwara and Bandipora, also in north Kashmir, use JK-09 and JK-15.

Kathua RTO code (JK-08)

Kathua district, on the border with Punjab, registers vehicles with JK-08. Lakhanpur, the main road entry point into Jammu and Kashmir, is in Kathua district.

Udhampur RTO code (JK-14)

Udhampur district registers vehicles with JK-14. Reasi was once part of Udhampur district, and since becoming a district of its own it uses JK-20.

Buy a ₹6 lakhs car from a dealer in Jammu or Srinagar, pay 9% at registration, and the road tax comes to ₹54,000. The same car bought outside Jammu and Kashmir, from a brand with a local dealer, pays 12%, which is ₹72,000. The dealer usually collects the tax with the on-road price of a new car.

The union territory can change its rates, so open Vahan first, check the amount it shows, and then pay.

From registration to renewal, the fees at a JK RTO come from Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, so JK-01 Srinagar and JK-22 Shopian charge the same base amounts. Pay the fee on Vahan or at the counter first, and the RTO then issues, renews or updates the Registration Certificate (RC).

Separate from these fees: The HSRP, the JK road tax and any service charge the union territory adds are charged separately, and Vahan shows the total before you pay.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the dealer usually applies to register a new private car on the Vahan portal. The road tax and registration fee are paid with the car’s price, and the RTO then approves the application and issues the Registration Certificate (RC).

Important to know: The dealer needs a valid policy before the first step can finish, not a policy bought through the dealer. Compare plans, buy the car insurance yourself before delivery day, and the registration goes ahead in the same way.

A used car sale in Jammu and Kashmir runs through the RTO on the RC, or through Vahan, in a fixed order, and ends with the buyer’s name on the RC. So a Baramulla car on JK-05 plates goes through the Baramulla office, even if the buyer and seller meet in Srinagar.

Removing a loan (hypothecation) from the RC in Jammu and Kashmir

The process starts once the last instalment is paid. The lender then gives a No Objection Certificate (NOC) and Form 35, the owner applies on Vahan with both, and the RTO issues an RC that shows no loan.

Good to know: Form 34 works the other way round, at the start of a loan, when the lender is entered on the RC.

Most owners start with the national Parivahan services: The Vahan portal for anything to do with the vehicle, and the Sarathi portal for the driving licence. A document check or a driving test can still mean a visit to the RTO.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Jammu and Kashmir

A lost, stolen or damaged RC is replaced in three steps: Apply on Vahan with Form 26, pay the duplicate RC fee from the fees table, and the RTO issues the duplicate. Once applied for, the progress of any JK registration shows as RC status on Parivahan Sewa and in mParivahan, and Kiwi Insurance lets you check your RC status as well.

Driving licence services in Jammu and Kashmir

On Sarathi, a new driver moves from the learner’s licence to the driving test, and later comes back for a renewal or an International Driving Permit. For anyone who needs paper, the forms grid below has Form 2 for licences and Form 4A for the permit.

Each fine on a JK vehicle is based on the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, which sets the amounts below. The union territory can compound some offences at its own amounts, so the amount on the challan is the one to pay.

To clear one, enter the JK number on echallan.parivahan.gov.in or open mParivahan, check what is pending, and pay it there.

Worth knowing: A lapsed policy leads to the first line of the table: ₹2,000 the first time and ₹4,000 after that. Renew the policy before it expires, and this fine never applies.

If you are leaving Jammu and Kashmir, the steps run in the opposite order: First the JK RTO issues the NOC, then the new state tells you its tax, and finally the car is registered there.

A Bharat series (BH) number plate is a single registration for use across India, so it has no JK code. When the owner is transferred to another state, the car keeps the same number, with no No Objection Certificate (NOC) and no new registration needed. Government, defence, public sector and some private sector staff who are posted from state to state can apply.

The scheme opened with G.S.R. 594(E) from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), dated 26 August 2021 and in force from 15 September 2021. A later notification, G.S.R. 879(E) of 14 December 2022, added ownership transfer of a Bharat series (BH) vehicle and conversion of an existing registration. 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.

Compared with Jammu and Kashmir: The JK road tax is 9%, paid in one go when the car is first registered. A BH car instead pays at the rates above, one 2-year block after another.

Worth knowing: As BH tax is paid one 2-year block at a time, there is no JK tax refund to claim when the owner is posted out of Jammu and Kashmir.

The order is the same in every state, as the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 set one national list of RTO forms. Fill most of them in online on Vahan or Sarathi, and turn to the PDF only when an office still wants the form on paper.

In a used car sale, Form 29 comes first and Form 30 follows, and once the RC is in the buyer’s name there are 14 days to move the insurance.

Worth knowing: A JK-01 car’s forms go to Srinagar and a JK-02 car’s to Jammu, as each RTO handles the vehicles it registered. Before you go, check the document list on the Parivahan Sewa website, since an RTO can also ask for address proof or a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate. Anything not listed here is on the full set of forms on the Parivahan Sewa website.

These are the base rates notified by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and exclude 18% GST.

Worth knowing: Do the RTO transfer first and the insurer’s transfer straight after, both inside two weeks, and the car stays covered from the day it changes hands.