West Bengal: RTO code list and details

Jharkhand RTOs, one for each of its 24 districts, are run by the state Transport Department. Every vehicle registered in Jharkhand carries the JH code, followed by the number of the district Regional Transport Office (RTO) that registered it. Jharkhand was formed from Bihar in 2000, and its codes run in one unbroken series, while Bihar’s BR codes go up to BR-56 with several numbers unused.

A JH number plate has the same four parts as a BR plate from Bihar, and only the state code is different. On JH 01 AB 1234, the code JH stands for Jharkhand and 01 for the Ranchi RTO, followed by the series AB and the four-digit number 1234.

The JH-01 code does not change when the owner moves from Ranchi to Dhanbad or anywhere else in Jharkhand. It changes only if the car is re-registered in another state, including neighbouring Bihar, or its registration details are changed.

Each Jharkhand district has one code, so a code on a plate points to a single district. Some districts are listed by their main town, such as Jamshedpur (JH-05), Chaibasa (JH-06) and Daltonganj (JH-03).

Worth knowing: A JH plate and a BR plate look alike apart from the state code, so check the first two letters when you buy a used car from across the Bihar border.

Worth knowing: Unlike the plate rules, the booking route is set by each state. Book a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) installation through the portal named on the Jharkhand transport department website, and check the date for your JH vehicle there.

From JH-01 for Ranchi to JH-24 for Ramgarh, every one of the 24 districts has its own code. As in Bihar, the district in the address on your Registration Certificate (RC) tells you which office holds your records.

The tables follow the Jharkhand Transport Department district code list, where a new district is given a new code of its own.

Ranchi, the state capital, uses JH-01, and Jamshedpur uses JH-05. The districts around them keep separate codes: Khunti (JH-23), Ramgarh (JH-24) and Saraikela-Kharsawan (JH-22).

Ranchi holds the first code in Jharkhand, much as Patna holds BR-01 in Bihar. The difference is that each JH district has exactly one office, so Ranchi and Jamshedpur each have a single code.

Some district offices are better known by their town than by their code. They offer the same registration, licence and road tax services as the Ranchi office.

Hazaribagh RTO (JH-02)

JH-02 is Hazaribagh, the second code in the state after Ranchi. Koderma, Chatra and Ramgarh have separate offices, coded JH-12, JH-13 and JH-24.

Dhanbad RTO (JH-10)

Dhanbad is JH-10, one number after Bokaro Steel City (JH-09) and one before Giridih (JH-11).

Bokaro RTO (JH-09)

The Transport Department lists JH-09 as Bokaro Steel City rather than Bokaro, and it is the code for the whole district.

Road tax in Jharkhand is a one-time payment at first registration, worked out on the ex-showroom price rather than the on-road price. Cars pay 7% up to ₹7 lakhs and 9% above, and two-wheelers pay 7% up to ₹1 lakh and 9% above.

At an ex-showroom price of ₹6 lakhs, a car is in the lower band and pays 7%, or ₹42,000. At ₹10 lakhs, it is in the upper band and pays 9%, or ₹90,000.

Compared with Bihar: The same ₹6 lakh car pays 9% in Bihar, ₹54,000, so its Jharkhand tax is ₹12,000 lower. Bihar has four car bands, from 8% to 12%, where Jharkhand has two.

At an ex-showroom price of ₹90,000, a motorcycle is in the lower band and pays 7%, or ₹6,300. In Bihar, the same motorcycle pays 9%.

The state can revise these rates, so treat the Vahan amount for your vehicle as the final one.

RTO fees are national, so a new private car costs ₹600 to register in Jharkhand, exactly as in Bihar, and a motorcycle ₹300. The amounts come from Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, which applies in both states.

A late renewal costs ₹500 more for every month of delay on a car and ₹300 on a motorcycle, while battery-operated vehicles pay no fee at all to have an RC issued or renewed.

On top of these: Jharkhand road tax, the HSRP and any state service charge are paid separately, and unlike the RTO fees, the road tax differs from Bihar’s.

Registering a new car in Jharkhand works the same way as in most states. The dealer applies on the Vahan portal, and the car seldom needs to go to the RTO. Road tax at 7% or 9% and the ₹600 fee are paid with the car’s price, and the Registration Certificate (RC) is issued after approval.

Important to know: As in Bihar, the policy does not have to come from the dealer, so you are free to compare insurers before delivery.

Selling a used JH car takes the same national forms as in Bihar: Form 29 from the seller and Form 30 from buyer and seller together, with a ₹300 transfer fee for a car. Apply on Vahan or at the district office on the RC, such as JH-10 Dhanbad.

Removing a loan (hypothecation) from the RC in Jharkhand

Clearing a loan is the reverse of adding one. Form 34 puts the lender on the RC when the car is financed. After the last instalment, the lender’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) and Form 35 go to the RTO on Vahan, which then issues an updated RC without the lender.

Jharkhand uses the same national systems as Bihar: The Vahan portal for vehicle work such as road tax and transfers, and the Sarathi portal for driving licences. The RTO visit is kept for steps such as the driving test.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Jharkhand

A lost, stolen or damaged RC is replaced through Form 26, at ₹300 for a car and ₹150 for a motorcycle. To see where an RC stands, use Parivahan Sewa or mParivahan, or check your RC status on Kiwi Insurance.

Driving licence services in Jharkhand

Learner’s licences, driving test bookings, renewals and the International Driving Permit all run through Sarathi in Jharkhand, as in other states. Only the driving test itself happens at the RTO.

Fines under the Motor Vehicles Act are national, so driving uninsured costs the same in Jharkhand as in Bihar. In both, section 196 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, as amended in 2019, sets ₹2,000 for the first offence and doubles it to ₹4,000 for a repeat.

Where Jharkhand and Bihar can differ is compounding. Each state may settle some offences at its own amounts, so the challan, not this table, shows what you owe.

E-challan: Look up a JH number on the Parivahan e-challan portal, echallan.parivahan.gov.in, or in mParivahan, and pay any pending challan there.

If you are leaving Jharkhand, the process runs in reverse. The JH office issues the NOC before the move, and after the car is registered in the new state, the unused Jharkhand road tax can be claimed back.

A diesel car adds 2% to these rates, an electric car takes 2% off, and BH tax is collected for 2 years at a time. Under Jharkhand’s own rules, a car pays 7% or 9% of the ex-showroom price once, so the BH rate is paid in smaller blocks but falls due every 2 years.

Jharkhand and Bihar use the same RTO forms, since all of them come from the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, and the 13 below cover most car, bike and licence work. Most can be filled in on Vahan or Sarathi, and the PDF can be printed if a JH office still requires a paper form.

Form 29 and Form 30 are always used together in a used car sale, and the ownership transfer steps show the order.

Before you submit: Each form goes to the district office whose code is on your RC, for example JH-01 Ranchi or JH-05 Jamshedpur. The Parivahan Sewa website gives the document list for every service, and some ask for address proof or a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate. The Parivahan Sewa website has every other form, on its page of all RTO forms.