Karnataka: RTO code list and details

Karnataka RTOs, from the many offices in Bengaluru to Mangaluru and Belagavi, are run by the Transport Department of the Government of Karnataka. A car registered in Bengaluru or Mysuru has a number that starts with KA, and the two digits after it show the Regional Transport Office (RTO) that registered it, such as KA-09 for Mysuru West.

Take KA 01 AB 1234, a car registered in Bengaluru. Here KA stands for Karnataka, 01 for the Bengaluru Central RTO and AB for the letter series, and 1234 is the four-digit number.

Bengaluru alone has 14 RTO codes, so two cars parked on the same street can show different numbers. A car first registered at KR Puram shows KA-53, and it still shows KA-53 after its owner moves to Mysuru or anywhere else in Karnataka. The car gets a new code only if it is registered again in another state or its registration details are changed.

Worth knowing: A KA-51 plate from Electronic City is valid on every road in India. The code records the office of first registration and says nothing about where the car is driven today.

Older Karnataka cars and HSRP

A KA-09 car registered in Mysuru before 1 April 2019 left the showroom without this plate, so its owner needs an HSRP fitted by the date Karnataka sets. The Transport Department advises booking the plate through the SIAM website.

Worth knowing: Book your HSRP installation through the booking portal that the Karnataka Transport Department names on its website, and check there which date applies to your KA car. The rule itself comes from G.S.R. 1162(E), dated 4 December 2018, and S.O. 6052, dated 6 December 2018, both issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

A car from Bengaluru Central shows KA-01, and one from Athani in Belagavi district shows KA-71, the last code on the list. Most districts have a single RTO, while Bengaluru and districts such as Belagavi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada have more than one code.

This list follows the office list of the Karnataka Transport Department. If an office moves or a new one opens, in Bengaluru or elsewhere, the tables are updated to match.

Bengaluru has 14 RTO codes. KA-01 to KA-05 are the Central, West, East, North and South offices, and nine more offices, including Jnanabharathi (KA-41), Yelahanka (KA-50), Electronic City (KA-51) and KR Puram (KA-53), register vehicles in other parts of the city.

Around the city, Devanahalli (KA-43) and Nelamangala (KA-52) register vehicles for Bengaluru Rural district, and Ramanagara has its own code, KA-42.

Outside Bengaluru, the RTOs people search for most are in Mysuru, Mangaluru and Belagavi. Each of these towns shares its district with one or more other offices.

Mysuru RTO (KA-09 and KA-55)

Mysuru has two RTO codes: KA-09 for Mysuru West and KA-55 for Mysuru East. Hunsur, also in Mysuru district, has its own code, KA-45.

Mangaluru RTO (KA-19)

A car registered in Mangaluru shows KA-19. Dakshina Kannada district has three more offices: Surathkal (KA-62), Puttur (KA-21) and Bantwal (KA-70).

Belagavi RTO (KA-22)

The main Belagavi office uses KA-22. Belagavi district also has offices at Chikkodi (KA-23), Bailhongal (KA-24), Gokak (KA-49), Ramdurg (KA-69) and Athani (KA-71).

When a car is first registered in Karnataka, in Bengaluru or anywhere else, the owner pays lifetime road tax once. The rate depends on the car’s cost and on whether it is electric: Petrol and diesel cars pay 13% to 18%, and electric cars pay 5% to 10%.

A car costing ₹4.5 lakhs, for example, is in the 13% band, so its road tax is ₹58,500. A car costing ₹8 lakhs pays 14%, which is ₹1,12,000, and an electric car at the same cost pays 5%, which is ₹40,000. For a new car, the dealer in Bengaluru or Mysuru usually adds this tax to the on-road price.

Rates are set by the state and can change, and the amount shown on Vahan includes any cess, so check it before you pay.

Registering a new car in Bengaluru costs ₹600 in RTO fees, and a duplicate Registration Certificate (RC) for it later costs ₹300. Both amounts are the same in Mysuru or any other Karnataka town. Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 fixes them for every RTO in India.

If the RC for that Bengaluru car is issued as a smart card, ₹200 is added. A KA car whose RC renewal is late pays ₹500 more for each month of delay, and a battery-operated vehicle pays nothing to have its RC issued or renewed.

Worth knowing: The HSRP fitting, the Karnataka lifetime road tax and any state service charge are not part of these fees and are paid on top.

Say you buy a new car from a dealer in Mysuru. The dealer applies to register it on the Vahan portal, so for most registrations the car never goes to the RTO. The road tax and registration fee are paid with the price, and the RTO issues the Registration Certificate (RC) once it approves the application.

Important to know: The policy your Mysuru dealer asks for can come from any insurer, not only from the dealer. You can compare cover and buy a policy yourself before delivery day.

Selling a KA-53 car from KR Puram means moving its RC to the buyer, either on Vahan or at the KR Puram RTO named on the RC. To record the new owner of a car, the RTO charges ₹300.

The buyer must then move the car insurance into their own name within 14 days of the transfer.

Removing a loan (hypothecation) from the RC in Karnataka

Suppose a car bought in Bengaluru on a bank loan shows the lender on its RC, added through Form 34. When the loan is fully repaid, the lender gives the owner a No Objection Certificate (NOC) and Form 35. With these, the owner applies on Vahan, and the RTO then issues an updated RC that no longer shows the bank.

An owner in Bengaluru can begin most RTO work from home. Vehicle work such as road tax, transfers and RC changes goes through the Vahan portal, and licence work goes through the Sarathi portal. The Transport Department also lists contactless services that need no visit to the RTO.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Karnataka

If the RC of a Mysuru car is lost, stolen or damaged, the owner applies for a duplicate on Form 26, and the fee for a car is ₹300, as the fees table above shows. To follow an RC application or look up a record, use Parivahan Sewa or the mParivahan app, or check your RC status on Kiwi Insurance.

Driving licence services in Karnataka

A first-time driver in Bengaluru starts with a learner’s licence on Sarathi and then books the driving test there. Renewing a licence or getting an International Driving Permit also happens on Sarathi, and the forms for both, Form 2 and Form 4A, are in the forms section below.

If a driver in Bengaluru is stopped without valid insurance, the fine is ₹2,000 for a first offence and ₹4,000 for any offence after that. The amounts in this section come from the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 and apply across India.

In this table, “later” means any offence after the first. Karnataka can compound some offences at its own amounts, so the challan for a KA car is what tells you the sum that is due. A KA challan can be checked and paid with the vehicle or challan number on the Parivahan e-challan portal, echallan.parivahan.gov.in, or in the mParivahan app.

Worth knowing: A valid policy is what keeps a Bengaluru driver clear of the uninsured driving fine at the top of this table. The section on car insurance in Karnataka follows below.

If you are leaving Karnataka with a KA car, get the NOC from your KA RTO before you go. Once the car is registered in the new state, you can apply for a refund of the unused Karnataka road tax.

A Bharat series (BH) number plate is a registration mark that is valid all over India, so it shows no KA or other state code. An owner posted from Bengaluru to Pune or Delhi keeps the same number on the car, without a No Objection Certificate (NOC) or a fresh registration. It suits people who move for work, such as a central government employee based in Bengaluru. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways created the series through G.S.R. 594(E) of 26 August 2021, and it came into force on 15 September 2021.

Take a petrol car costing ₹8 lakhs: As a BH car it pays the 8% rate for each 2-year block, while on a regular KA number it pays Karnataka’s one-time lifetime tax of 14%, which is ₹1,12,000. A diesel car pays 2% more than the BH rates above and an electric car 2% less.

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. When a BH car leaves Karnataka, there is no road tax refund to claim. G.S.R. 879(E) of 14 December 2022 later added rules for selling a BH car and for moving an existing registration to the series.

A car owner in Mysuru fills in the same RTO forms as an owner in any other state, as the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 set them for the whole country. Most are now completed online on Vahan or Sarathi, and you can print the official PDF from each card if your RTO still asks for a paper form.

When a KA car changes hands, Form 29 and Form 30 go in together, and the buyer then has 14 days to move the insurance into their name.

Worth knowing: Send each form to the RTO whose code is on your RC, for example KA-01 for Bengaluru Central or KA-19 for Mangaluru. Some services also need address proof or a PUC certificate, so look at the document list on the Parivahan Sewa website first. Any form not shown here is in the complete set of RTO forms on the Parivahan Sewa website.

How your insurance links to the Karnataka RTO

A new car from a Bengaluru dealer must be insured before the RTO will register it. When a used KA car is sold, the buyer has 14 days to take over the policy. If a move from another state means the car is registered again under a new KA number, inform your insurer so the policy carries that number.

Worth knowing: If you buy a used car in Mysuru, start the policy transfer as soon as the RTO records you as the owner, well inside the 14 days, so the car is covered in your name from the start.