Electronic City RTO: KA-51 in Bengaluru, test track included

On KA 51 AB 1234, read KA as Karnataka and 51 as the Electronic City office that registered the car. AB is its letter series, and 1234 is the four-digit number.

Worth knowing: A KA-51 car keeps its 51 when the owner later moves house to Whitefield or Hebbal, since a Karnataka office code changes only if the car is re-registered outside Karnataka or its registration details are changed.

Any car the Electronic City office registered new from 1 April 2019 came with a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) fitted by the dealer.

A KA-51 car registered before that date needs the plate installed. Use the booking portal that the Karnataka Transport Department website names, which is on the SIAM site, and see there when your car is due. Stickers and the remaining plate rules are explained in our Karnataka RTO guide.

The Electronic City office issues KA-51 and nothing else. On the south and south-east side of Bengaluru, though, several codes and offices sit close together in people’s minds, and the table separates them.

Two different places appear in listings for KA-51. Most directories give 83/63, New Central Jail Road, opposite New Mico, in Chennakeshavanagar, while one puts the office in Vijaya Bank Layout, BTM 4th Stage, with another pincode, so confirm it before setting out.

An official address list for the city offices was not available, so treat both listings with care. The test track, by contrast, is reported by the department itself, in its 2021-22 annual report.

What the Electronic City RTO does not handle

Autorickshaw permits and KSRTC or BMTC vehicles are the work of the KA-57 office, not KA-51. The Chandapura office that the department lists separately keeps its own files, whatever code a directory gives it.

KA-51 is described in directories as the office for the southern suburbs. A table in the department’s 2021-22 report also appears to link it with the HSR Layout and Bannerghatta side, but no official street list was available, so check your RC or ask the dealer.

Worth knowing: HSR Layout appears twice in the listings, once linked with KA-51 and once as the reported new home of the KA-01 office. The code on your RC, not the area name, shows which office has your car.

KA-51 cars pay the Karnataka lifetime road tax, which the Electronic City office collects once, at first registration. The rate is the state’s, set by the price and by whether the car runs on electricity, and it is the same for a company car as for one in your own name.

Electric cars began paying these 5%, 8% and 10% bands on 1 May 2026, having paid nothing up to ₹25 lakhs before then. A car on another state’s number becomes liable for Karnataka tax after more than 30 days in the state, and the full rules are on our Karnataka RTO guide.

Fees at Electronic City come from one national schedule, Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, and so match those at any other office in India. Vahan takes the payment, and a new car’s fees are paid by the dealer within its price.

For example: An employee buying a financed car for an Electronic City home pays KA-51 ₹2,300 in RTO fees, of which ₹600 is registration, ₹200 the smart card RC and ₹1,500 the loan entry, with the road tax on top.

Keep that car beyond 15 years and the renewal is ₹5,000; beyond 20, ₹10,000. Renew late and a car is charged an extra ₹500 each month, a motorcycle ₹300.

A choice number is charged separately. In the department’s 2021-22 report it costs ₹20,000 in the running series, ₹75,000 in an advance series, and advance series can go to auction.

Road tax, the cesses and the HSRP are separate from the RTO fee.

The dealer files on Vahan for your southern suburbs address

Electric or not, a new car for an address in the southern suburbs is registered through the dealer on Vahan, and the office for your home address approves it. Directories list Electronic City and the southern suburbs under KA-51.

Whoever buys your KA-51 car, the transfer is done by Electronic City, the office that holds its record. Apply on Vahan with the seller’s Form 29 and Form 30 signed by both sides, and pay ₹300 for a car or ₹150 for a motorcycle.

Move the policy into the buyer’s name as well, within 14 days of the RC change.

Ending the hypothecation on a KA-51 car

Paid off the car loan? Send Form 35 and the bank’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) on Vahan, and the KA-51 RC is cleared of the loan for no RTO fee. Our Karnataka RTO guide gives the papers for each stage.

For a KA-51 car, vehicle services sit on the Vahan portal and licence services on the Sarathi portal. Karnataka put 18 Vahan and 15 Sarathi services fully online on 1 November 2021, so many jobs need no trip to Electronic City.

Duplicate RC and RC status check for Electronic City

To replace a lost KA-51 RC, apply on Form 26 with the duplicate fee from the fees table. For any number, the Kiwi Insurance RC status check shows what the RC holds.

Driving licence services for Electronic City

Licence applications are made on Sarathi or at a Bangalore One or Karnataka One centre, and the Electronic City track is one of two places in the city with automated tests. For renewing a licence, our Karnataka RTO guide has the steps.

Fines on a KA-51 car are paid online. Enter the number on echallan.parivahan.gov.in or in mParivahan, and any challan against it appears with the amount.

All remaining fines are listed on the Karnataka RTO guide.

Coming to Electronic City with a KA number? Only the RC address changes. A car from Tamil Nadu, Telangana or further away follows three time-based rules.

If you are leaving Karnataka with a KA-51 car, get the NOC on Form 28 from Electronic City first. The Karnataka Act provides for a partial refund of the lifetime tax when a car leaves the state, so ask the office about the claim, and see our Karnataka RTO guide for more.

Buyers in Electronic City whose employers transfer staff across states can ask the dealer for a Bharat series (BH) number in place of KA-51, and moving the car later needs no No Objection Certificate (NOC).

Form 60 from the employer is needed, and a private company qualifies only with offices in 4 or more states or union territories. 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.

A BH car pays tax every 2 years, and our Karnataka RTO guide covers who may apply.

These forms are now mostly completed online on Vahan or Sarathi. If an office asks for a paper form, download the PDF from the card.

Other forms are on the list of RTO forms on the Parivahan Sewa website, with uses explained in our Karnataka RTO guide.

How insurance links to the Electronic City RTO

Without valid insurance, Electronic City will not register a car. When the office changes the owner, the address or the number on a KA-51 RC, inform your insurer without delay so both papers match.