Udupi RTO: KA-20 Manipal office and district code

Udupi district registers its cars under KA-20. Two things surprise people here. The district has only existed since 1997, when it was separated from Dakshina Kannada, and the RTO is listed not in the old town centre but in Manipal, in a building of its own called Saarige Soudha.

An Udupi plate reads like KA 20 AB 1234. The KA is for Karnataka, the 20 for the Udupi RTO, the AB for the letter series, and 1234 is the four-digit number that belongs to that vehicle alone.

Worth knowing: A KA-19 car in Udupi is not out of place. A KA number stays the same when its owner moves within Karnataka, so a car registered in Mangaluru keeps KA-19 in Kundapura. An Udupi owner sees the code change in two cases only, when the car is re-registered outside Karnataka or when its registration details are changed.

The High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) on a new KA-20 car is fitted by the dealer. Under Rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, every new vehicle has needed one since 1 April 2019.

Worth knowing: For a car registered in Udupi before that date, book the installation through the booking portal named on the Karnataka Transport Department website, which also shows the date that applies. Plate rules for the whole state are on our Karnataka RTO guide.

On the Karnataka code list, Udupi district has one code, KA-20, and the list shows no separate code for Kundapura or Karkala. The code people mix up with it is KA-19, Mangaluru, the district Udupi was part of until 1997.

The KA-20 office works from Saarige Soudha at Rajatadri, Manipal, according to directories that copy the Transport Department’s contact list. Neither the address nor the hours could be confirmed from an official source, so confirm them before you go.

Udupi RTO office, KA-20

Manipal is inside the Udupi city area, which took in Manipal, Malpe and Santhekatte when its City Municipal Council was formed. So the office is in Udupi, just not in the old town centre.

Why does one listing show Adi Udupi?

The office used to work from rented buildings in Adi Udupi, and one directory still gives a Mulki Road address there. News reports from 2011 and 2012 described its own building coming up at Manipal, planned with a training centre for licence applicants. Go by the Manipal address, but confirm it first.

If your address proof says Udupi district, the car is registered at KA-20. That takes in Udupi itself with Manipal and Malpe, and the Kundapura and Karkala areas that left Dakshina Kannada with it in 1997.

For a used car, the code on its RC shows where it was registered. The finder at the top of this page reads any number you type in.

Worth knowing: Kundapura and Karkala belonged to Dakshina Kannada until 25 August 1997. They are in Udupi district now, so a new car kept there goes to KA-20 rather than to Mangaluru.

Fees at the Udupi RTO are the national ones, so there is no saving in registering at Mangaluru instead. Vahan takes the payment, and for a new car the showroom pays while it applies for registration.

An Udupi example: A loan-financed new car registered at KA-20 pays ₹600 to register, ₹200 for its smart card RC and ₹1,500 to record the loan. That is ₹2,300 in RTO fees, with road tax and cess still to come.

At 15 years a car’s registration has to be renewed, for ₹5,000, and a car past 20 years pays ₹10,000. A late renewal costs ₹500 for every month on a car and ₹300 on a motorcycle.

Buy a car in Udupi and the showroom handles the registration for you. It applies on Vahan with your Udupi district address, the KA-20 office approves it, and the number follows.

Sell a KA-20 car to someone in Karnataka and the plate stays as it is. Form 29 is the seller’s notice, Form 30 the joint application, and the car fee of ₹300 is paid on Vahan.

If the buyer lives in another state, the Udupi RTO issues a No Objection Certificate (NOC) first. Either way, the policy goes to the buyer within 14 days.

Clearing a loan (hypothecation) from an Udupi RC

After the last instalment, the lender issues an NOC with Form 35. Submit them on Vahan and KA-20 removes the loan from the RC free of charge. Which papers the bank and the RTO want is explained on our Karnataka RTO guide.

Manipal is not a trip you need for every task. Vehicle work begins on the Vahan portal and licence work on the Sarathi portal, and since November 2021 Karnataka has run a list of RTO services that need no visit at all.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Udupi

A duplicate RC for a KA-20 car is applied for on Form 26 through Vahan and costs ₹300. Check your RC status at any point on Kiwi Insurance.

Driving licence services in Udupi

For a learner’s licence, a test slot or a renewal, start on Sarathi. Our Karnataka RTO guide goes through each service.

An uninsured KA-20 car draws the national fine in section 196 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, as amended in 2019, of ₹2,000 for a first offence and ₹4,000 for a repeat.

Pay what the challan says, as Karnataka can compound some offences. An Udupi challan can be paid on echallan.parivahan.gov.in or through the mParivahan app. Fines for other offences appear on our Karnataka RTO guide.

Plenty of people move to Udupi and Manipal for work or study. A car already on a KA number only needs the new address on its RC. A car from another state becomes liable for Karnataka tax after it has stayed more than 30 days, and once it has been kept here for more than 12 months it has to be registered at KA-20.

If you are leaving Karnataka with a KA-20 car, follow the steps in reverse. Udupi issues the NOC on Form 28, the new state registers the car, and part of the unused Karnataka tax can be claimed back.

Worth knowing: After the move, inform your insurer of your Udupi address, and then of the KA-20 number once it is issued. Ask the Udupi RTO how to claim the refund.

Working in Udupi on a transferable job? A Bharat series (BH) plate has no state code, so moving to another state later needs no No Objection Certificate (NOC) or new number. Government, defence and public sector staff qualify, and so do private employees whose employer is in 4 or more states or union territories, on 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. The BH tax is charged every 2 years, 8% for a car under ₹10 lakhs. The BH rules in full sit with our Karnataka RTO guide.

The Udupi RTO uses the national forms every office in India uses. Vahan and Sarathi take most of them online, and the PDF covers an office that still wants a paper form.

Forms for a KA-20 car go to the Udupi RTO at Manipal. To find one not shown here, use the Parivahan Sewa website.