Kolhapur RTO (MH-09) and the new Ichalkaranji MH-51 office

Kolhapur’s Regional Transport Office (RTO), at Tarabai Park, issues MH-09. Since 9 March 2024 the district has had a second code, MH-51, issued by a new Deputy RTO for the Ichalkaranji area, so a recent car from that side of the district may carry MH-51 instead of MH-09.

Reading MH 09 AB 1234 from the left, the first pair of letters, MH, means Maharashtra, and 09 points to the Tarabai Park office in Kolhapur. AB after that is the letter series, and 1234 at the end is the four-digit number. A plate reading MH 51 comes from the Ichalkaranji office, which opened in March 2024 inside the same district.

Worth knowing: Cars from Hatkanangle or Shirol registered before the Ichalkaranji office opened keep their MH-09 plates, as the code belongs to the office that first registered the car. A Kolhapur number keeps its code through any move inside Maharashtra and changes only if the car is re-registered outside Maharashtra or its registration details are changed.

Cars first registered at MH-51 came with a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP), as that office opened in 2024, after the plate became standard on new cars from 1 April 2019. MH-09 cars bought new since then have one as well, and the Maharashtra transport department says they need not reapply.

Older Kolhapur owners book the installation through the booking portal named on the Maharashtra transport department website, which shows the date for each vehicle. A fitment centre charges nothing extra for fitting; home fitting costs more. Our Maharashtra RTO guide holds the remaining plate rules.

Kolhapur district has two codes now, MH-09 and MH-51, and the Kolhapur office also oversees offices beyond the district. The second table separates the codes that share Kolhapur’s roads from the ones Kolhapur itself issues.

MH-51 is the Ichalkaranji Deputy RTO in Hatkanangle taluka, not a second counter for Kolhapur city. Sangli, next door, has MH-10, and its office also reports to Kolhapur RTO.

Two offices register vehicles in Kolhapur district, the RTO at Tarabai Park for MH-09 and the Ichalkaranji Deputy RTO, based at the Circuit House in Shahapur, for MH-51. The opening and closing times at Tarabai Park and at Shahapur could not be confirmed from an official source, so it is worth checking with the office before you go.

Kolhapur RTO office, MH-09

Tarabai Park works as a regional office for more than the city. Besides Ichalkaranji, the Sangli Deputy RTO reports to it, and it runs the border check posts at Kagal and Chandgad.

Ichalkaranji Deputy RTO office, MH-51

The Ichalkaranji office has been working since 9 March 2024, after the state approved it in 2023, as reported at the time. In 2024-25, its first full year, it registered 19,748 new vehicles under MH-51.

Since March 2024 the question is simply whether your address falls in the Ichalkaranji area. As one directory lists it, Ichalkaranji town and the Hatkanangle and Shirol talukas now go to MH-51, and the rest of the district stays with MH-09. An official area list could not be confirmed, so ask the office if you live near the line.

Not sure? The finder at the top of this page answers it from the registration number alone, naming the office that holds the car’s file.

A family that moves from Kolhapur city to Ichalkaranji changes only the address on its Registration Certificate (RC), then informs the insurer. An MH-09 car does not become MH-51.

Road tax on a Kolhapur car is a single payment at the Maharashtra rate, made when the car is first registered at MH-09 or MH-51. Diesel pays the most and CNG the least, and the band rises with the cost of the car.

Each of these amounts is before the road safety cess, which is charged on the tax too and is reported as 2%; Vahan gives the exact sum.

The new rates are reported to apply from 1 July 2025, and Vahan shows the final amount for your car before you pay.

RTO fees are national amounts, so Tarabai Park, Ichalkaranji and Sangli all charge the same for the same service. Payment goes through the Vahan portal, except on a new car, where the dealer folds it into the on-road price.

Worked example: Register a financed new car at MH-09 and the office takes ₹600 for registration, ₹200 for the smart card and ₹1,500 to record the bank’s interest, which totals ₹2,300 before road tax.

Fifteen years on, a Kolhapur car’s registration renewal costs ₹5,000, and ₹10,000 beyond 20 years. Let it lapse and every month of delay adds ₹500 on a car, or ₹300 on a motorcycle.

The No Objection Certificate (NOC) row comes from the Maharashtra transport department’s fee list. The HSRP plate, the road tax and any service charge the state adds come on top.

Your Kolhapur dealer registers the car on Vahan in your name, and your home address picks the office. Since March 2024, an Ichalkaranji buyer’s new car gets an MH-51 number, while a buyer in Kolhapur city still gets MH-09.

The office on the RC handles a sale, Tarabai Park for an MH-09 car and Ichalkaranji for MH-51, with the application made on Vahan. Form 29 is the seller’s notice, Form 30 carries both signatures, and the office charges ₹300 for a car and ₹150 for a motorcycle.

The buyer must then transfer the insurance within 14 days.

Ending a hypothecation on a Kolhapur RC

When the loan is closed, the lender gives a No Objection Certificate (NOC). Submit it with Form 35 on Vahan, free of charge, and the RC is updated. Each document needed is listed in our Maharashtra RTO guide.

Kolhapur owners can file most RTO work from home, vehicle tasks on the Vahan portal and licence tasks on the Sarathi portal. The portal sends each application to Tarabai Park or Ichalkaranji, by the office on the papers.

Duplicate RC and RC status for Kolhapur cars

If the RC is lost or damaged, apply for a duplicate on Form 26 to the office that issued it and pay the amount in the fees table. The Kiwi Insurance RC status check shows the record for any MH-09 or MH-51 number.

Driving licence work in Kolhapur

Book a licence application and test slot on Sarathi; the test itself is taken in person at your office. Our Maharashtra RTO guide covers every other online service.

To see whether an MH-09 or MH-51 vehicle has a pending challan, enter its number on echallan.parivahan.gov.in or in mParivahan; the amount for each offence is listed there and can be paid online.

The wider list of fines sits on our Maharashtra RTO guide.

Moving to Kolhapur with a car from Pune or Nagpur? Keep the MH number and change only the address. Bringing a KA-22 car from Belagavi or any other state’s car is different, as it must be re-registered with an MH number once it has stayed in Maharashtra for more than 12 months.

If you are leaving Maharashtra, the same steps apply in reverse: The office on your RC, Tarabai Park or Ichalkaranji, issues the NOC on Form 28 without a fee, and the car is then registered in the new state as that state requires.

Worth knowing: A new MH number or a new address on the RC is something to inform your insurer about straight away. Our Maharashtra RTO guide lists every document an out-of-state car needs.

Kolhapur buyers in transferable jobs can register a new car under the Bharat series (BH) rather than MH-09 or MH-51. Should work later take the family to Goa or Karnataka, the car crosses over without a No Objection Certificate (NOC) or a new registration there.

Employees of private firms with offices in 4 or more states or union territories qualify with 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.

Read our Maharashtra RTO guide for who is eligible and how BH tax is paid in 2-year blocks.

Kolhapur owners file nearly all of these on the Vahan portal or the Sarathi portal. Download a PDF only when Tarabai Park or Ichalkaranji wants a paper form.

For when each form is needed, see our Maharashtra RTO guide; forms not shown on these cards are in the full list on the Parivahan Sewa website.

How insurance links to the Kolhapur RTO

No Kolhapur office registers a car without valid cover. In a sale, the RC is transferred before the policy, which must move to the buyer within 14 days. If the car is ever re-registered or renumbered, inform your insurer so the policy carries the RC number.

Worth knowing: An MH-09 car taken to Pune keeps Zone B pricing until it is registered again, since the zone follows the registering office. Still, inform your insurer of the Pune address once you settle there.