MH-04 code and the Thane-1 and Thane-2 RTO offices

A Thane plate such as MH 04 AB 1234 is made of four pieces. MH tells you the car is from Maharashtra, 04 names Thane RTO, AB is the letter series, and 1234 is the four-digit number.

Worth knowing: A car that was first registered at Thane keeps MH-04 when its owner moves to Kalyan, Vashi or Pune, or sells it to someone there. Inside the state the plate stays as it is on a sale or a house move, and the MH-04 code changes only if the car is re-registered outside Maharashtra or its registration details are changed.

If your Thane car was registered on or after 1 April 2019, its High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) was fitted before delivery, and the state transport department says it need not apply again.

An older MH-04 car needs the plate installed. The booking portal for it is named on the Maharashtra transport department website, and the date for your car is shown there too. A fitment centre adds no fitment charge, and fitment at home costs extra. See our Maharashtra RTO guide for the rest of the plate rules.

Only one code, MH-04, belongs to Thane itself. The second table shows the codes that people around Thane most often take for MH-04, starting with the three deputy offices that report to Thane RTO.

Two offices are listed under MH-04. Thane-1 is the Regional Transport Office itself, and Thane-2 is listed for driving licence services. The opening hours of Thane-1 and Thane-2 could not be confirmed from an official source, so ask the office before you make the trip.

Thane-1 RTO office, MH-04

Thane-1 is the head office for MH-04, opposite the Central Jail in Thane 400601. The deputy offices at Kalyan, Vashi and Mira Bhayandar all report to it.

Thane-2 office for driving licences, MH-04

Thane-2 is the second MH-04 listing, and the department names it for driving licence services. It is on the Eastern Express Highway, near the LIC building and Murphy Company, in Thane West.

Worth knowing: For licence work, confirm with the office whether your appointment is at Thane-1 or Thane-2 before you travel. Vehicle work for an MH-04 car is handled by Thane RTO.

The areas below come from the transport department’s pincode table for MH-04. Your office is set by the address on your Registration Certificate (RC), not by the showroom where you bought the car.

Worth knowing: Kalwa and Diwa are on the MH-04 list, so a car owner there registers at Thane, not at the Kalyan office (MH-05).

Mira Road and Bhayandar have had a deputy office of their own, MH-58, since a Government Resolution of 28 March 2025. Which areas moved to it from MH-04 has not been published, so ask either office if you live there.

After a move inside Maharashtra, change the address on the RC and inform your insurer. The MH-04 number on the car stays the same.

Worked example: A ₹6 lakh petrol car registered at Thane pays 11%, which is ₹66,000. On top of the tax there is a road safety cess, reported as 2% of it, and Vahan shows the exact amount to pay.

RTO fees are set nationally, so Thane-1 charges an MH-04 owner the same amount that the Kalyan or Vashi office charges. Payment is made on the Vahan portal, and with a new car the dealer settles it as part of the on-road price.

For example: A Thane buyer who finances a new car pays ₹2,300 in RTO fees at MH-04 before road tax. It breaks down as ₹600 for registration, ₹200 for the smart card and ₹1,500 for noting the loan.

Renewing the registration of a 15-year-old MH-04 car costs ₹5,000, rising to ₹10,000 for a car older than 20. Each month of delay adds ₹500 for a car and ₹300 for a motorcycle.

Keep separate money aside for the HSRP, the Maharashtra road tax and any state service charge, since none of them is an RTO fee.

The dealer registers a new car for you on the Vahan portal, and the address on your papers decides which office approves it. A buyer from Naupada or Wagle Estate gets an MH-04 number, as both are on the Thane list.

A used MH-04 car changes hands at Thane RTO or online on Vahan. The seller reports the sale on Form 29, buyer and seller sign Form 30 together, and Thane RTO charges ₹300 for a car (₹150 for a motorcycle).

Within 14 days of the sale, the buyer applies to switch the policy to their name.

Clearing a car loan (hypothecation) from a Thane RC

When the loan is paid off, send Form 35 and the lender’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) through Vahan. There is no fee, and the full document list is on our Maharashtra RTO guide.

At Thane RTO, vehicle applications begin on the Vahan portal and licence applications on the Sarathi portal, and both reach the MH-04 office. In Maharashtra the learner licence test is taken online with Aadhaar authentication.

Duplicate RC and RC status for a Thane car

If the RC is lost, stolen or damaged, apply on Form 26 to Thane RTO and pay the fee in the fees table. To see where any MH-04 registration stands, enter the number in the Kiwi Insurance RC status check.

Driving licence services in Thane

Licence work is booked on Sarathi. Thane-2 is the office listed for driving licence services, so confirm where your test will be held. Our Maharashtra RTO guide lists the full set of online services.

To see or pay a challan on an MH-04 car, search its number on echallan.parivahan.gov.in or in mParivahan. Each challan shows the amount due for the offence.

Every other fine is listed on our Maharashtra RTO guide.

A car from Mumbai, Pune or anywhere else in Maharashtra keeps its MH number in Thane, so only the address changes. A car with another state’s plate has to be re-registered with an MH-04 number after it has stayed in Maharashtra for over 12 months.

If you are leaving Maharashtra with an MH-04 car, the steps run the other way. Apply to Thane RTO on Form 28 for the NOC, which carries no fee, then register the car in the new state.

Worth knowing: Whenever the RC gets a new number or address, inform your insurer so the policy shows it too. Our Maharashtra RTO guide has the forms in full.

Staff who expect a transfer out of Maharashtra can ask the Thane dealer for a Bharat series (BH) number rather than MH-04. A transfer to another state then needs no No Objection Certificate (NOC) and no fresh registration.

A private sector employee hands over Form 60, which the employer can sign only if it runs 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.

Who can apply, and how the tax is paid every 2 years, is covered in our Maharashtra RTO guide.

At Thane RTO nearly all of this paperwork now goes through the Vahan portal or the Sarathi portal online. The PDF is there for the times Thane-1 or Thane-2 still asks for a paper copy.

For when each form applies, see our Maharashtra RTO guide. Other forms can be downloaded from the Parivahan Sewa website, where the full set is listed.

How insurance links to Thane RTO

No new car is registered at Thane RTO without a valid policy in place. After a sale, move the RC first and the policy within 14 days. After a new number or any change on the RC, inform your insurer so the policy matches it.