Vasai-Virar RTO: MH-48 office in Virar East

Vasai-Virar cars are registered under MH-48 at the Vasai Regional Transport Office (RTO). The office is named after Vasai but stands in Virar East, and it is a Palghar district office, although some listings still put it in Thane district, which Vasai left when Palghar district was formed in 2014.

Take MH 48 AB 1234, a typical Vasai-Virar plate, and read it left to right. The state comes first (MH), then 48 for the Vasai office in Virar East, then AB for the letter series, and finally 1234 is the four-digit number.

Worth knowing: An MH-48 car bought in Nalasopara and later sold to someone in Pune or Nagpur still reads MH-48, as the number records where it was first registered. A house move from Virar to anywhere else in Maharashtra leaves the MH-48 code as it is, and the code changes only if the car is re-registered outside Maharashtra or its registration details are changed.

Any MH-48 car first registered from 1 April 2019 already wears a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP), and the state transport department says it does not need a new one.

For an older Vasai-Virar car, book the plate installation on the booking portal named on the Maharashtra transport department website, which also shows the date for MH-48 vehicles. Fitting at a centre carries no extra fitment charge, while a home visit is charged. Which vehicles need the plate, and why, is covered in our Maharashtra RTO guide.

Only MH-48 belongs to the Vasai office. The trouble is that three other codes sit right next door, with Mira Bhayandar and Thane under a different parent office and Palghar under this one but not open yet.

Worth knowing: Mira Road and Bhayandar belong to Thane district, not Palghar, and the MH-58 Mira Bhayandar Deputy RTO set up there in 2025 reports to the Thane RTO. The transport department’s pages do not say which addresses moved to it from MH-04.

Both of the transport department’s address lists put the MH-48 office at Chandansar, Bhatpada, in Virar East, so this is one address you can rely on. Opening hours are another matter, as no official page gives them.

Vasai RTO office, MH-48

Although the board says Vasai, the building is in Virar East, inside Vasai taluka. Two official lists also describe it differently, one as a full Regional Transport Office and the other as a Deputy RTO, and a news report says it was among the deputy offices raised to full RTOs in 2023.

The same office also runs the Dapcheri (Achhad) check post on the Gujarat border, and the department has placed the planned Palghar office under it. That Palghar office was sanctioned in May 2025, and the 2026 office list still describes it as not yet working.

No official area list exists for MH-48, but one directory names Vasai, Virar, Nalasopara and Naigaon as its patch. Mira Road and Bhayandar are a different case, as they are in Thane district.

The office that registered a used car is in the code on its RC, and typing the number into the finder at the top of this page names it.

Worth knowing: Once the Palghar office (MH-60) opens, some of the district may be handed to it. Until the department announces that, new cars from the district are registered at Virar East.

So a ₹6 lakh petrol hatchback registered in Virar East costs ₹66,000 in road tax. A road safety cess is charged on that tax as well, reported to be 2%, so check the final amount on Vahan.

RTO fees are fixed for the whole country, so registering a car at Virar East costs the same as at the Mira Bhayandar or Thane office. The payment goes through the Vahan portal, and for a new car the dealer pays it inside the on-road price.

For example: A Nalasopara buyer who takes a car loan pays the Virar East office ₹2,300 in RTO fees before road tax, which is ₹600 for registration, ₹200 for the smart card RC and ₹1,500 to record the loan.

At 15 years an MH-48 car needs a ₹5,000 renewal, and after 20 years the charge is ₹10,000. Letting it lapse adds ₹500 for every month late on a car, or ₹300 on a motorcycle.

Keep the HSRP plate, any state service charge and the one-time road tax out of this total, as each is a separate payment for an MH-48 car.

The dealer applies on Vahan, and a Vasai-Virar address sends the file to Virar East

A showroom in Vasai or Virar files the application on Vahan, and the MH-48 office approves it for an address in its area. Buy the car in Thane or Borivali instead, and it is still registered at Virar East if that is where you live.

Selling an MH-48 car? The transfer runs through the Vasai office or Vahan. Notice of the sale goes in on Form 29, the joint application on Form 30, and Virar East charges ₹300 for a car or ₹150 for a motorcycle.

Within 14 days the new owner should transfer the policy as well.

Clearing a loan (hypothecation) from an MH-48 RC

After the final instalment, upload the lender’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) with Form 35 on Vahan, and the Vasai office issues a clean RC at no charge. The documents needed at each stage are in our Maharashtra RTO guide.

Use the Vahan portal for vehicle tasks and the Sarathi portal for licence tasks, and each application reaches the Virar East office for an MH-48 address. Maharashtra holds the learner licence test online with Aadhaar authentication, which saves one trip to Chandansar.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Vasai-Virar

A lost, stolen or damaged MH-48 RC is replaced on Form 26, with the fee in the fees table. The Kiwi Insurance RC status check shows where any number stands.

Driving licence services in Vasai-Virar

Apply for a licence or renewal on Sarathi, then take the driving test at the Vasai office in person. Every other online service for MH vehicles is listed in our Maharashtra RTO guide.

To find a challan against an MH-48 car, enter the number on echallan.parivahan.gov.in or in mParivahan, where the amount due for each offence is shown and can be paid.

Every other fine is listed in our Maharashtra RTO guide.

Coming from Thane, Mumbai or anywhere else in Maharashtra, an MH car keeps its number and only the RC address changes. Bring one in from Gujarat or further away, and after 12 months of being kept in the state it has to switch to MH-48.

If you are leaving Maharashtra with an MH-48 car, apply to the Vasai office for the Form 28 NOC before you go. The RTO charges no fee for it, and the car is then registered afresh in the new state.

Worth knowing: The forms for each step are in our Maharashtra RTO guide.

If your job may take you out of Maharashtra, ask the Vasai-Virar dealer for a Bharat series (BH) number instead of MH-48, and a later move to another state needs no fresh registration and no No Objection Certificate (NOC).

Working in the private sector? Your employer needs offices in 4 or more states or union territories and signs Form 60, which you hand the Vasai-Virar dealer. 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.

Eligibility and the tax paid every 2 years are covered in our Maharashtra RTO guide.

Most tasks now begin on the Vahan portal or the Sarathi portal. A paper form is needed only if the Virar East counter asks for one, and it goes to the office named on the RC.

Which task at Virar East needs which form is spelt out in our Maharashtra RTO guide. For anything not shown here, see the full forms list on the Parivahan Sewa website.

How insurance links to the Vasai-Virar RTO

The Vasai office will not register a new car without a valid policy. When a car is sold, the RC is transferred first and the policy within 14 days. After any new number or address, inform your insurer so the policy matches the RC.