Meghalaya: RTO code list and details

A plate such as ML 05 AB 1234, read from left to right, has four parts. ML is the state code for Meghalaya. Next, 05 is the code of the Shillong office for East Khasi Hills. The two letters, AB, are the registration series, and the last part, 1234, is the four-digit number.

A car registered in Shillong keeps its Shillong code even if the owner later moves to Tura. The plate records the registering office, not the owner’s current address. Only a fresh registration in another state, or a change to the registration details, gives it a new code.

Good to know: Low numbers here do not point to the capital. ML-01, ML-02 and ML-03 are kept for government, police and Transport Commissioner vehicles, which is why a private car in Shillong shows ML-05.

Fitting a High Security Registration Plate on an older car in Meghalaya

A car bought new in Shillong in 2020 left the showroom with the plate already on, as the manufacturer and dealer have fitted it on new vehicles since 1 April 2019. A car registered in 2017 is different: It must have the plate fitted by the dates the state sets. To book the installation, use the HSRP booking portal named on the Meghalaya Transport Department website, which also shows the date that applies to your ML car.

The codes below are grouped into the Khasi and Jaintia Hills and the Garo Hills. Codes that do not belong to a district office have a table of their own. Each code shows the office that registered the car, not the town where the owner lives now.

Some published lists give ML-01 to Shillong and shift the other codes by one. These tables follow the lists that agree with each other. It is worth confirming them with the Transport Department.

Most registrations in Meghalaya go through two offices, one in each part of the state. In the Khasi Hills, Shillong (ML-05) covers East Khasi Hills. In the Garo Hills, Tura (ML-08) covers West Garo Hills.

Shillong and Tura are several hours apart by road. That is why the Garo Hills has five offices of its own instead of relying on the capital.

In most states, the capital gets the lowest number. Meghalaya set aside its first three codes for official vehicles instead. A private car in Shillong is therefore registered as ML-05, not ML-01.

ML-01, ML-02 and ML-03

ML-01 is for state government vehicles and ML-02 for police vehicles. ML-03 is for the Transport Commissioner in Shillong, and ML-99 for the State Transport Authority.

Codes on private cars

A private vehicle takes the code of the district office where its owner lives. That means ML-05 in Shillong, ML-08 in Tura, ML-04 in Jowai, and so on down the list above.

Keep in mind: This often confuses people who try to tell where a car is from. A low ML number means an official vehicle, not an older car from Shillong.

A new car in Meghalaya pays a one-time tax based on its original cost. The rate starts at 4% and rises to 10% for costlier cars. Note the period it covers: 10 years, not the 15 that most states allow.

For example: A car costing ₹3 lakhs is taxed at 4%, which comes to ₹12,000. A car costing ₹8 lakhs is taxed at 6%, which comes to ₹48,000. For a new car, the dealer usually collects the tax with the on-road price.

You can pay road tax on Parivahan Sewa under the vehicle tax service, or the dealer can add it to the on-road price. The state sets the rates and may change them, so check the amount on Vahan before you pay.

Registering a new car at Shillong costs ₹600 in RTO fees, and the same car pays ₹600 at Tura or Jowai. These fees are set nationally by Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, so no ML office charges its own rate for them.

For example: An ML-08 car from Tura that reaches 15 years pays ₹5,000 to renew its Registration Certificate (RC). If the renewal comes 3 months late, ₹1,500 more is added at ₹500 a month.

The table covers RTO fees alone. You pay for the HSRP, the Meghalaya road tax and any state service charge on top of these fees.

For most new private cars in Meghalaya, the dealer applies for registration on the Vahan portal. The road tax and registration fee are added to the price you pay for the car. The RTO issues the Registration Certificate (RC) once it approves the application.

Certain vehicles or transactions may also need document checks, an inspection or an RTO visit. The steps above are the usual route, not a fixed rule.

Important to know: You are free to buy car insurance on your own before delivery day. To register the car, the dealer just needs to see a valid policy, so there is time to compare plans.

Suppose you buy a used ML-05 car from a seller in Shillong. In law the car becomes yours only when the RC is in your name, not when the keys change hands. The transfer fee for a car is ₹300, paid on Vahan or at the Shillong office named on the RC.

Removing a loan (hypothecation) from the RC in Meghalaya

Say the car was bought with a bank loan, which was recorded on the RC through Form 34. After the last instalment, the bank gives you its No Objection Certificate (NOC) and Form 35. You apply with both on Vahan, and the district office issues an updated RC that no longer shows the loan.

Meghalaya runs its RTO services on the national Parivahan platform. The Vahan portal handles registration, RC, tax and ownership, and the Sarathi portal handles driving licences. Vehicle details and challans can be checked on mParivahan and the e-challan service.

Which services are fully online can depend on the transaction and the RTO.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Meghalaya

Say the RC of an ML-04 car goes missing in Jowai. The owner applies for a duplicate RC on Form 26, the same form used when an RC is stolen or damaged, and pays the ₹300 car fee listed under RTO fees. Any ML number can be looked up on Parivahan Sewa or mParivahan to check RC status, or you can check your RC status with Kiwi Insurance.

Driving licence services in Meghalaya

A first-time driver in Tura applies for a learner’s licence on Sarathi, then books the driving test on the same portal. Years later, the licence renewal is done there as well, and so is an application for an International Driving Permit before a trip abroad.

Driving an ML car without insurance costs ₹2,000 for a first offence and ₹4,000 for any offence after that, under section 196 of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019. The table lists other common amounts from the same Act. Meghalaya can compound some offences at its own amounts, so the amount due is the one printed on the challan.

For example, a challan raised against an ML-05 car in Shillong can be checked and paid on the Parivahan e-challan portal, echallan.parivahan.gov.in, or in the mParivahan app.

Good to know: The fine for an uninsured car is the one fine in the table that a valid car insurance policy prevents altogether.

What you need can differ by vehicle, state and RTO. Confirm the current process with the RTO or on the Parivahan Sewa website before you start. If you are leaving Meghalaya, your district office first issues the No Objection Certificate (NOC). Register the car in the new state, pay the tax there, and then apply here for a refund of unused tax.

A Bharat series (BH) registration has no state code on the plate, so it stays valid when the owner moves from Meghalaya to any other state. There is no need for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) or a new registration after the move. It suits owners who are transferred often, such as a central government employee in Shillong who expects a posting to Delhi. The scheme comes from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) notification G.S.R. 594(E) of 26 August 2021, in force from 15 September 2021. G.S.R. 879(E) of 14 December 2022 later opened it to ownership transfer and to converting an existing registration.

How it compares: On a petrol car costing ₹8 lakhs, the Meghalaya tax is 6%, paid once for 10 years, while the BH rate is 8%, charged in 2-year blocks.

Every state uses the same RTO forms, and Meghalaya is no different, as they come from the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, which cover the whole country. Most can be filled in online on Vahan or Sarathi. The PDF is useful only when an office still asks for a paper form.

In a used car sale, Form 29 and Form 30 are filled in by the seller and buyer together. After the RC is in the buyer’s name, the buyer has 14 days to transfer the insurance.

Note: Forms go to the office whose code appears on the RC, so an ML-05 car is handled in Shillong and an ML-04 car in Jowai. Address proof or a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate may be asked for as well. Check the document list on the Parivahan Sewa website to see what to bring. Any form not covered here is on the full list of RTO forms on the Parivahan Sewa website.

Where insurance meets the Meghalaya RTO

Three moments link the two. A new car at a Shillong dealer is registered only after a policy is in place. When a used ML-08 car changes hands in Tura, the buyer has 14 days from the RC transfer to move the policy into their name. And when a car from Assam is registered again with an ML number, inform your insurer so the policy shows the new number.

Keep in mind: The RC transfer at the RTO and the policy transfer with the insurer are best done in the same two weeks. Doing both on time means the car has no gap in cover after the sale.