Odisha: RTO code list and details

Odisha RTOs, from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to Rourkela and Sambalpur, are run by the Commerce and Transport Department through the Transport Commissioner. OD is the state code on every plate registered here, and the two digits after it identify the Regional Transport Office (RTO) that registered the vehicle.

An OD number plate has four parts: OD is the state code for Odisha, two digits are the RTO code, a one or two letter series, and a four-digit number. For example, in OD 02 AB 1234, 02 is the code of the Bhubaneswar I RTO.

Bhubaneswar causes the most confusion. The city has two RTOs, Bhubaneswar I (OD-02) and Bhubaneswar II (OD-33), and the code on a Bhubaneswar car depends on which office registered it, not on where the owner lives today.

The OD-02 code does not change if the owner moves from Bhubaneswar to Cuttack, or to any other part of Odisha. The code changes only when the vehicle is re-registered outside Odisha or its registration details are changed.

Rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 applies in Odisha as in every state: Each vehicle must have a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP). New vehicles have had one fitted by the maker and dealer before delivery since 1 April 2019.

Two Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) notifications made the rule: G.S.R. 1162(E), which is dated 4 December 2018, and S.O. 6052, which is dated 6 December 2018.

Odisha vehicles registered before April 2019

Vehicles registered before 1 April 2019 need a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) fitted by the dates Odisha sets. The plate is the same on an OD-01 car from Balasore as on an OD-35 car from Talcher.

Worth knowing: The Odisha transport department website names the booking portal for a plate installation, and it shows the date that applies to your OD vehicle.

35 codes make up the Odisha list, from OD-01 for Balasore to OD-35 for Talcher. Most codes belong to a district RTO, while Bhubaneswar has two codes and towns such as Chandikhol, Rourkela, Bhanjanagar and Talcher have their own.

This list follows the Odisha Transport Department office list, which is updated whenever an office moves or a new one opens.

Bhubaneswar has two RTOs, Bhubaneswar I with the code OD-02 and Bhubaneswar II with OD-33. Cuttack RTO uses OD-05, and the office of the Transport Commissioner, Odisha, is at Rajaswa Bhawan in Cuttack.

Chandikhol (OD-04), Puri (OD-13) and Jagatsinghpur (OD-21) are the nearest RTOs outside the two cities. The address on your Registration Certificate (RC) decides which of these offices is yours.

Some Odisha RTOs are searched for by town name more often than by code. Each one offers the same services as any other RTO in the state, including registration, driving licences and road tax.

Bhadrak RTO (OD-22)

OD-22 is the Bhadrak RTO code. Jajpur RTO uses OD-34 and Balasore RTO uses OD-01.

Rourkela RTO (OD-14)

OD-14 belongs to Rourkela RTO, while Sundergarh has a separate RTO with OD-16.

Balasore RTO (OD-01)

OD-01, the first code on the Odisha list, belongs to Balasore RTO.

Angul RTO (OD-19)

OD-19 is the Angul RTO code. Talcher has a separate RTO with OD-35, the last code on the department’s list.

Odisha charges road tax once, when a vehicle is first registered in the state, as a percentage of its cost. The rate climbs in three steps, 6%, 8% and 10%, with the breaks at ₹5 lakhs and ₹10 lakhs, and a motorcycle is taxed on the same scale as a car kept for personal use.

Worked example: A car priced at exactly ₹5 lakhs is still in the first band, so Odisha takes 6% of ₹5,00,000, which is ₹30,000. A ₹90,000 motorcycle at the same 6% pays ₹5,400.

Rates are set by the state and can change, so check the amount shown on Vahan before you pay.

₹600 registers a new car at any Odisha RTO, and ₹300 a motorcycle. These and the other service fees below come from Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, so they are the same at OD-01 Balasore as at OD-35 Talcher, and they apply to every Registration Certificate (RC) service.

Charged separately: The HSRP, Odisha road tax and any state service charge. Vahan lists each amount before payment.

The dealer registers most new private cars in Odisha on the Vahan portal, so the owner seldom needs to visit the RTO. Road tax and the registration fee are paid with the car’s price, and the Registration Certificate (RC) follows the RTO’s approval.

Important to know: You can buy car insurance yourself before delivery day. The dealer only needs a valid policy to register the car, so it is worth comparing your options first.

₹300 is the fee to transfer a car to a new owner in Odisha. The application goes on Vahan or to the RTO whose code is on the RC, so an OD-05 car is transferred by the Cuttack office even if the buyer lives in Puri.

Removing a loan (hypothecation) from the RC in Odisha

Form 35 removes a loan from the RC, and Form 34 is the one that added it. After the last instalment, the lender gives its No Objection Certificate and signs Form 35, the owner applies on Vahan, and the RTO issues an updated RC without the hypothecation.

Vehicle services in Odisha run on the Vahan portal and licence services on the Sarathi portal, both part of the Parivahan Sewa website. Only a few steps, such as the driving test, still need an RTO visit.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Odisha

A lost, stolen or damaged RC is replaced through Form 26, the duplicate RC application. Submit it on Vahan with the duplicate RC fee from the fees table. RC status for any OD vehicle shows on Parivahan Sewa and in mParivahan, and you can also check your RC status with Kiwi Insurance.

Driving licence services in Odisha

All licence services in Odisha run on Sarathi, from the learner’s licence and driving test to licence renewal and the International Driving Permit. Form 2 and Form 4A, in the RTO forms section, are the paper versions of these services.

₹2,000 is the fine for a first offence of driving without insurance, under section 196 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 as amended in 2019. These national amounts can differ from what Odisha charges, as the state may compound some offences at its own rates, so the amount on the challan is the one due.

Challans on OD vehicles are listed and paid on echallan.parivahan.gov.in and in the mParivahan app.

Keep in mind: A current policy is the one thing that rules out the first fine in the table completely. Renewal before the expiry date keeps an OD car clear of it.

If you are leaving Odisha, the order is the other way round. The No Objection Certificate (NOC) comes from your OD office before the move, the new state then registers the car, and a refund of unused Odisha road tax can be claimed after that.

A Bharat series (BH) number plate shows no state code, so one number is valid in all states. An owner who moves from Odisha to another state with it needs no No Objection Certificate (NOC) and no new registration mark. The series is for people whose jobs take them from state to state.

26 August 2021 is the date of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) notification G.S.R. 594(E), which started the series from 15 September 2021. G.S.R. 879(E), dated 14 December 2022, added two things: The transfer of a Bharat series (BH) vehicle to a new owner, and the conversion of an existing registration.

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.

6% to 10% of the cost, paid once, is the Odisha road tax on an OD car. A BH car pays the rates above for every 2-year period instead.

Keep in mind: No NOC, no new registration and no tax refund claim are needed when a BH car leaves Odisha for another state.

The Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 set one national list of RTO forms, and Odisha uses that list. Most forms are completed online on Vahan or Sarathi, and each PDF is available if an office still requires a paper form.

Form 29 and Form 30 are the two forms for a used car sale, filled in by the seller and buyer together. The deadline to move the insurance is 14 days after the RC changes to the buyer’s name.

Worth knowing: Each form goes to the RTO whose code is on the RC, for example OD-02 in Bhubaneswar or OD-01 in Balasore. The document list for each service is on the Parivahan Sewa website, and it can include address proof or a PUC certificate. All other forms are on the Parivahan Sewa website forms page.

Worth knowing: Two records change after a sale, the RC at the RTO and the policy with the insurer. Completing both within 14 days keeps the car covered without a break.