Puducherry: RTO code list and details

A PY number plate is read the same way in all four regions. In PY 01 AB 1234, PY is the code for Puducherry, 01 is the office in Puducherry town, AB is the letter series and 1234 is the four-digit number given to that vehicle.

A car first registered in Karaikal still shows PY-02 years later in Puducherry town, as the code records the office that registered it rather than the owner’s present address. The PY-02 code does not change when the owner moves to another part of Puducherry. It changes only if the vehicle is re-registered outside Puducherry or its registration details are changed.

Worth knowing: A PY plate in Mahe or Yanam is surrounded by KL and AP plates, since those two regions lie inside Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The vehicle is still registered in Puducherry.

New and older PY vehicles

Vehicles sold from 1 April 2019 come with the High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) already fitted by the manufacturer and dealer. A vehicle registered before that date must have one fitted by the dates the union territory sets. The Transport Department, Government of Puducherry website names the portal for booking the installation and shows the date for your PY vehicle.

Worth knowing: A Mahe or Yanam car follows the same plate rule as one in Puducherry town, since the rule is national and the union territory only sets the dates for older vehicles.

The PY code list is short, since the union territory has four regions and one office each. The code on a plate tells you which of the four registered the vehicle.

Office details do change from time to time, and the four regions are far apart, so a wasted trip can be a long one. Confirm the details with the Transport Department, Government of Puducherry before you go.

The four regions lie inside other states, so people often live in one and work in the other. You register the vehicle where the address on your paperwork is, not where you bought it or where you drive it.

Mahe and the Kerala border

Mahe lies inside Kerala, so a car registered in Mahe carries a PY-03 number while a car registered in Thalassery a few kilometres away carries a KL number. See the Kerala RTO guide.

Yanam and the Andhra Pradesh border

Yanam lies inside Andhra Pradesh, near Kakinada. A car registered there carries PY-04, while Andhra Pradesh vehicles carry AP. See the Andhra Pradesh RTO guide.

Worth knowing: Road tax differs between Puducherry and the states around it, so the on-road price of the same car can change across the boundary. Look up the tax for the region on your address proof before you pay a booking amount.

Puducherry works differently from most states. Instead of charging a percentage of what the car cost, it charges a one-time tax set by the weight of the vehicle, which keeps the amount low on an ordinary car.

For example: A small hatchback under 700 kilograms pays ₹4,800 once, for the life of the registration. A mid-size car in the middle band pays ₹6,000. On a car costing ₹6 lakhs that is well under 1% of the price, where most states would charge 8% or more.

Expensive cars are taxed separately

Above a certain price the tax stops following weight and becomes a much larger fixed amount. The Transport Department’s tax slab schedule sets ₹50,000 for a car costing between ₹15 lakhs and ₹20 lakhs, and ₹1,00,000 for one above ₹20 lakhs.

You pay the tax online through the vehicle tax service on Parivahan Sewa, or the dealer pays it as part of the on-road price. The union territory can revise its rates, so go by the amount Vahan shows on the day you pay.

Road tax in Puducherry follows its own weight-based schedule, but the RTO fees are national, fixed by Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. That means a registration at PY-04 in Yanam costs the same as one at PY-01 in Puducherry town.

A smart card Registration Certificate (RC) adds ₹200 to the fee, a late renewal costs ₹500 a month for a car and ₹300 a month for a motorcycle, and battery-operated vehicles pay nothing to have an RC issued or renewed.

Worth knowing: These are RTO fees only. The HSRP, the Puducherry road tax and any service charge the union territory adds are paid separately.

A new car in any of the four regions is usually registered by the dealer, who files the application on Vahan for you. The road tax and registration fee come built into the on-road price, and your Registration Certificate (RC) follows once the PY office has approved the file.

Some cases need more, such as a document check, an inspection of the car or a visit to the office in person, so treat these steps as the common route rather than a fixed rule.

Important to know: The dealer needs proof of a valid policy, not a policy from any particular insurer. That leaves you free to compare quotes and buy cover yourself before delivery day.

A used car changes hands on paper only when the RC is moved into the buyer’s name, so the sale is not complete when the keys are handed over. In Puducherry the application goes on Vahan or to the PY office named on the RC, for example PY-02 for a Karaikal car, and the transfer fee for a car is ₹300.

Removing a loan (hypothecation) from the RC in Puducherry

A car bought on a loan has the loan recorded on its RC, added with Form 34 when the car was financed. After the last instalment, collect the lender’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) and Form 35, apply on Vahan, and the PY office issues an updated RC without the loan.

All four PY offices use the same national Parivahan system online. The Vahan portal handles registration, RC, tax and ownership work, the Sarathi portal handles driving licences, and mParivahan and the e-challan service show vehicle details and challans.

Some tasks still end with a visit to your PY office, and which ones differs by service and by office.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Puducherry

A lost, stolen or damaged RC is replaced with a duplicate RC through Form 26, filed on Vahan or at the PY office that issued the original. To see what the record shows for your number, search it on Parivahan Sewa or mParivahan, or check your RC status with Kiwi Insurance.

Driving licence services in Puducherry

Licence work for all four regions runs on Sarathi. You can apply for a learner’s licence, book the driving test, renew a licence or ask for an International Driving Permit there, and visit your office only for the steps that need you in person.

Fines on PY vehicles come from one national law, the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, so a challan in Yanam follows the same scale as one in Puducherry town. The union territory can compound some offences at its own amounts, which is why the challan itself shows what you owe.

Challans issued in any of the four regions can be looked up and paid on the Parivahan e-challan portal, echallan.parivahan.gov.in, or in the mParivahan app.

Worth knowing: The ₹2,000 fine for driving without insurance is the one a valid policy rules out completely. A Third-Party policy is the legal minimum for every PY car.

The paperwork differs from one vehicle, state and office to the next, so check the current process with your RTO or on Parivahan Sewa. If you’re leaving Puducherry, the same steps apply in reverse: your PY office issues the NOC, the new state registers the car and collects its tax, and you apply here for any unused tax to be refunded.

A Bharat series (BH) number is a registration number for use anywhere in India, so it has no PY or other state code. When the owner moves to another state, the car keeps the same number and needs no No Objection Certificate (NOC) or new registration. It suits people whose jobs move them between states. The scheme dates from G.S.R. 594(E), issued by MoRTH on 26 August 2021 and effective from 15 September 2021. A later notification, G.S.R. 879(E) dated 14 December 2022, extended it to ownership transfer and to converting existing registrations.

For an ordinary car, the one-time Puducherry tax by weight (₹4,800 to ₹8,000) is well below a BH rate of 8% or more of the price, while a BH number saves a new registration each time you move.

The Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 fix one set of RTO forms for the whole country, so the four Puducherry offices use the same ones as everywhere else. Most are now completed on Vahan or Sarathi, and the PDF is available if an office still requires a paper form.

A used car sale needs two of these together, Form 29 from the seller and Form 30 from both parties. After the RC is issued to the buyer, there is a 14-day window to move the insurance.

Worth knowing: A form goes to the office whose code is on the RC, so a Mahe car is handled at PY-03 and a Yanam car at PY-04. Offices can also ask for address proof or a PUC certificate, and the document list on the Parivahan Sewa website shows what to bring. Anything missing from these cards is in the complete form list on the Parivahan Sewa website.

Where your insurance meets the Puducherry RTO

Your policy and the RTO meet at three moments. A PY office will not register a car without cover in place. A sale starts the 14-day window above for moving the policy to the buyer. If the car is registered again with a new number, for example after a move from another state, inform your insurer so the policy shows that number.

Worth knowing: Doing the RC transfer and the policy transfer within the same two weeks avoids a gap in cover once the car changes hands.