Lucknow RTO: UP-32 and UP-32A offices, address, and codes

Lucknow is one district with two RTO codes. The Regional Transport Office (RTO) uses UP-32, and a second office, which the Uttar Pradesh Transport Department lists as the Trans Gomti office, uses UP-32A. A car registered in Lucknow can carry either code, depending on which of the two offices registered it.

Take a Lucknow number such as UP 32 AB 1234 and read it from the left. UP stands for Uttar Pradesh and 32 for the Lucknow RTO. AB is the letter series, and 1234 is the four-digit number that belongs to that one vehicle.

Worth knowing: The Trans Gomti office has its own code on the Transport Department list, UP-32A, so the code on a Lucknow Registration Certificate (RC) shows which of the two offices keeps the file. A move within Lucknow, or to Kanpur or any other Uttar Pradesh district, leaves the code as it is. It changes only if the car is re-registered outside Uttar Pradesh or its registration details are changed.

The plate rule is the same at both Lucknow offices. A new car registered at UP-32 or UP-32A comes from the dealer with a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) already fitted, as Rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 has required since 1 April 2019.

Worth knowing: An older Lucknow car needs an HSRP too. The Uttar Pradesh Transport Department website names the booking portal for the installation and the date that applies to older vehicles. Our Uttar Pradesh RTO guide covers the plate rules in full.

Two codes on the Transport Department list belong to Lucknow: UP-32 for the Regional Transport Office and UP-32A for the Trans Gomti office. Barabanki, Unnao and Raebareli next door each have a code of their own.

Some websites also file UP-36 under Lucknow. On the official list, UP-36 belongs to Gauriganj in Amethi district, so a Lucknow car never carries it.

In Lucknow, the first thing to know is which of two offices is yours. The code on your Registration Certificate (RC) answers it: UP-32 work goes to the Regional Transport Office on Kanpur Road, and UP-32A work to the Trans Gomti office. We could not confirm the hours of either office from an official source, and the addresses below come from directory listings, so check with the office before you set out.

Lucknow RTO office, UP-32

Directories list the main Lucknow office at Transport Nagar on Kanpur Road, and one of them adds the Hind Nagar Colony area. A car registered here carries UP-32.

Trans Gomti office, UP-32A

The second office is the one the Transport Department lists as the Trans Gomti office, with the code UP-32A. One directory lists it as an Assistant Regional Transport Office (ARTO), and the listings do not agree on where it is.

Is the Transport Commissioner’s office a Lucknow RTO?

No. Lucknow is the state capital, and one directory lists the head office of the Uttar Pradesh Transport Department, under the Transport Commissioner, in the city as well. It has no plate code of its own, so registration and RC work for a Lucknow car still goes to UP-32 or UP-32A.

Your district decides your office. Every address in Lucknow district is registered in Lucknow, at UP-32 or UP-32A, while Barabanki, Unnao and Raebareli next door register vehicles at their own offices. What we could not find in any official source is a list of which Lucknow neighbourhoods go to which of the two codes.

Not sure which office your car belongs to? Read the code printed on your RC, or type the registration number into the finder at the top of this page.

Worth knowing: A move across Lucknow, even to the Trans Gomti side, does not turn a UP-32 car into a UP-32A one, or the other way round. The number stays the same, and only the address on the RC needs updating.

RTO fees are national, so a car registered at the Trans Gomti office pays exactly what a UP-32 car pays at Transport Nagar. Payment is made on Vahan, and for a new car the dealer handles it during registration.

A Lucknow example: Say your first car is bought on a loan and registered at UP-32. The RTO fees come to ₹2,300, made up of ₹600 to register it, ₹200 for the smart card RC and ₹1,500 to record the loan. Road tax is charged on top of that.

Years later, when the same car turns 15, renewing its registration costs ₹5,000, rising to ₹10,000 once it is past 20. Each month of delay in renewing adds ₹500 on a car and ₹300 on a motorcycle.

Worth knowing: These are the Rule 81 amounts. Road tax, the High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) and any service or postal charge Uttar Pradesh adds are separate, so the total on your Vahan receipt can be higher.

The dealer applies on Vahan, and the office that approves the car decides UP-32 or UP-32A

For a first car, the dealer does most of the work. The dealer applies on Vahan with your Lucknow address, one of the two Lucknow offices approves the application, and the car gets a UP-32 or UP-32A number depending on which office that is.

Selling a UP-32 or UP-32A car to someone else in Uttar Pradesh leaves its number unchanged. The seller files Form 29, seller and buyer sign Form 30, and the fee for a car is ₹300, paid on Vahan or at the Lucknow office on the RC.

When the buyer lives in another state, the Lucknow office issues a No Objection Certificate (NOC) and the car is registered again there. Whichever way the sale goes, the new owner must move the insurance within 14 days.

Removing a loan (hypothecation) from the RC in Lucknow

Once the last instalment is paid, the lender gives you a No Objection Certificate and Form 35. Apply on Vahan with both, and the Lucknow office issues a fresh RC without the loan, free of charge. Our Uttar Pradesh RTO guide lists the documents.

Most RTO work for a Lucknow owner begins at home. Vehicle services go through the Vahan portal and licence services through the Sarathi portal, and vehicle applications then reach the UP-32 or UP-32A office named on your RC.

Duplicate RC and RC status check in Lucknow

If the RC of your Lucknow car is lost, stolen or damaged, ask for a duplicate on Form 26 through Vahan, at ₹300 for a car. You can also check your RC status on the Kiwi Insurance tool.

Driving licence services in Lucknow

Learning to drive in Lucknow starts on Sarathi, where you apply for the learner’s licence and pick a test date. The test itself is taken in person, and a licence renewal starts on Sarathi too. Our Uttar Pradesh RTO guide lists every service.

A Lucknow driver caught without insurance pays what a driver anywhere in India pays. That fine, under section 196 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (as amended in 2019), is ₹2,000 the first time and ₹4,000 every time after.

The state can compound some offences at its own amounts, so the challan on a UP-32 or UP-32A car shows what is due. Look it up and pay on echallan.parivahan.gov.in or in mParivahan. For other offences, see our Uttar Pradesh RTO guide.

A car from Kanpur, Varanasi or any other Uttar Pradesh district is already registered in the state, so it keeps its number in Lucknow. A car from another state can run on its old number for up to 12 months, and after that it needs a UP-32 or UP-32A number.

If you are leaving Uttar Pradesh for a job elsewhere, the same steps apply in reverse, starting from the Lucknow office on your RC. It issues the No Objection Certificate (NOC) on Form 28, the new state registers the car, and you can then claim back the unused UP road tax.

Worth knowing: Inform your insurer when your address changes, and again when the car gets its UP-32 or UP-32A number. Our Uttar Pradesh RTO guide has the forms for both moves.

An officer posted to Lucknow, and later to another state, can choose the Bharat series (BH). A BH number has no state code, so the next move needs no No Objection Certificate (NOC) or new number. Government, defence and public sector staff qualify, as do private sector staff of a company with offices in 4 or more states or union territories, with Form 60.

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. The BH tax, 8% below ₹10 lakhs, is due every 2 years. More in our Uttar Pradesh RTO guide.

The UP-32 and UP-32A offices take the same national forms. Most are now completed on Vahan or Sarathi, and the PDF can be printed if an office asks for a paper copy.

Send each form to the office whose code is on your RC, UP-32 or UP-32A. Any other form is on the Parivahan Sewa website.