How to Obtain a Temporary Registration Number for Your Car?

We all want to have a car that we can take for a drive and get all the needed comfort, don’t we? And to own a car, we do a lot of hard work. Then the process of choosing the right brand, favorite color, and required features, starts. Amidst all these, we need to consider the fact that in India we must follow some motor laws so that we do not fall into any kind of trouble.

To start with, you have to purchase motor insurance for your car with a minimum of a third party insurance cover under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. For better and wider coverage, you can opt for a comprehensive insurance plan. In an event of loss or damage to your car, your insurance policy will come as a great help because of the coverage provided by it. However, before you take the brand new car to your home, make sure it has a temporary registration number.

What is a Temporary Car Registration Number?

A temporary registration number for a car is basically a unique number that is used for identifying a new car that has not been registered yet at the Regional Transport Office (RTO). According to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, each car operating on the road must come with a permanent registration number that has been issued by the RTO. However, it takes some time to get the permanent registration number, and that is why you must get a temp number for the new car before you take it home from the showroom.

The temporary registration number is mostly assigned by the vehicle dealers or the showroom from which you have bought the vehicle. However, if your car dealer has not arranged for the temporary registration number for your brand new car, you must apply for it without fail. This should be done before you take the vehicle home. If traffic police catch you driving a car without a temporary or permanent registration number, they may issue a traffic challan against you and you will end up paying a fine.

The validity period of a temporary number in India is one month. During this period, you have to apply for a permanent registration number for the vehicle with the concerned RTO. As the RTO issues a permanent registration number to the car, your temporary number will get invalid. In case you do not receive the permanent registration number from the RTO within a month, you can choose to apply for an extension of the temporary number for your car.

Steps to Apply for a Temporary Car Registration Number

If the car dealer from whom you bought the car did not apply for a temporary car registration number for the vehicle, you must take things into your hands and apply for the same on your own. At present, you will not be able to apply for a temporary car registration number online on the web portal of the Transport Ministry. Here are the steps that you need to follow for applying for a temporary car registration number.

• The foremost thing that you need to do is to download Form 20
• Now fill up the application form properly with all the required details
• You also need to collect all the proper documents to apply for a temporary car registration number
• At this point, you might need to visit the RTO holding jurisdiction of your residential area so that you can submit the application form along with the other documents
• You must pay the charges to get the temporary car registration number
• A temporary registration number will then be issued by the RTO for your new car.

Read More : How to Find Car Insurance Details by Registration Number?

Documents that You need to Apply for a Temporary Car Registration Number

To get a temporary car registration number for your brand new car, you would require submitting some documents to the nearest RTO. Here are some of those documents:

• Either Form 20 or an application form to apply for a temporary car registration number
• Form 21 or the sale certificate of the car
• Road Worthiness certificate of the car or Form 22
• Motor insurance certificate for the car
• Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate of the car
• The car owner’s address proof, which may include Aadhaar Card, Ration Card, electricity bill, etc.
• Form 60 and Form 61 or a copy of the PAN Card.

Steps to Download the Application that You Need for a Temporary Car Registration Number

To apply for a temporary car registration number, you would need Form 20. Now to get Form 20, you would need to go through some steps, and those are mentioned herein below.

• The first thing that you should do is to visit the official website of Parivahan Sewa by the Ministry of Road, Transport, and Highways
• Now you will find a tab on the menu bar, named Informational Services, on which you have to click
• Now from the dropdown menu, select the Downloadable Forms option. You will also find the sub-option of ‘Vehicle Registration’
• At this point, a page with the option of downloading many forms will appear on the screen
• Click on Form 20 and other forms such as Form 21 and Form 22, so that you can download them.

While you are applying for a temporary registration number, make sure you apply for your car insurance as well. This is one of the most important things that you must have as a car owner. Car insurance will protect your car in case it involves an accident. You will at least not have to bear the repairing expenses.