Parivahan services: driving licence and vehicle RC, step by step

Almost everything to do with a driving licence or a vehicle registration certificate (RC) in India now starts online. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways runs one national platform, Parivahan Sewa, and two big services sit inside it: Sarathi for learner and driving licences, and Vahan for vehicle registration. Your state transport department and your Regional Transport Office (RTO) still decide each application, set some extra charges and run the tests, but the forms, fees and appointments go through these portals.

For each service you will find who can apply, which documents and forms you need, the central fee under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, and the portal page to open. Every apply, status, payment and download button leads to the government portal; nothing is filled in or paid here.

What Parivahan, Sarathi and Vahan each do

Parivahan Sewa (parivahan.gov.in) is the national portal of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). It holds information pages, downloadable forms, fee tables, links to every online service, and helpdesk contacts.

Sarathi (sarathi.parivahan.gov.in) handles everything on a driving licence: learner licence applications and tests, the permanent driving licence, renewal, duplicates, address and name changes, adding a class of vehicle and the international driving permit. You always choose your state first, because each state configures its own steps, slots and charges.

Vahan (vahan.parivahan.gov.in) handles vehicle registration: new registration (usually done by the dealer), transfer of ownership, duplicate RC, change of address, no objection certificate (NOC), hypothecation entries and RC renewal.

Two companion services are worth knowing. The Nexgen mParivahan mobile app from MoRTH shows digital copies of your licence and RC. eChallan (echallan.parivahan.gov.in) is where traffic challans are checked and paid.

Driving licence services

• Learner licence: your first step. Apply on Sarathi, pass a short road-rules test, and you can practise with a licensed driver beside you for six months.
• Driving licence: after holding a learner licence for at least 30 days, book a driving test for each class of vehicle.
• Driving licence renewal: apply up to one year before or within one year after expiry.
• Duplicate driving licence: for a lost, stolen, torn or defaced licence.
• Address and other corrections: address, name, date of birth, photo, signature and mobile number.
• International driving permit: for driving abroad, valid for up to one year.

Vehicle registration (RC) services

• Vehicle registration: temporary and permanent registration, BH series, electric-vehicle fee exemption and RC renewal after 15 years.
• RC transfer of ownership: after a sale, the owner’s death or a public auction.
• Vehicle NOC for another state: moving or selling a vehicle outside its registering authority, plus re-registration and RC address change.
• Hypothecation: adding a loan entry to the RC and removing it after the loan is closed.
• Duplicate RC: for a lost or damaged registration certificate.

Which official portal to open

Not sure which state to pick on Sarathi or Vahan? The Sarathi state list lists all 36 options with their codes and handles old names like Orissa, Uttaranchal and Pondicherry.

Services you can finish online with Aadhaar

On 16 September 2022 MoRTH notified S.O. 4353(E), which lets citizens complete 58 transport services online through Parivahan or mParivahan using Aadhaar authentication, without visiting the RTO. Aadhaar is voluntary: anyone without it can still get the same service in person by showing other identity documents.

The list includes the learner licence application, duplicate driving licence, renewal where no driving test is needed, replacement of a licence, changes of address, name, date of birth, photo and signature, the international driving permit and surrender of a class of vehicle. On the vehicle side it covers temporary registration, duplicate RC, NOC, change of address in the RC, notice and application for transfer of ownership, hire-purchase endorsement and termination, and updating your mobile number.

In practice, whether a step is fully contactless also depends on your state’s configuration. Sarathi and Vahan tell you during the application if a document upload or an RTO appointment is still needed.

Central fees at a glance

The Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 set the base fees: Rule 32 for licences and Rule 81 for registration. A few common ones:

The amount Sarathi or Vahan shows will usually be higher. States may charge additional amounts for automation, testing and services, road tax is a state tax, and since August 2025 the rules say the fees exclude GST. The Parivahan fees page has the full tables and a calculator for the central part.

A typical journey, from first licence to first car

Most people meet these services in the same order, so here is the short version of each step.

1. Learner licence. At 18 (or 16 for a motorcycle without gear of up to 50 cc, with a guardian’s consent), choose your state on Sarathi, fill the learner licence application, upload proof of age and address, pay ₹150 per class of vehicle plus the ₹50 test fee, and take the road-rules test. You need at least 60% correct answers.
2. Practice period. The learner licence is valid for six months. You must hold it for at least 30 days before the driving test.
3. Driving test. Apply for the driving licence with your learner licence number, book a slot, and take the test in a vehicle of the class you want. A certificate from an accredited driver training centre (Form 5B) exempts you from the RTO driving test.
4. Licence card. The licence is issued as a card in Form 7 and is usually sent by post; a digital copy can be shown through mParivahan or DigiLocker.
5. Buying a vehicle. For a new vehicle in the same state, the dealer applies for registration on Vahan, and the vehicle should not be handed over until the registration mark is fixed.
6. Later life of the vehicle. Selling, moving state, closing a loan or losing the RC each have their own Vahan service, covered in the pages on registration, transfer, NOC and loans.

What changed recently

RC renewal for old vehicles (August 2025). The Central Motor Vehicles (Third Amendment) Rules, 2025 (G.S.R. 568(E), 20 August 2025) split private-vehicle RC renewal fees into two bands. Vehicles older than 15 but not more than 20 years pay the earlier renewal fee, for example ₹5,000 for a car and ₹1,000 for a motorcycle. Vehicles older than 20 years now pay ₹10,000 for a car and ₹2,000 for a motorcycle. The same notification added that all Rule 81 fees exclude GST.

Fitness test fees (November 2025). G.S.R. 850(E) of 11 November 2025 revised fitness test and certificate fees by vehicle age. The higher test-fee bands (serials 10A and 10B) start above 15 years; only the certificate-fee bands (serial 11A) start above 10 years. The Vahan fee panel shows the amount for your vehicle.

Jan Vishwas Act changes (15 August 2026). The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 amended the Motor Vehicles Act from 15 August 2026. A driving licence now stays effective for 30 days after its expiry date, and a licence renewed within the year before expiry runs on from the old expiry date. A buyer of a used vehicle now has 30 days, instead of 14, to apply to the insurer to transfer the policy.

Draft licence rules (October 2026). MoRTH published draft amendments (G.S.R. 902(E), 16 October 2026) that propose a longer safe-driving tutorial, a 75% pass mark for the learner test instead of 60%, a new Form 2A for licence changes, time limits for the licensing authority, and no fee for some Aadhaar-authenticated services. These are proposals only. Current rules apply until final rules are published in the Gazette.

eChallan, mParivahan and DigiLocker

Traffic challans are recorded on the eChallan system and can be checked and paid at echallan.parivahan.gov.in. Pay only there or through the official app. Sarathi itself warns that licence, vehicle and eChallan services are available only on parivahan.gov.in and the Nexgen mParivahan app.

Digital copies of your licence and RC can be kept in the mParivahan app or in DigiLocker. If your licence does not appear in DigiLocker, the Sarathi FAQ says the RTO must first migrate the record to Sarathi.

Staying safe online

• Start from parivahan.gov.in and follow its links. Licence and vehicle services end in parivahan.gov.in.
• Never pay a challan from a link in an SMS or a chat message. Open the eChallan site yourself.
• Do not share OTPs with anyone who calls you about your licence, RC or a challan.
• Agents cannot change central fees. Compare any quote with the fee tables.

Frequently asked questions

Is Parivahan the same as Sarathi and Vahan?

Parivahan Sewa is MoRTH’s national portal. Sarathi (licences) and Vahan (registration) are services inside it, run with each state’s transport department.

Can I do everything online?

Many services can be finished online with Aadhaar authentication under S.O. 4353(E). Driving tests, and some document checks, still need an RTO visit or an approved test track.

Why is the fee on Sarathi higher than the rule?

The rules let states add charges for automation, testing and services, and the card fee and GST are extra. The portal shows the final figure before you pay.

Where do I check my application status?

On the same portal you applied on. In Sarathi, choose your state, then Apply online › Application status. Vahan has a Status menu.

Which forms do I need?

Most forms are filled online. The forms finder shows the right form number and the official PDF for each service.

More answers are on the Parivahan FAQ.