Wondering which organization is responsible for registering your new car? Or Have you bought a second-hand bike and want its ownership? Well, fret no more as RTO a.k.a Regional Transport Office, a government organization is responsible for maintaining the entire vehicle ecosystem and related operations. Our Government is accountable for managing the complete database of vehicles and drivers in India and it has given the responsibility primarily to RTOs. It is worth mentioning that every state has its own Regional Transport Office to carry all the vehicle-related functions and activities. RTOs work according to the rules and regulations mentioned in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Besides imposing certain precepts according to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, RTO also takes into consideration if any new guidelines are issued by the state government for effective vehicle management. RTO issues different kinds of permits and licences for the enlargement of road transport. Tax and revenues are also collected by this organization as per the laws set up by the concerned authority. To say it all, RTO performs a lot of activities, some of which are mentioned below:
Issuing driving licences to drivers: A standard DL includes a registration number and a passport size photo of the owner of the vehicle. The Regional Transport Offices present in all the states of the country issue driving licences to the vehicle owners and drivers. Besides issuing the permanent licences, RTO also deals with learning licences, internal permits, commercial vehicle licence, duplicate licences and their renewal. An important point here is that RTO conducts driving tests before issuing any such licences.
Registering Vehicles: Another key task of RTO is vehicle registration to maintain the complete database of vehicles running on Indian roads. In fact, this is one of the primary responsibilities of RTO as it is mandatory for the vehicle to be registered and have a licence plate. It takes a few days to get a permanent registration number, however, applicants are given a temporary registration number instantly. A vehicle needs to be registered only at the local RTO, hence people should have complete Vehicle RTO information such as local RTO address, documents required and applicable fees before applying for registration.
Transferring vehicle ownership: Another important duty of RTO is to transfer vehicle ownership in case someone buys a second-handle vehicle. This is done to ensure that the vehicle is legally transferred to the new owner. It is mandatory to transfer vehicle ownership and certain formalities are supposed to be done at the local RTO. A No Objection Certificate (NOC) in case a vehicle was first registered in some other state. For instance, if you live in Karnataka and have sold your vehicle to somebody living in Delhi, then RTO Offices in Karnataka will give a NOC before one can register the vehicle in Delhi.
Collecting the Road Tax: Certain amounts of tax are levied on the vehicles such as road tax and RTO has the responsibility to collect it. These taxes are usually collected when a person comes to RTO for new vehicle registrations.
Inspecting Vehicles: It is RTO’s responsibility to keep a check if vehicles running on the road follow rules and regulations and hence they conduct inspections on a regular basis. This is also important to keep track of the safety and security of both vehicles and drivers.
