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List of Compulsory Documents Required to Drive a Car in India

Wish

Written by Sharad Bajaj

Updated Oct 14, 2023

To drive a car in India, you need to follow some rules and hold some mandatory documents. In this article, we will tell you about the list of essential documents required to be carried by every car owner.

Driving a car comes with multiple responsibilities in India. As per the Indian Motor Tariff, to hold at least a third-party car insurance cover is compulsory for every car owner. The law is framed to ensure the safety of people while driving on the street. On this note, the law requires every driver to possess certain documents while driving a car in India and failing to own them will lead to hefty penalties.

List of Mandatory Documents to Drive a Car in India

Here is the list of essential documents required to be carried by every car owner:

1. Registration Certificate – The Registration Certificate (RC) of the vehicle works as evidence that you have got your vehicle registered with your Regional Transport Office (RTO). When you buy a new car, you have to apply for the registration of your car at an RTO within 7 days of the purchase. An authorised registration certificate is valid for 15 years and can be renewed for a duration of 5 years. According to the Indian Motor Tariff, it is mandatory for every car owner to carry a registration certificate while driving in India.

2. PUC Certificate – A Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate signifies that your car meets the necessary emission requirements which are defined by the law for motor vehicles in India. If your car is found not meeting the norms of pollution control, it will not be allowed to be driven on the roads of India. To receive a PUC certificate, you need to get your car tested at an authorised pollution testing centre, which you could generally find at petrol pumps. However, it is compulsory to own the PUC certificate while driving the car on Indian roads.

3. Driving Licence – The Indian Motor Tariff makes it compulsory to hold a car driving licence while driving in India. No one can get a permanent driving licence by just filling an application, rather a learner’s licence is issued to the car owner or driver, to begin with, and after a month they will have to appear for a car driving test at their respective RTOs. The driving licence is issued by the RTO, only if they manage to pass that test. It is mandatory to carry the license while driving a car in India and even many firms accept it as identity proof.

4. Insurance Policy – The car owners must get their cars covered with at least a third-party insurance policy. In addition to this, a personal accident plan of Rs 15 lakh is also necessary for all the people driving on Indian roads. Due to such compulsions, it is advisable to own a comprehensive car insurance plan for overall protection from any sort of losses that may arise due to damage or loss incurred by your car. The car owners should always hold the insurance policy with them while driving.

5. Required Permits – If you own a car that you use for commercial purposes, then you must carry all the necessary and required permits with you. Besides permits, in some cases, you may also be required to own a fitness certificate to show that your car is fit to be driven on public roads. If a police officer stops you to check, then you must have the permits and fitness certificate to show them from saving yourself from heavy fines and confiscation of your car.

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Take Away

It is the duty of every responsible driver to comply with the traffic rules as part of their civic responsibilities. Apart from driving sensibly, you need to possess the above-mentioned documents to avoid facing any legal penalty. Hence, before taking your car on road you should know about the list of documents which is mandatory to carry while driving a car in India. Additionally, keep in mind that these documents can now also be carried as a soft copy and they can be easily retrieved from their respective section on the government website Parivahan. Moreover, applying for the PuC, registration certificate, driver licence is now an extremely simple and convenient process. Moreover, certain aspects of it can also be done online. Additionally, the insurance document can also be downloaded and purchased online.  Thus, it is inexcusable on part of the owner-driver to be caught driving without these documents on the road.

Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.

Wish

Written by Sharad Bajaj

Sharad is an insurance industry veteran who has managed motor insurance products for over a decade. Read More

Disclaimer

This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.
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