Used Vehicle Checklist: Checks Before Buying a Second-Hand Car

How do you check the RC and the official record?

Ask the seller for the original RC, or to show it in DigiLocker or mParivahan. Only copies inside those two apps count like the original; a photo or a PDF from somewhere else does not. Adding an RC to mParivahan needs the last digits of the chassis and engine numbers, so a real owner can usually do it in a minute.

Then check the same vehicle on the official service yourself. The Parivahan service is called Know Your Vehicle Details, and the mParivahan app has the same search. Some state versions also ask for the last five digits of the chassis number, which the seller can read out from the RC. The official search shows, among other things:

What the search shows, what it hides for privacy, and why paid "full owner details" apps are risky is explained in our vehicle details check guide.

Open Parivahan (official) parivahan.gov.in

Is there a bank loan on the vehicle?

When a vehicle is bought on a loan, the RTO writes the loan on the RC (section 51 of the Motor Vehicles Act). The RC then shows the bank or finance company as the financier. Check the RC and ask the seller directly.

Are there pending challans or other dues?

Under rule 167 (as amended in January 2026), while a challan is unpaid, registration applications for that vehicle are not processed (except tax payments), and the vehicle is flagged Not to be Transacted on the portal. That would block your transfer.

• Check the vehicle on the official eChallan portal, or with your state traffic police. See check and pay a challan for the safe way to do it.
• Ask the seller to pay or settle every pending challan before the sale, and keep the receipts.
• Ask about road tax dues too. For a vehicle from another state, the RTO checks that tax is paid before it issues the NOC.
• Unpaid FASTag toll on the vehicle stops an NOC for transfer.

Are the insurance, PUC and fitness valid?

• Insurance: the official record shows the insurance validity. Match the policy number and the vehicle details on the paper. You will move the policy into your name after buying.
• PUC: needed once the vehicle is one year old. It lasts 6 months, or 12 months for BS-IV and BS-VI vehicles. You can check the PUC online.
• Fitness and RC validity: a private vehicle's RC is valid for 15 years. If it is close to that age, budget for renewal and the fitness test, and check any age limits in your city.

A valid PUC and insurance are also among the papers for an NOC, so a lapsed policy slows down an interstate purchase.

Is the vehicle registered in another state?

Do the chassis and engine numbers match?

The RC carries the vehicle's chassis number and engine number. The official searches and the police stolen-vehicle search also work with these numbers, so they are the vehicle's real identity, more than the number plate.

• Find the chassis number on the vehicle (on the frame, and on the plate inside the door or under the bonnet on many cars) and the engine number on the engine. Ask the seller or a mechanic if you can't find them.
• Compare every character with the RC. Even one different character is a reason to stop.
• Walk away if the numbers are rusted over, ground off, re-punched or freshly painted.
• Check that the number plate matches the RC. Since April 2019 new vehicles come with a high-security number plate.

Some states take a pencil print of the chassis number with the transfer papers, so a mismatch will surface at the RTO anyway, but by then you have paid.

How do you check that the vehicle is not stolen?

• NCRB Digital Police Portal: its vehicle NOC service lets you check the status of a vehicle before you buy it, by registration, chassis or engine number. It shows whether the vehicle is reported stolen or linked to a crime.
• ZIPNET: in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the police network lists stolen and unclaimed or seized vehicles.
• When a vehicle is stolen, the owner must tell the RTO, and the RTO takes that report into account before any transfer, NOC or duplicate RC. A stolen vehicle will not transfer cleanly.
• Be wary of a seller with only a duplicate RC issued recently, no original invoice, or one key. Ask why.

If you find out after buying that a vehicle was stolen, go to the police with your sale papers. See vehicle theft for how theft records work.

Open the NCRB Digital Police Portal (official) digitalpolice.gov.in

What order should you do the checks in?

YouOfficial recordPayment

1. Meet at the seller's address where you can, and see the original RC (or the DigiLocker or mParivahan copy) and the seller's photo ID.
2. Check the vehicle yourself on Know Your Vehicle Details or mParivahan. The owner name must match the seller.
3. Check for a loan on the RC, pending challans, and the insurance and fitness dates.
4. Match the chassis and engine numbers on the vehicle with the RC. Get a mechanic to inspect the vehicle.
5. Run the stolen-vehicle check on the NCRB Digital Police Portal.
6. Agree the price. Make the seller close the loan and pay the challans first. Pay by bank transfer or cheque, not cash, so there is a record.
7. Sign Forms 29 and 30, collect the papers on the checklist below, and apply for the transfer.

✔ You'll know the checks passed when the official record, the RC, the seller's ID and the numbers on the vehicle all agree, and the theft check is clear.

Printable checklist for buying a used vehicle

What do you do after you buy?

YouVAHAN / RTOFee

The forms, fees and steps are in our vehicle ownership transfer guide.

Warning signs and what to do