Mumbai city has the busiest RTO offices in India and there are 5 RTO zones operating under the Ministry of Transport of Maharashtra jurisdiction. It was established under Section 213 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. With its huge population, Mumbai often suffers from massive traffic congestion.

The Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) are responsible for monitoring and maintaining seamless traffic. Read along to learn more about RTO offices in Mumbai.

If you wish to visit the official website of Mumbai RTO, click on the following link. It will redirect you to the RTO website of Mumbai. 

Mumbai RTO Website: https://transport.maharashtra.gov.in/1035/Home

The RTO offices in Mumbai are mainly responsible for the following:

• Issuing and renewing driver’s licence 

• Transferring vehicle ownership 

• Issuing temporary and permanent Registration Certificate (RC)

• Collecting road taxes 

• Updating address and other details in the licence or RC

• Approving applications for special permit

• Issuing tourist vehicle permits to India

• Writing lading bills

• Conducting campaigns regarding road safety 

• Issuing temporary permits and other permits related to contract carriages and private services 

RTO of Mumbai is responsible for issuing driving licences for the residents of Mumbai. As of now, you can get four types of driving licences from Mumbai RTO. These are as follows.

• International Driving Permit

• Learners’/Permanent Licence

• Commercial Driving Licence

Here are the two types of vehicle registration in Mumbai.

• Temporary registration 

• Permanent registration 

After registering your vehicle, you will receive a registration number from Mumbai RTO. This number appears on the number plate of your vehicle. 

Once the cars are registered, they are issued with valid number plates from the RTO of Mumbai. It is mandatory to get a valid number plate to drive legally on the roads of India. Here are the different types of number plates that Mumbai RTO issues. 

• White number plate

• Yellow number plate

• Red number plate

• Green number plate

• Blue number plate

• Black number plate

• Red number plate with the emblem of India

• Number plate with an upward arrow

Every resident must pay a registration charge to the RTO in Mumbai for getting their vehicle registration certificate. This charge is calculated based on the engine capacity or type of vehicle. Here is a range of registration charges in Mumbai:

• 10%-12% of vehicle cost for two-wheelers on first registration

• 7%-15% on the cost of the vehicle for four-wheelers on first registration 

A basic registration fee is about ₹ 600 for any kind of vehicle. However, there are more charges required, including road tax and number plate charges. 

In Mumbai, road tax is calculated separately for two-wheelers and four-wheelers. The calculation starts from the first registration and then continues further. Here is a range of road taxes in Mumbai:

• 32%-95% for two-wheelers after registration 

• 27%-37% for four-wheelers after registration

• ₹ 160-₹ 600 for commercial vehicles

Traffic rules are strict in Mumbai. If you fail to follow these while driving, you will be subjected to pay. Traffic fines in Mumbai start from ₹200 and can rise up to ₹25,000. Moreover, it can also lead to imprisonment for about a year. Here are the most complicated fines you can face in Mumbai.

• Drunk driving: ₹10,000 and/or 6 months prison 

• Blocking emergency vehicles: ₹10,000 and/or community service

• Juvenile Offences: ₹25,000 with 3 years prison

• Driving/Riding despite Disqualification: ₹10,000, and/or community service

• Aggregators without a driving licence: ₹25,000 to ₹1,00,000 

A recent report shows that the Mumbai traffic police started a door-to-door drive collecting pending traffic fines. This helped them collect about ₹1 crore. Non-payment of dues from motorists drove the traffic police to take this step.

Yes, it is mandatory to have a motor insurance policy while driving a vehicle in Mumbai. Every driver must own a policy that at least covers third-party damages. If someone is caught driving without a driving licence, he/she faces the penalty of a fine of ₹ 2,000 or imprisonment for up to three months. If caught for a second time, he/she might be fined ₹ 4,000. 

Currently, there is a 53% congestion level in Mumbai, which increases the traffic largely. There are about 25 traffic police zones in Mumbai that are responsible for handling heavy traffic and maintaining smooth conveyance. As of 2021, a report revealed that the transport department of Maharashtra collected 100% of traffic fines, meeting the set target.

Additionally, a report stated that in 2022, nearly 268 people were killed in 257 road accidents in Mumbai. However, compared to 2021, there has been a significant 30% drop in the number of accidents in Mumbai. 

The vehicles registered in Maharashtra can avail of the following faceless services without having to visit the RTO:

• Getting a No Objection Certificate (NOC)

• Changing address on Registration Certificate (RC)

• Getting a secondary or duplicate RC

• Renewing a driving licence

• Changing address on a licence 

• Transferring licence to another state 

The state government of Maharashtra recently came up with this service to reduce time and paper wastage in these activities and services. Moreover, it is an initiative to reduce the hassles and difficulties of the residents who might find it challenging to visit the RTO for such services.

The rate of accidents has been high in Mumbai. Here are a few road safety campaigns that the government and non-governmental bodies have undertaken to raise awareness among the residents. 

• Two-wheeler Rider Training - The campaign was in operation from 2016-2019. It conducted over 200 learning sessions among 6,000 college students. 

• Global Road Safety Education via a New Generation - This campaign started in 2017 and targeted children and adolescents.

• Slow Down Campaign - As the name suggests, this campaign was an attempt to make Mumbai residents aware of speed limits, and encourage them to avoid exceeding them. 

• Jeevan Doot - It is a project under the campaign “United for Road Safety", and aims at training community volunteers to provide post-crash emergency care to the victims of road accidents.