How To Pay Road Tax Online in India – Parivahan Guide

You can pay road tax online in India through the official Parivahan portal at vahan.parivahan.gov.in. Enter your vehicle registration number, click Proceed, go to Online Services → Pay Vehicle Tax, enter the last 5 digits of your chassis number, validate, generate OTP, select your tax mode, and pay using UPI, debit card, credit card, or net banking.

The receipt is available for download immediately after payment. The full step-by-step process is below.

Details You Need Before You Start

No documents need to be uploaded. Just keep these three things ready:

• Vehicle Registration Number – the number on your number plate and RC book
• Last 5 digits of your Chassis Number – printed inside your RC book
• Mobile number registered with your vehicle in the Vahan database – the OTP goes here, not on your current number

If you no longer use the mobile number linked to your vehicle in the Vahan system, update it first. Go to vahan.parivahan.gov.in → Online Services → Update User Mobile No. You can do this without visiting the RTO.

How to Pay Road Tax Online – Step by Step

The official portal for vehicle road tax payment in India is vahan.parivahan.gov.in, part of the VAHAN 4.0 system run by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Step 1 – Open the Vahan portal

Go to vahan.parivahan.gov.in in any browser on your phone or computer. On the home page of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways website, choose the ‘Vehicle Related Services’ option under the Online Services menu option as shown in below image.

Step 2 – Enter your vehicle registration number

Now, choose your state name in which your vehicle is registered from the given list. This will lead you a new page.

Type your full vehicle registration number in the text box. Double check against your RC book, the letter O and number 0 look very similar and can cause errors.

Note: No need to select your state and RTO information, just proceed without it.

Step 3 – Accept the terms and click to Proceed

After entering the number, click the Proceed button. The portal will load your vehicle record from the Vahan database.

Step 4 – Click on the left menu option Tax/Fee Services and select Pay Your Tax from the list.

Step 5 – Enter chassis number and validate

Enter the last 5 digits of your chassis number in the box shown and click Validate Regn_no/Chasis_no. This verifies that the chassis number matches the registration number in the system.

Step 6 – Generate OTP and verify

Click Generate OTP. A one-time password will be sent to the mobile number linked to your vehicle in the Vahan database. Enter the OTP in the box and submit.

If the OTP goes to a number you no longer have access to, you need to update your mobile number first (Online Services → Update User Mobile No.) before retrying.

Step 7 – Update insurance details if prompted

Some states ask you to confirm or enter your vehicle’s current insurance details at this stage. Fill in the information shown and continue.

Step 8 – Select tax mode and check the amount

Choose the tax mode that applies to your vehicle – Lifetime, Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly, or BH Series. The portal automatically calculates the amount based on your vehicle data and state rules.

Read the tax period and amount carefully before clicking ahead. Wrong selections are difficult to reverse especially for commercial vehicles.

Step 9 – Click Payment and confirm

Click the Payment button. A popup will show the payable amount. Click Confirm Payment to go to the payment gateway.

Step 10 – Complete your payment

Choose your payment method – UPI, debit card, credit card, or net banking. UPI (Google Pay, PhonePe, BHIM, Paytm) generally has the lowest or zero convenience charge. Card payments may carry a small charge of around 1% plus GST. Do not close or refresh the tab while the transaction processes.

Step 11 – Download your receipt immediately

Once payment is successful, your tax e-receipt appears on screen. It shows your vehicle number, application number, transaction ID, tax period covered, and amount paid. Download and save the PDF right away.

This receipt is your official proof of road tax payment. You will need it for RC renewal, ownership transfer, and interstate re-registration. If you miss the download, you can reprint it later.

Pay via mParivahan App

Prefer your phone? You can also pay road tax using the mParivahan app, the official government app from MoRTH.

1. Download mParivahan from Google Play Store or Apple App Store
2. Open the app and tap Pay Vehicle Tax
3. Enter your vehicle registration number
4. Complete the OTP verification and payment steps, same as the web portal
5. Download your receipt from the app

The app is useful if you already store your RC and DL documents in it.

Read our step by step process to: Pay Traffic Challan Online

Which Tax Mode Should You Choose?

When you reach Step 8, you need to pick the right tax mode. Getting this wrong means paying for the wrong period, which can create compliance issues.

Lifetime Tax – for private vehicles

This is a one-time payment valid for 15 years from the date of first registration. Most private car and bike owners pay this through the dealer at the time of purchase. If road tax is already listed in your RC receipt from the dealer, it has been paid, you do not pay again until RC renewal after 15 years.

At renewal time, a Green Tax applies. This is paid at your local RTO at the time of RC fitness renewal, not online. Private vehicles older than 15 years, and commercial vehicles older than 8 years, attract this additional charge.

Quarterly or Annual Tax – for commercial vehicles

Buses, trucks, taxis, autos, and other commercial vehicles pay road tax on a quarterly, half-yearly, or annual basis depending on the state and vehicle type. Commercial vehicle owners need to log in to the Vahan portal regularly to keep their tax payments up to date.

BH Series Tax – for Bharat Series vehicles

BH (Bharat Series) vehicles pay road tax every 2 years. This is valid across all 28 states and 8 UTs without needing re-registration when you move states, designed for defence personnel, central government employees, PSU employees, and private sector employees with offices in 8 or more states. After 14 years, BH Series tax becomes annual.

Interstate / Checkpost Tax

If you are driving your vehicle in another state temporarily or need to pay road tax before re-registering in a new state, use the Checkpost section at parivahan.gov.in → Other Services → Checkpost Tax.

How to Download or Reprint Your Tax Receipt

If you missed downloading your receipt after payment, you can get it again any time from the Vahan portal at no charge.

1. Go to vahan.parivahan.gov.in/vahanservice
2. Click Online Services → Reprint Tax Receipt
3. Search using any one of these:
   • Application Number – from your original payment screen
   • Bank Transaction Number – from your bank statement or UPI app history
   • Registration Number
4. Your receipt details will appear. Click Print Receipt or Download PDF

Keep a digital copy in DigiLocker or mParivahan, and a printed copy in your vehicle. A traffic officer querying your tax status within 24 – 48 hours of payment should accept this receipt while the portal updates.

Conclusion

Paying road tax online in India takes under 10 minutes once you have your registration number, chassis number, and the Vahan-registered mobile number ready. Use vahan.parivahan.gov.in on desktop or the mParivahan app on your phone.

The one thing most people get wrong, they panic when payment is deducted but the status doesn’t update. Wait 24 – 48 hours. That’s a sync delay, not a failed payment. Keep your receipt from the transaction and you’re covered.

Frequently Asked Questions: