How to Renew the Vehicle Fitness Certificate?

The Regional Transport Office issues a fitness certificate to commercial vehicles and privately owned cars or bikes. Driving without such a certificate can lead to hefty fines or other penalties for owners.

Thus, if you own a vehicle, periodic renewal of fitness certificate is mandatory. Without intricate knowledge of this process, initiating such renewal on time can be tricky.

Read on to learn how to renew the fitness certificate of a vehicle!

Vehicle FC renewal was earlier restricted to the offline process. However, with the advent of the internet, the authorities allow partial completion of the method online. Here is a look at both the online and offline procedures for vehicle fitness certificate renewal.

1. How to Renew Fitness Certificate of Vehicle Online?

If you want to undertake car fitness renewal online, here are the steps to follow – 

• Step 1: Visit the official VAHAN portal. Begin the renewal of fitness certificate by clicking on ‘Vehicle Related Services’ under ‘Online Services’.
• Step 2: Next, select your state. Choose ‘Application for Fitness Certificate’ and enter the concerned vehicle’s registration number and chassis number.
• Step 3: Next, enter your registered mobile number and generate OTP. Enter the OTP you receive on your phone. Verify details on the screen to continue car FC renewal.
• Step 4: Click on ‘Payment’ to initiate a car fitness renewal fee transfer online.

After finishing these steps, head to your nearest RTO with the necessary documents to complete the four-wheeler fitness renewal process.

As you can see, it isn’t possible to complete the entire renewal through the VAHAN portal. Submission of documents and the inspection process will take place offline.

Now that you know about the online car FC renewal process, here is an offline alternative.

2. How to Renew Fitness Certificate of Vehicle Offline?

Whether you require a car or two-wheeler fitness certificate renewal, you can still choose the offline routine for application. Here’s how –

• Step 1: Visit your nearest RTO.
• Step 2: Fill an application form for the renewal of a fitness certificate.
• Step 3: Next, proceed with car or bike FC renewal by attaching the necessary documents.
• Step 4: Pay the bike fitness certificate renewal price at the RTO to complete the process.

The authorities will check your documents and assign a date for vehicle inspection. Car and bike owners must reach the allocated inspection centre on time. After a successful inspection, the fitness certificate of that particular vehicle is renewed.

Also, owners must understand that the procedure for renewal remains the same regardless of whether it is a four-wheeler or a two-wheeler. Nevertheless, the car FC renewal price will differ when compared to the two-wheeler fitness certificate renewal charges.

When undertaking renewal of a fitness certificate, owners must submit a few documents. The list of documents tends to differ slightly depending on whether the concerned vehicle is private or commercial.

1. Documents for Private Vehicles

You must provide the following documents for a private vehicle – 

• Tax token
• Registration certificate
• Vehicle permit
• Pollution Under Control Certificate or PUCC
• Valid vehicle insurance policy papers

Carrying these documents should suffice for a privately owned car or bike.

2. Documents for Commercial Vehicles

While initiating a two-wheeler FC renewal online, make sure you submit the following forms and documents – 

• CFRA form
• CFA form
• Valid insurance policy of the concerned vehicle
• Tax details
• Emission certificate
• Registration certificate
• Fare meter calibration certificate in case of vehicles, such as auto-rickshaws
• Roadworthiness certificate wherever applicable
• Speed control device fitment wherever applicable.

Make sure to have these documents handy when applying for four-wheeler or two-wheeler FC renewal

The validity of a fitness certificate varies depending on whether it is a private or commercial bike or car. For privately owned and operated vehicles, the validity period of FC is 15 years from the time of registration. After this, owners must ensure renewal of fitness certificates after every 5 years.

Commercial vehicles, on the other hand, only have 2 years of fitness certificate validity initially. After completing 8 years, such vehicles must apply for a vehicle fitness certificate extension every year.

Remember that you need to initiate the renewal a few days before expiry to avoid last-minute hassles.

The processing period for such an application can vary on several factors. However, since the application can start only 30 days prior to the expiry date, it does not take over a month to complete the entire process. In most cases, the renewal of a fitness certificate takes around a week to complete.

After completing this application, owners can use the Parivahan portal to check the status of their car or bike’s fitness certificate. To do this, visit the portal, enter your vehicle’s chassis number, registration number and engine number. This will display the complete details regarding your car, including its fitness certificate validity or status.

If your car or bike has an expired fitness certificate, you are liable to be penalised. Here is what you need to know when it comes to fines –

• If you cannot produce a valid fitness certificate, you will need to pay a penalty of ₹100 the first time. For subsequent cases, the fine increases to ₹300.
• If the vehicle does not have a valid fitness certificate to its name, the fines can range between ₹2,000 and ₹5,000.

As you can see, holding a valid FC is crucial at all times. Repeated offences can open you up to litigation and hefty fines. This piece should help you undertake the renewal of a fitness certificate without any confusion.

All the best!