Tamil Nadu extends registration validity of 40,296 government vehicles

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has extended the registration validity of 40,296 vehicles belonging to government departments, state transport undertakings and local bodies by one year, up to September 30, 2027.

The move comes as the validity granted to 12,000 government vehicles is set to expire on September 30, 2026.

The government has also permitted the State Transport Authority (STA) and Regional Transport Authorities (RTAs) to extend the registration validity annually, up to September 30, 2035, for government vehicles that have crossed 15 years but are yet to be scrapped and replaced.

The order issued by the Home (Transport-IV) Department on September 29 said the Transport and Road Safety Commissioner had identified around 40,296 vehicles whose registration validity would expire up to 2035.

The Commissioner had sought permission to extend their registration validity and allow manual processing of tax and fitness certificates wherever renewal through the Vahan portal was not possible.

Under the latest order, Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) have been authorised to manually collect taxes and grant or renew fitness certificates for vehicles requiring manual renewal from October 1, 2026.

The decision follows the Centre's 2023 notification introducing Rule 52A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, under which government-owned vehicles more than 15 years old were required to be scrapped.

The registration certificates of such vehicles covered by government departments were also cancelled through the Vahan portal from April 1, 2023.

Tamil Nadu subsequently issued a series of extensions for such vehicles. In 2024, the government extended the registration validity of 6,247 vehicles that were on the road out of 14,611 government and government undertaking vehicles.

In September 2025, the validity of 12,000 vehicles belonging to government departments, state transport undertakings and local bodies was extended up to September 30, 2026.

The latest order provides for annual manual extension of the registration certificates of government vehicles that cross 15 years and remain in service pending scrapping and replacement. Such extensions can be granted up to September 30, 2035.

The order covers vehicles belonging to government departments, government bodies, quasi-government bodies, government corporations and statutory boards.