September 2022

A Vehicle Fitness certificate is non-negotiable if you want to run your vehicle on the roads. The Motor Vehicles Act 1989 requires all vehicles to have an RTO-issued, authentic vehicle fitness certificate. But why? Moreover, how can you apply for a vehicle fitness certificate from the comfort of your home? As someone who is going to buy a new vehicle, you must know all this.

So if you want to learn more about it, keep reading.

What Is a Vehicle Fitness Certificate?

A fitness certificate, often known as an FC, is a document issued by the Regional Transport Office (RTO) that attests to the vehicle’s overall suitability for road use. A Fitness Certificate for a new car is included and is valid for a specified duration.

After that, one must renew the vehicle fitness certificate to conform with The Motor Vehicles Act’s statutes and regulations. The Regional Transport Office is responsible for conducting a comprehensive vehicle check as part of the renewal procedure.

Why Do You Need to Obtain a Vehicle Fitness Certificate?

Since a vehicle fitness certificate acts as a testimony to your vehicle’s good health, you must obtain it for the following reasons –

• Staying clear of hefty non-compliance penalties from the authorities.
• Avoid car seizures.
• Avoid pollution by tracking the amount of smoke your vehicle releases into the air.
• Maintaining your car in top-notch condition.
• Staying clear of traffic accidents or accidents due to the sudden breakdown of your car.

How To Apply for the Vehicle Fitness Certificate?

The RTO has made the application process for obtaining a vehicle fitness certificate streamlined and easy. You can apply for it online from the comfort of your home by following the steps discussed below –

• Visit the official Parivahan site.
• Then, search for ‘Vehicle Related Services.” It should be under the “Online Services” section.
• Next, from the drop-down menu, select your state of residence.
• Subsequently, fill in your vehicle registration number and click “Proceed.”
• Once done, click on “Apply for Fitness Certificate.” A list of instructions will now appear on the screen. Carefully read them, acknowledge them, and click “Proceed.”
• Here, you are required to fill in the correct chassis number of your vehicle and your registered contact number.
• Then, click “Generate OTP” to receive an OTP on your registered number.
• Next, input the OTP and view vehicle details. Thoroughly check the same and fill in any required fields such as application fee data and more.
• Once done, check all the information and click “Payment” to pay the fees using a secured payment gateway.
• After the payment, make a note of the generated application number and download a copy of the receipt.
• With all these documents and others, visit the RTO for a vehicle inspection.
• The RTO will issue the FC only after your vehicle undergoes a thorough vehicle inspection and clears it.

Wrapping Up

The FC certificate for a 4-wheeler and 2-wheeler that’s newly bought is valid for 15 years. After this, you will have to renew it every 5 years. The fees for manual FC range from 200-600 Rs, whereas for automated, it is between 400-1,000 Rs, depending on your vehicle. As an owner it is always important to be aware of all the vital RTO Vehicle information and its details.

Remember: Obtaining an FC certificate is mandatory and good for you in its own ways!

References:

• https://rto.care/news/rto/how-obtain-vehicle-fitness-certificate-and-the-importance-fc#:~:text=The%20Importance%20of%20a%20Vehicle%20Fitness%20Certificate%20Apart,more%20of%20a%20concern%20with%20each%20passing%20day.
• https://www.acko.com/rto/vehicle-fitness-certificate/#what-is-a-fitness-certificate-fc-of-a-vehicle

There are many things that ladies are known to excel like multi-tasking. However, gentlemen aren’t going to easily concede that they are better drivers. To the contrary, there are actually tons of jokes about female driving and especially motoring skills. So, let’s have a look at if companies really offer cheaper car insurance for women and why.

Are They Safer?

One of the main reasons why drivers get offered lower rates is that they prove to be safer on the roads. That is why young drivers get wacked with almost extortionate charges because they are inexperienced and hot headed that makes them a liability. So, safety is a key issue and ladies are statically proven to involve in less accidents. A large percentage of high speed and fatal crashes are caused by male drivers. And those collisions cost a lot in terms of material damages and injuries.

The point of the argument here isn’t being a better driver but safer. Female drivers are more cautious, they observe speed limits and drive slower for many reasons. They may involve in similar number of incidents but their crashes are less impactful. One of the main reasons is that statistically ladies more often have children in the car with them that force them to be extra careful. There is no need to be defensive here because these are statistically proven points.

Do They Really Get Lower Vehicle Insurance Rates?

Again, it is a well-known fact that women on average get at least 10% cheaper quotes from most companies they apply simple because they are considered less risky. It may sound that men are penalized but they don’t actually compensate for their counterparts. One getting better prices doesn’t make the other worse off.

Also, companies are allowed to look at gender specific data and set rates accordingly. It is not a discrimination in any way but more like looking at the information available and using it to make a sound business decision. There are so many data points considered while calculating auto insurance premiums and gender is one of them.

It is best to know these things and use them to our advantage. For example, if you have only one car in the family it may be cheaper to insure it under the female partner’s name and list the male partner as a driver. Both are insured but the family ends up paying less. These simple tricks are highly useful to get the discounts available.

There are so many savings by companies and qualifying for as many of them as possible is a way to achieve more economical policies. For example, always mention it if you own your home because homeowners get discounts for some reason.

Also, no matter who you are or where you are from always shop around for the best deals. One of the easiest and largest savings are achieved by simply going online and getting a few quotes. If you don’t do this one simple thing you really cannot complain that your vehicle insurance is expensive. Of course, they will try to get as much money as they can and your job is to fight against it.