Buying a used car? Know all about transferring ownership and insurance documents

Circumstances of car ownership transfer

You can transfer the ownership and car insurance (third party or comprehensive) under certain circumstances. Apart from the vehicle's sale, the owner's death and ownership change after an auction are common situations that may warrant a transfer. All the transfer scenarios require a specific set of documents that must be submitted to a local RTO to initiate and complete the transfer successfully.

Documents required for the transfer

The following documents must be submitted for transfer of ownership and a third-party car insurance policy.

• Original registration certificate of the vehicle

Address proof documents like electricity bills, Aadhaar Card etc., of both the parties.

• At least a third-party car insurance certificate like the Acko car insurance certificate
• PAN card of both the seller and buyer if the car’s value is above Rs. 50,000
• Form 28 acts as a NOC and must be filed for an interstate transfer at your local RTO. After this form is filed, the Regional Transport Office checks with your local police station to see if cases are registered against the vehicle in question.
• Form 29 for the transfer of ownership of a four-wheeler due to normal sale
• Form 30 has to be submitted, which acts as an application for car ownership transfer intimation and contains the details of the hire/purchase/lease agreement the vehicle is under

Contingent forms to be submitted

As per your specific circumstance of transfer, you may need to submit the following documents along with the ones mentioned above:

• Form 31 is a document you need when the four-wheeler ownership and third-party car insurance are being transferred as a result of the previous owner’s death
• Form 32 is mandatory for transfers taking place for a four-wheeler purchased during a public auction
• Form 35 is needed if the vehicle is currently pledged as security to a bank
• An NCRB certificate is needed if the vehicle was previously implicated in any illegal activities

Procedure for transferring ownership and third-party car insurance

You can opt for online or offline channels to transfer your third-party car insurance and ownership papers successfully. For offline transfers, you can follow the below-mentioned steps:

1. Notarise the sales agreement of the car. Purchase date, age, vehicle’s condition, motor insurance policy etc., must be included in this agreement.

2. Fill in the necessary forms for vehicle transfer, like forms 29 and 30, and submit the same to your local RTO.

3. Once these forms are submitted, the seller must hand over the vehicle-related documents like the vehicle’s registration certificate card. If an Acko car insurance policy covers the car, its insurance certificate must be handed over at this stage.

4. Next, you have to collect a clearance certificate or NOC from the RTO.

5. After the NOC is received, the buyer can apply for a new registration allotment for the vehicle against the payment of a certain stipulated amount that the buyer’s new RTO fixes, and will be contingent on the submission of documents like PAN, clearance, registration and PUC certificates, etc.

6. Additionally, the individual may need to submit form 32 or 35, as per the transfer circumstances. The new registration certificate with changed ownership details will be mailed to the buyer.

You can also transfer your vehicle’s third-party car insurance and ownership by visiting the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways-operated Parivahan Seva website. The steps for online transfer have been highlighted below

1. Log in to the website and click on ‘Vehicle Related Services’ under the ‘Online Services’ option

2. Click on the ‘Proceed’ button after entering your vehicle’s registration number. Next, click on the ‘Misc’ option

3. After you enter your mobile number and enter the OTP, click on the ‘Show Details’ option

4. Go to the ‘Application Section’ and select the ‘Transfer of Ownership’ option

5. After you fill in the required details and pay the transfer fees, you will receive forms 29 and 30, along with two payment receipts

6. Both buyer and seller attested hardcopies of these documents, along with other necessary documents which have to be mailed or physically submitted to the new RTO for a fresh registration appeal

While the process of transferring third-party car insurance and ownership to the new owner of the vehicle may be lengthy, doing so is essential, especially if you don’t want to be indicted for traffic violations committed by the new owner of the vehicle. However, this is a lengthy process, and you can follow the steps mentioned above to make the task relatively simple and hassle-free.

Since each four-wheeler in India has to be covered by at least a third-party car insurance policy like the Acko car insurance plan, transferring the ownership of the vehicle also transfers this policy coverage to the new owner.