Regional Transport Office

Regional Transport Office
Agency overview
Type	Government agency
Jurisdiction	All States and Union Territories of India
Agency executive	All Regional Transport Officer;
Parent agency	Respective states and Union Territories motor vehicles/transport department.
Website	https://parivahan.gov.in

The Regional Transport Office or District Transport Office or Regional Transport Authority (RTO/DTO/RTA) is an office administered by the State Governments constituted under Section 213 (1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 of India and is responsible for implementing the various provisions of this Act. It operates under the Transport Department of the State Government. It is responsible for maintaining a database of drivers and a database of vehicles^[1] for various states of India.

The RTO issues driving licences,^[2] organises collection of vehicle excise duty (also known as road tax and road fund licence) and sells personalised registrations.^[3]

Along with this, the RTO is also responsible to inspect vehicle's insurance and fitness and clear the pollution test.^[4]

Function of RTO:

To enforce the provisions of the various acts of motor vehicles, central motor vehicle rules and the State motor vehicle rules as laid down by the government from time to time.
To ensure that co-ordinated development of road transport through management of permit.
To charge and collect tax as per the provisions of the motor vehicle act.
To enforce road safety and bring in new amendments into force with relation to the Indian Motor Vehicle Act 1988.

The officer ranks are categorized as: (Rank from lower to higher, Mostly known by different names for designations across different states)

Junior Inspector of Motor Vehicles/ Assistant Motor Vehicles Inspector (AMVI)
Senior Inspector of Motor Vehicles/Motor Vehicles Inspector (MVI)
Assistant Regional Transport Officer/Joint Regional Transport Officer (Jt.RTO)
Regional Transport Officer (RTO)
Followed by other top-level officers, such as Deputy, Joint, and Additional Transport Commissioners, with the Transport Commissioner acting as the administrator for the department.

The above-mentioned designation names are as per the nomenclature of the Government of Karnataka and the Government of Kerala.^[5]^[6]

^ "Registering Vehicle". Government of India. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
^ "Obtaining Driving Licence". Government of India. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
^ "The whys of vanity number plates". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
^ Rao, Kris (2008). Living and Working in India: The complete practical guide to expatriate life in the sub continent. UK: Hachette UK. ISBN 978-1848032804.
^ Organisational structure of Kerala Motor Vehicles Department [1]
^ "Organisational structure - Motor Vehicles Department, Maharashtra". transport.maharashtra.gov.in. Retrieved 7 December 2023.

[vehreg-1] "Registering Vehicle". Government of India. Retrieved 17 March 2009.

[dlissue-2] "Obtaining Driving Licence". Government of India. Retrieved 17 March 2009.

[The_whys_of_vanity_number_plates-3] "The whys of vanity number plates". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 July 2016.

[4] Rao, Kris (2008). Living and Working in India: The complete practical guide to expatriate life in the sub continent. UK: Hachette UK. ISBN 978-1848032804.

[5] Organisational structure of Kerala Motor Vehicles Department [1]

[6] "Organisational structure - Motor Vehicles Department, Maharashtra". transport.maharashtra.gov.in. Retrieved 7 December 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]