Owners of cars that are 15, 20 or 25 years old in Maharashtra tend to ask three things: can I still drive it, what does renewal cost, and do I need an HSRP? We found no Maharashtra rule that bans a private petrol or diesel car at those ages. That does not mean you can keep driving with an expired registration. What the official sources show is a renewal of the registration certificate at 15 years, a higher renewal fee for a car older than 20 years, an extra Maharashtra environment tax for every five years after 15, and a separate HSRP requirement for vehicles registered before 1 April 2019.
NaviMumbai.com is an independent publication and does not renew registrations or sell number plates. The facts below come from the Parivahan portal of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, Press Information Bureau (PIB) releases and the Maharashtra Transport Department’s website, checked on 3 October 2026. Fees and procedures change, so confirm with your RTO before you pay. The featured image is an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of a real vehicle or RTO.
Quick Answer
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is there an age limit for a private car in Maharashtra? | We found none. Age alone does not tell you whether you can legally keep using a car. Check that its registration is valid or has been renewed, and that it meets the insurance, pollution-control and roadworthiness requirements that apply. We found no source saying an application receipt or an HSRP booking replaces valid registration. |
| What happens at the first renewal? | The registration certificate is renewed using Form 25. MoRTH says fitness testing of a private vehicle is done at renewal after 15 years and repeated when renewal is applied for again. Maharashtra’s department says the vehicle is presented for inspection. |
| What does renewal cost for a car? | The base registration charge for a non-transport light motor vehicle is ₹5,000 if the car is older than 15 years but not exceeding 20 years, and ₹10,000 if it is older than 20 years, counted from first registration. GST and other charges are extra. |
| Is there a Maharashtra tax on older cars? | Yes. The department’s tax page lists an environment tax on non-transport vehicles that have completed 15 years, for every 5 years after that: ₹3,000 for petrol cars and ₹3,500 for diesel cars, as a lump sum. |
| Do old cars need an HSRP? | Vehicles registered before 1 April 2019 do. Booking, rates and deadlines are in our HSRP guide. |
| Must a 15 or 20 year old car be scrapped? | In the Maharashtra sources we reviewed, age alone does not create an automatic scrapping requirement for a private car. A car that does not meet the applicable requirements still cannot be used freely. |
Where the Age Limits You Hear About Come From
The 10 and 15 year limits people quote come from National Green Tribunal and Supreme Court orders for Delhi and the National Capital Region. A transport ministry reply published by PIB on 20 July 2023 describes them and does not apply them to Maharashtra. That reply is from 2023, so check the current position if you plan to drive in Delhi or the NCR. We did not find a Maharashtra notification, Bombay High Court order or National Green Tribunal order setting an age limit for private cars in Mumbai or Navi Mumbai, although our search was not exhaustive.
Renewing the Registration Certificate
At 15 years the registration certificate of a private car has to be renewed, and you apply again at later intervals. Parivahan’s renewal page gives these steps, which cite section 41 of the Motor Vehicles Act and rule 52 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules:
- Apply in Form 25 to the registering authority for your area, not more than 60 days before the registration expires.
- Pay any road tax or other tax that is due.
- Pay the fee set in rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
The documents Parivahan lists are the application in Form 25, a pollution under control certificate, a fitness certificate, the registration certificate, proof of up-to-date road tax, the insurance certificate, a copy of PAN or Form 60 and 61, a pencil print of the chassis and engine number and signature identification of the owner. Parivahan says the items marked with an asterisk may be required in some states, so ask your RTO for its own list.
MoRTH’s note on the 2021 rules for automated testing stations says fitness testing of a personal vehicle is done at the time of renewal of registration after 15 years and repeated every five years when renewal is applied for. The Maharashtra Transport Department’s registration fees page lists Form 25, the registration certificate and presenting the vehicle for inspection for renewal of the registration certificate.
What to Do in Each Situation
| Situation | What the sources say | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Your registration is approaching its first expiry | Apply in Form 25 no more than 60 days before expiry. Fitness testing is done at renewal, and Maharashtra’s department says the vehicle is presented for inspection. | Check the first-registration and expiry dates on your RC, gather the documents and ask your RTO how to book the inspection. |
| A later renewal | MoRTH says fitness testing is repeated every five years when renewal is applied for. The fee depends on the age band in the next section. | Work out your car’s age from the first-registration date and ask the RTO for the amount assessed in VAHAN. |
| The registration has already expired | Parivahan lists an extra ₹500 for each month or part of a month of delay for non-transport vehicles other than motorcycles. We did not establish other consequences. | Ask the RTO before you drive the car. Do not assume an application receipt, an HSRP booking or a pending appointment lets you drive on an expired registration. |
| The car fails inspection | We found no official statement of the consequences or re-test rules for private cars. | Ask the RTO or testing station what has to be fixed and whether a re-inspection is needed before renewal is granted. |
What Renewal Costs
These are the base registration charges for an ordinary non-transport light motor vehicle under rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules. Age is counted from the date of first registration, and the two age bands are not interchangeable: “older than 15 years but not exceeding 20 years” and “older than 20 years”.
| Charge for an ordinary light motor vehicle | Amount |
|---|---|
| New registration, shown only to explain the difference | ₹600 |
| Renewal, older than 15 years but not exceeding 20 years | ₹5,000 |
| Renewal, older than 20 years | ₹10,000 |
These are not the total you will pay. All fees in the rule exclude GST. Under Parivahan’s fee table, a smart card adds ₹200 and a late application adds ₹500 for each month or part of a month for non-transport vehicles other than motorcycles. Maharashtra’s environment tax is separate, and imported vehicles have their own, higher categories. The inspection or testing charge for a private car at renewal is also separate. Parivahan’s table lists test and fitness certificate fees by vehicle class (items 10 and 11), but we did not establish which charge applies to a private car inspected for RC renewal, so we have not put a number on it. Ask the RTO or testing station.
Where the amounts come from: the ₹5,000 renewal fee was introduced by G.S.R. 714(E) of 4 October 2021, effective 1 April 2022, and press reports at the time described it as raising renewal of a 15 year old car from ₹600. G.S.R. 568(E) of August 2025 added the words “older than 15 years but not exceeding 20 years from the date of first registration” to the renewal entry (4B), and Parivahan’s table shows ₹10,000 for a light motor vehicle older than 20 years (item 16). The February 2025 draft shows the same ₹5,000 and ₹10,000 amounts for light motor vehicles. A PTI report in The Tribune on 23 August 2025 says the fee for light motor vehicles older than 20 years was doubled from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 to discourage people from keeping very old vehicles. We read Parivahan’s table and the draft ourselves and know the two final notifications through summaries and reports, because we could not retrieve the gazette PDFs. Ask your RTO to confirm the amount assessed for your car.
Maharashtra’s Environment Tax on Older Cars
Separate from the central fee, the Maharashtra Transport Department’s vehicle tax page (Marathi) lists an environment tax for non-transport vehicles that have completed 15 years from first registration. After the 15 years it is charged as a lump sum for every 5 years:
| Vehicle | Environment tax for each 5 years after 15 years |
|---|---|
| Two-wheeler | ₹2,000 |
| Other vehicles running on petrol | ₹3,000 |
| Other vehicles running on diesel | ₹3,500 |
The page does not give the notification number or date, and it does not say how or when the tax is collected, so ask the RTO.
Cars Older Than 20 or 25 Years
We found no rule that ends a private car’s registration at 20 or 25 years. The central fee for a light motor vehicle older than 20 years is ₹10,000, and the rule describes that category without an upper age. By these sources an older car can be renewed again at that fee, along with Maharashtra’s environment tax and whatever inspection the RTO requires.
Older Cars and the HSRP
The Maharashtra Transport Department requires a High Security Registration Plate on vehicles registered before 1 April 2019. Our HSRP guide covers booking, rates, deadlines and replacement. For an older car, the point to check here is whether a missing HSRP could hold up the RTO service you need. A November 2025 department circular says re-registration, vehicle modification and permit renewal, other than fitness certificate renewal, should stop for vehicles without an HSRP. We did not establish whether that applies to a registration renewal, so ask your RTO.
Scrapping Instead of Renewing
Scrapping a vehicle at a Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility is an option. A reply published by PIB on 25 July 2024 says 21 states and union territories had announced motor vehicle tax concessions for a vehicle bought against a certificate of deposit. For Maharashtra, a PTI report in Business Standard on 2 April 2025 says the state cabinet decided on tax concessions of 10% or 15% when a new vehicle of the same type is bought after voluntary scrapping, with a certificate of deposit valid for two years. We could not find the official notification, so we cannot say whether the concession is open today. Ask the RTO before you scrap a car with the concession in mind.
Where to Go in Navi Mumbai
The Transport Department’s HSRP booking list names MH43 (Vashi New Mumbai) and MH46 (Panvel). The list names the offices but does not draw a boundary, so check which one your vehicle is registered with. Our RTO Navi Mumbai (Vashi) guide covers the Vashi office, and our driving licence renewal guide lists the Vashi and Panvel RTO offices.
Before You Go to the RTO
- Check the first-registration and expiry dates on your registration certificate and work out which age band your car is in.
- Ask the RTO for the amount assessed for your car, the inspection charge and how the Maharashtra environment tax is collected.
- Get a pollution under control certificate, a valid insurance certificate and proof of road tax ready, and ask which documents your RTO wants beyond Parivahan’s list.
- Check whether your car, if registered before 1 April 2019, has an HSRP.
- Keep every receipt. The central fees exclude GST.
We have not completed a renewal ourselves, and we have not established the inspection charge for a private car or how an RTO assesses a particular vehicle in VAHAN, so use this guide to prepare questions, not as a quotation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep using a 15, 20 or 25 year old car in Maharashtra?
We found no Maharashtra rule that bans a private car at those ages. Age alone does not tell you whether you can legally keep using it, though. Check that the registration is valid or has been renewed and that the car meets insurance, pollution-control and roadworthiness requirements. The 10 and 15 year limits in official sources apply to Delhi and the National Capital Region, not Maharashtra.
How do I renew my 15 year old car in Maharashtra?
Apply in Form 25 to your registering authority, not more than 60 days before the registration expires, pay any tax due and the rule 81 fee, and attach the documents Parivahan lists, such as the pollution certificate, insurance and road tax proof. Maharashtra’s department says the vehicle is presented for inspection. Ask your RTO for its own checklist.
How much does it cost to renew a car older than 15 years?
The base registration charge for an ordinary non-transport light motor vehicle is ₹5,000 if it is older than 15 years but not exceeding 20 years, and ₹10,000 if it is older than 20 years, counted from first registration. GST, a smart card fee of ₹200, any late fee and the inspection charge are extra, and Maharashtra’s environment tax is separate. Ask the RTO for the amount assessed for your car.
What counts as older than 15 or 20 years?
The fee bands are counted from the date of first registration: older than 15 years but not exceeding 20 years, and older than 20 years. Check the first-registration and expiry dates on your registration certificate, and ask the RTO which band VAHAN applies to your car.
Can I renew a 20 year old car?
We found no rule that stops it. The central base charge for a light motor vehicle older than 20 years is ₹10,000. Maharashtra’s environment tax and any inspection the RTO requires also apply.
What if my registration has already expired?
Parivahan lists an extra ₹500 for each month or part of a month of delay for non-transport vehicles other than motorcycles. We did not establish other consequences, so ask the RTO before you drive the car. We found no source saying an application receipt or an HSRP booking replaces valid registration.
What is Maharashtra’s environment tax on old cars?
The department’s tax page lists a lump sum for each 5 years after a non-transport vehicle completes 15 years: ₹2,000 for two-wheelers, ₹3,000 for other petrol vehicles and ₹3,500 for other diesel vehicles. The page does not say how it is collected, so ask your RTO.
Does an older car need an HSRP?
The department requires it on vehicles registered before 1 April 2019. A vehicle registered after that date that already received an HSRP from the dealer does not need to apply again. See our HSRP guide for booking, rates and deadlines.
Could a missing HSRP affect my RTO service?
A November 2025 department circular says several RTO services, such as re-registration, vehicle modification and permit renewal, should stop for vehicles without an HSRP. We did not establish whether that covers a registration renewal, so check with your RTO.
Do I have to scrap my car after 15 or 20 years?
In the Maharashtra sources we reviewed, age alone does not create an automatic scrapping requirement for a private car, but a car that does not meet applicable requirements cannot be used freely. Scrapping at a Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility is an option, and a PTI report says Maharashtra’s cabinet approved tax concessions for it in April 2025. We could not find the official notification.
Sources and Verification Date
Sources checked on 3 October 2026. Central: the Parivahan fees and user charges page and renewal of RC page; rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules as amended by G.S.R. 714(E) of 4 October 2021 and G.S.R. 568(E) of August 2025 (known to us through press reports and summaries), with the draft of 7 February 2025; and PIB releases of 25 September 2021, 20 July 2023 and 25 July 2024. Maharashtra Transport Department: the vehicle tax page and registration fees page, both in Marathi and shown as last reviewed on 2 September 2026, and its HSRP notices. News: PTI reports in The Tribune (23 August 2025) and Business Standard (2 April 2025). We could not retrieve the final gazette texts of the two notifications, did not complete a renewal, did not find the inspection charge for a private car and found no Maharashtra notification for the scrapping concession. Verify the amount with your RTO before paying.
