How to Get A PUC Certificate for Your Vehicle?

Posted on: May 18, 2023 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

How to Get A PUC Certificate for Your Vehicle?

To be able to drive your car legally on public roads, you will need to always carry a few important documents around. Firstly, you must always have the registration certificate of your car, car insurance policy, and PUC. All vehicles must have a PUC or pollution under control certificate, which denotes that the vehicle complies with the emission rules and regulations.

Understanding PUC:

A PUC certificate is one of the mandated documents that vehicle owners must always carry around. The Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 mandates it. It is a document that certifies whether your vehicle is compliant with the environmental norms that the government has established. Looking at the document, one can find out whether the emission from their vehicle is within the government-prescribed levels or not.

And you can get a PUC certificate only from an authorised testing centre. Once you do, you must always carry that document with you.

Getting a PUC certificate:

If you are curious about how to get PUC certificate, there are two ways in which you can get one for your vehicle.

• You can visit any local emission testing centre to complete the tests and a PUC certificate.

• Alternatively, you can visit the Vahan website to get a PUC certificate.

Steps to get a PUC offline:

Vehicle owners wondering how to get PUC certificate offline can follow these steps.

• Identify a local testing centre that is authorised.

• Take your vehicle to the nearest testing centre.

• An operator at the centre will carry out the emission tests.

• After gathering the readings, the operator will put a seal on the emission report.

• You must pay the necessary fees and receive the PUC certificate.

Steps to get a PUC online:

These steps are only valid if you have an existing PUC certificate. You cannot apply for a new PUC certificate or renew one online.

• Access the Vahan website.

• Select the PUC certificate option.

• Enter your vehicle’s registration number, the last 5 characters of the chassis number and the captcha on the page.

• Click on the PUC details option.

• You can then download or print the PUC certificate.

Emission test procedure steps for a PUC certificate:

Now that you know how to get PUC certificate, here are the steps that take place when you visit an emission testing centre.

• Visit the nearest authorised emission testing centre and place the vehicle as the operator asks you to.

• Inform them about your vehicle types, such as petrol engines or diesel engines.

• You must provide the RC of the vehicle to the operator.

• The operator will then ask you to start your vehicle and then place a testing probe into the exhaust pipe of the vehicle.

• The software associated will display the readings of the test.

• The operator will take a picture of your vehicle’s registration number and complete the report.

• The operator will hand over the report once you complete the payment.

Cost of PUC certificate:

It is recommended to get your vehicle tested only at authorised emission testing centres. You can usually find them in most of the fuel stations across the country. Alternatively, you can find some standalone testing centres also. The cost of a PUC certificate usually ranges between Rs. 60 to Rs. 100. The price of the certificate depends on whether you want to test your two-wheeler or four-wheeler and the fuel type of the vehicle as well.

Checking the status of your PUC online:

By following a few simple steps, you can check the status of your PUC certificate online. It is important to keep checking it at regular intervals if you do not want to forget to renew the certificate on time. PUC certificate and car insurance are two of the most important documents needed while driving. Here are the steps that you must follow.

• Visit the official Vahan website.

• Select the PUC certificate option.

• Enter your vehicle’s registration number, the last 5 digits of the chassis number and the captcha and click on PUC details.

• You will be able to view the status of the PUC.

Renewing PUC online:

You cannot renew the PUC certificate of your vehicle online. Since these are emission tests, you must physically take your vehicle to a testing centre to complete the process. You can only view and download a certificate online from the Vahan website.

Steps to find RTO approved emission testing centres:

If you want to identify emission testing centres that are approved by your RTO, you can follow these steps.

• Visit the Vahan official website.

• Select the PUC Centre List option.

• Enter the state and RTO office from the dropdowns.

• The website will return all the RTO-approved PUC centres. The list contains the PUC centre code, authorised name, and complete address.

As a vehicle owner, you must carry a PUC certificate and car insurance policy on you. Since the vehicle owner has control over these, it is important to renew them on time. Once you review the status of your PUC, you can renew it online.

Similarly, if you have opted for comprehensive car insurance, you must renew it on time. Failing to renew it within the expiry date can result in policy expiry. In such cases, you might even have to complete self inspection of your vehicle. A self inspection can make the process of renewing the policy a bit lengthier.

Conclusion

If you do not want to end up paying fines to the traffic police department, it is crucial to get PUC certificate. Using the above information, you can trace an emission testing centre and complete the tests to get the certificate. Also, it is a sensible decision to opt for comprehensive car insurance for your vehicle for utmost protection.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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