Finance

Key Documents Required To Legally Drive A Bike In India

Driving a bike is fun and exciting. With increasing traffic snarls and congestion, it has become a more swift form of transportation than relying on public transport. But riding a bike is for responsible and careful individuals. Not only is there a risk of accidents, but also tackling the unexpected potholes and pedestrians.

It is common to witness traffic officials checking vehicles documents at various check-posts. It is generally done for a routine check and to ensure compliance of the law. If you are planning your bike road-trip it is essential you keep your bike’s documents handy to present when asked. So which are these documents that are a must-have? Read further to know more.

#1 Registration Certificate

The registration certificate is commonly referred to as RC. It is one of the essential documents that you need to have with you at all times. This document certifies the legality of the bike registered in the owner’s name. Further, it states any hypothecation on the vehicle, if any. It is one of the prime documents that certify the vehicle’s ownership.

#2 Driving License (DL)

It is a document that legally permits the holder to ride the bike. Driving license is issued by the regional transport office or RTO after passing the application test. Further, the driving license states various categories of vehicle that you are allowed to drive. To ride a two-wheeler, you must apply for a driving license either with gear or without gear while making sure you have a bike as per the specification on your DL. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 makes it mandatory to have a driving license along with registration certificate, pollution certificate and bike insurance to legally ride a bike in the country. It is a punishable offence to ride a bike without the aforementioned documents. The penalties are different for each document.

#3 Bike insurance 

This document proves that your bike is insured with at least third-party insurance cover that is mandatory by the law. Further, a comprehensive plan is an optional coverage that you can opt to enhance the scope of your insurance coverage. These plans can be added with extra features in form of add-ons that can provide enhanced coverage over and above the standard comprehensive cover. Add-ons can be either bought at initial purchase or at time of two wheeler insurance renewal.

#4 Pollution Certificate

Pollution under control (PUC) certificate is a document that proves your bike’s emissions are within the acceptable limits as laid out by the government. It also contains your bike’s registration number that ensures it cannot be transferred to other documents. Hence, it is required at all times to be carried with other mandatory documents.

These documents can be either carried in physical form or even electronically. Designated applications like mParivaahan and DigiLocker can be used to store these documents electronically. Any changes or updation of these documents like online policy renewal gets updated on the app on an almost real-time basis. Thus you need not worry about updating these documents in your application too. Remember to carry the above-mentioned documents at all times to avoid hefty penalties.