HSRP for Old Vehicles: How to Book the Number Plate

If your car or two-wheeler was registered before 1 April 2019, you book a High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) and the colour-coded fuel sticker online, usually through your state portal or the dealer-linked booking site, then take the vehicle to the fitment centre on the chosen date. You enter your registration, chassis and engine number, pay the fee, and pick a slot. The plate is laser-etched and snap-locked at the centre.

HSRP became mandatory for all vehicles sold on or after 1 April 2019 under Rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. Older vehicles were left out at first, so the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) asked states to retrofit pre-2019 vehicles too. That is why owners of older vehicles now have to apply separately. This guide is about the booking process for those older vehicles. If you already booked and the plate was never delivered or you want a refund, see the escalation guide linked at the end instead.

An HSRP is a tamper-proof aluminium number plate with a built-in chromium hologram, a laser-etched permanent identification number, and a non-reusable snap lock. Once fitted it cannot be removed and re-used on another vehicle, which is the whole point: it makes plate swapping and theft harder.

The colour-coded sticker is a separate self-destructing label fixed inside the windscreen, usually top-left, that shows what fuel your vehicle runs on. The standard MoRTH scheme uses light blue for petrol and CNG, orange for diesel, and grey for electric and other vehicles. BS-VI compliant vehicles also carry a thin green strip across the top. The colour lets traffic and pollution staff read your fuel type at a glance.

Vehicles manufactured and registered on or after 1 April 2019 already left the showroom with an HSRP. The retrofitting requirement is for vehicles registered before that date: older cars, bikes, scooters and commercial vehicles that still carry an ordinary painted or stuck-on plate.

Deadlines are set state by state, not nationally. Some states have run firm cut-off dates with enforcement drives; others keep extending. Check your own state transport department notification for the current deadline before you assume you have time.

1. Find the right portal. Many states route bookings through the dealer-linked national site bookmyhsrp.com. Several states (for example Delhi and Maharashtra) run their own transport-department booking pages. Search your state transport department website or the Parivahan portal first.
2. Choose what you need: HSRP plus colour sticker, or only the sticker if your plate is already compliant.
3. Select your vehicle category: two-wheeler, four-wheeler, or commercial. The fee depends on this.
4. Enter your vehicle details from your Registration Certificate (RC): registration number, chassis number and engine number. Most portals do not ask you to upload documents, but keep the RC handy to copy these exactly.
5. Pick a fitment centre and an appointment slot near you, or choose home fitment where the state offers it.
6. Pay the fee online and save the booking confirmation and reference number.
7. Take the vehicle to the centre on your slot date. Staff fit the plate with the snap lock and apply the sticker. Keep the receipt.

• Vehicle Registration Certificate (for registration, chassis and engine numbers)
• Your mobile number for the booking OTP and slot reminders
• A working online payment method
• The booking confirmation or reference number on the fitment day

Most state portals confirm that no document upload is required to book; you only type the numbers shown on your RC. Carry the RC to the centre anyway in case staff ask to verify.

Fees are not a single national figure. They vary by state and by vehicle class, with two-wheelers costing less than four-wheelers and commercial vehicles, and the colour sticker priced separately or bundled. Read the fee shown on your own state portal before you pay; do not rely on a figure quoted for another state.

Penalties for driving without an HSRP after the deadline also vary by state, because enforcement is run by state transport and traffic authorities, not by one central fine. Some states issue challans under the Motor Vehicles Act; others run warning phases first. Treat any single “national fine” figure you see online with caution and check your state notification.

If you booked and paid but the plate was never delivered or fitted, or the centre cancelled and you want your money back, that is a service-delivery and refund problem, not a booking problem. You can escalate to the dealer, the portal grievance channel, and your RTO, and you can file an RTI to ask the transport department for the status and the responsible vendor. See the dedicated guide: HSRP not delivered: refund and RTO escalation.

To frame that RTI cleanly, the AI RTI Drafter on the RTI Wiki homepage can build the application and the right authority address for you, and the The RTI Playbook explains how to push a stalled government service through the appeal stages.

Yes. HSRP was made compulsory for vehicles sold on or after 1 April 2019 under Rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, and MoRTH directed states to retrofit older vehicles too. The retrofit deadline is set by your state, so check the current date in your state.

The colour shows your fuel type. The standard scheme is light blue for petrol and CNG, orange for diesel, and grey for electric and other vehicles. BS-VI vehicles also carry a thin green strip. If you are unsure which applies, the portal selects it from your registration record.

Many states use the dealer-linked national site bookmyhsrp.com, but several states run their own transport-department booking page. Start at your state transport department website or the Parivahan portal and follow the HSRP link from there, so you land on the correct portal for your registration.

The fee varies by state and by vehicle class, and the colour sticker may be charged separately. There is no single national price. Always read the fee displayed on your own state portal before paying, and keep the payment receipt.

Usually no. Most portals only ask you to type the registration, chassis and engine numbers from your RC. Keep the RC with you at the fitment centre in case staff want to verify the vehicle before fitting the plate.

Yes. You can ask the transport department, under the RTI Act 2005, for your booking status, the assigned vendor, and the reason for delay. Use it alongside the portal grievance channel and the RTO escalation route.

Confirm your state deadline, open the correct portal for your state, and book using the registration, chassis and engine numbers from your RC. Keep the confirmation and the fitment receipt. If the plate is delayed, never delivered, or your money is stuck, move to the HSRP not delivered and refund escalation guide and draft a status RTI through the tools on RTI Wiki.