Can I sell my old car without Registration Certificate?

Selling your old car is quite a task. It requires a mix of planning, research, documentation, and negotiations. The end result of the car selling process is the change in ownership wherein the registration certificate (RC) is transferred to the name of a new buyer. Now the question arises what is an RC and how important this document is?

Registration Certificate (RC)

An RC is the most crucial document related to your vehicle and contains all the important information like the car’s registration number, date of registration and registration validity period, name of the owner and address, month and year of manufacturing, class of the vehicle, name of the manufacturer, name of the model, engine and chassis number, cubic capacity of engine, number of cylinders, unladen weight of the vehicle, colour of the vehicle, body type, and seating capacity.

Can I sell my car without RC?

The straightforward answer is – No. You can’t sell your car legally if you do not have RC of the vehicle.

Have you lost your RC?

If you have lost your RC then you need to file an FIR in your nearest police station. Attach a copy of this FIR and submit it to Regional Transport Office (RTO) with the duly filled form 26. You can also avail the facility of filing FIR online as many states have come up with this new convenience nowadays.

Have your details are a misprint on the RC?

A second possible scenario is a misprint of your (seller’s) details on the RC. In that case, you are required to submit an affidavit mentioning the correct details and an ID proof when you sell your car to a new owner. In case you want to have a new RC for your car, then again you need to fill form 26 and submit its two copies along with the other documents to the RTO. The similar procedure needs to be followed in case your RC is damaged and you want to have a new RC.

Have details of your vehicle are misprinted on the RC?

In case the details of your vehicle are not properly printed on the RC, you can sell the car by submitting its original invoice with the other documents to RTO. But again, if you want to have a new RC then you have to submit form 26 (in duplicate) and other documents to the registration authorities.
In sum, it is absolutely essential for you to have an RC of your vehicle as you can’t sell your old car without it legitimately.

Also Read:- 10 Steps to Selling Your Car