Vehicle Fancy Number In Kerala

Vehicle Fancy Number in Kerala

Vehicle Registration Marks and Reservation of Numbers

Many people have craze on their vehicle registration numbers. Some of them want fancy numbers while the others want numbers according to their belief in the numerical astrology. Whatever it may, it will be interesting to know about the theory of formation of vehicle registration numbers in the state, keeping it as a unique identifier for each vehicle.

Old System

Till the implementation of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, we used a combination of three English alphabets followed by numerals, from 1 to 9999, to make a unique registration mark. First letter ‘K’ represents the state of Kerala, the second letter shows the series and is fixed by the Government of Kerala when the previous one was exhausted. ‘L’,’R’, ‘E’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ were the alphabets used for the second position. The alphabet in third position represents the District in which the vehicle was registered. Table below shows the alphabets used for representing each District

Present System

On the commencement of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, wef 01/07/1989, the registration mark of vehicles is formed in a new format. The Government of India has allotted ‘KL’ as the state-code to Kerala State; which forms the first part of registration mark for the vehicles registered in this state.

The second part was a numerical District-Code starting from 01 for Trivandrum, ending at 14 for Kasargod and 15 for Sate Transport Undertaking (KSRTC).

When three Sub Regional Transport Offices are upgraded as Rural Regional Transport Offices, district code is extended to them as 16 for Attingal, 17 for Muvattupuzha and 18 for Vadagara.

Later, considering the exponential increase in the registration of the vehicles and difficulty in allotting groups of numbers from Regional Offices to Sub Regional offices, Government has decided to allot registration codes for every office. Code numbers 19 to 60 are allotted to each Sub Regional Transport Office.

The last part is numerical part starting from 1 to 9999. When the number comes to 9999 a third part is introduced in between the second and last numerical parts. This third part represents the ‘series’ starting from A to Z avoiding ‘I’ and ‘O’. When the series comes to ‘Z’ new series starts from AA to AZ and then BA to ZZ avoiding ‘I’ and ‘O’.

examples of registration Number in Trivandrum.

KL-01-8756
KL-01-A-5742
KL-01-AJ-86 (‘KL’ –state code, 01- Office code, AJ-Series, 86-Running Number)

Allotment of Registration Numbers.

The inspecting officer examines the applications for registration and inspects the vehicles produced before him. Acknowledgements will be issued by the inspecting officer on every proper application immediately after the inspection. All the applications received in a day are entered in the computer in the afternoon. On giving a command to the computer the system will allot Registration Numbers to all the Vehicles instantly. There are no manual interventions in allotting the Registration Numbers, except for the reserved numbers. The allotted numbers can be seen from the Information Kiosk provided in the office instantly or from the office notice board. If the concerned office is connected to KSWAN the allotted numbers can be viewed online.

Fancy Registration Numbers

Some registration numbers in every series are notified by the Government as Fancy Numbers. These numbers will be allotted only on reservation. You can reserve your fancy numbers through this link. http://www.keralamvd.gov.in/

Fancy Numbers in News:

Big rush for fancy vehicle numbers People attach so much value to numerals in their vehicle’s registration number, that getting fancy numbers has become big business.

While some want to ensure that theirs is a `safe’ number (odd numbers and those that add up to become odd numbers are considered safe on the road), others are obsessed with some easily-noticeable numbers. So much is the demand for fancy numbers that the State Motor Vehicles’ Department has a proposal to introduce higher rates to apply for numbers like 1, 99 and 999. At present, people can bid for all fancy numbers by paying a flat rate of Rs.2,000.

The Department has brought out a list of 141 numbers that fall in the list of fancy numbers. They include 1 to 10; 11, 22, 33 etc.; 100; 123; 786; 1122; 1818; 1881; 3456; 3636; 9090; 9495 and 9999. A few years ago, there was a mad rush to get the number KL-7-AK-47, considering that the Kalashnikov rifle is the most flaunted weapon of both terrorists and law-enforcers. Thanks to James Bond movies, people paint the number 7 as 007 thus making the number fancier, though it is against the law.

Luxury cars

M.N. Prabhakaran, Ernakulam RTO, says that luxury-car owners top the chart of those bidding for fancy numbers, with those of luxury buses and bikes falling close behind. Gold and textiles businessmen, film actors and those into real-estate top the chart of those opting for fancy numbers.

“Apart from the ease in remembering the number, numerology and religion too play their role in opting for numbers considered as fancy ones. This obsession of some vehicle owners, brings in some additional revenue to the Government,” he says.

Often, the bid to get a fancy number becomes so complex that its auction is adjourned several times. The latest in Kochi is the beeline to get the number KL-7-BF-1. There were 14 applicants for the number. “We sent registered letters to all of them. But some did not turn up and the auction had to be postponed many times,” says Mr. Prabhakaran.

There have been instances where people had approached the court to get fancy numbers. Some regular applicants (many of whom do not even have a car) resell the fancy numbers that they bid to car owners, for a handsome margin. Often, the price tag attached to fancy numbers climb into lakhs, when there is fierce competition. After all, a vehicle bearing fancy number fetches a higher price in the resale market.

Fancy numbers for the highest bidder

The demand for fancy numbers for vehicles is so much that some motorists consider even the ‘unlucky’ 13 as a fancy number.

It makes the vehicle stand out among the crowd, though it does not command a premium in the fancy-number ‘market’. Some owners book 13 despite it not being considered fancy in the list of over 150 fancy numbers notified by the Motor Vehicles’ Department (MVD). “There was auction for the number on a few occasions, when there was more than one claimant,” said the Ernakulam RTO, T. J. Thomas.

In Demand

The number 1 has the highest demand. The department has fixed a minimum price tag of Rs. 1 lakh on it. Though claimants generally quote up to Rs. 5 lakh or even more for the number, KL-07-BS-1 (a Mercedes) issued by the Ernakulam RTO Office went for Rs. 1 lakh since the rival bidder did not qualify for the bidding process.

The minimum rate for numbers like 777, 999 and 9999 is Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 30,000 for number 3. The number 786, considered sacred by Muslims, has a minimum price tag of Rs. 25,000. By paying Rs. 10,000 one can bid for 11, 99 and so on. If there are no bidders for a number, it is allotted to a government vehicle.

Though 47 is not a fancy number, it turned fancy (AK-47) when the AK series was in use. The list of notified fancy numbers is available at the department’s website www.keralamvd.gov.in. Even other numbers can be reserved by paying Rs. 3,000. No number can be booked or blocked and even those who consider 13 unlucky have no option if they get it in the computer-generated number allocation system.

“The rules are stricter now, to prevent touts and others from engaging in unscrupulous practices. There were instances when middlemen booked fancy numbers and made vehicle owners pay a margin for surrendering the numbers,” Ernakulam RTO, Mr. Thomas said.

Under the new rule, the vehicle owner has to directly approach the RTO office to book a fancy number. The government’s revenue has been increasing each year, especially since the 14 districts in Kerala now have numerous sub-RTO offices with a different number for each.

“A few celebrities in the State are willing to pay any amount to get their ‘lucky number’ as the registration number for their vehicle. Their fleet of vehicles would have the same number, though from different registration series,” said Anu Antony, senior sales consultant with a luxury car dealer in Kochi. A vehicle with a fancy number is visible, gives identity to the owner and even commands a better price in the resale market, he said.

Even if the vehicle number is not fancy, most people want the total of the registration number to be an odd number (i.e., 3 for 8040 [8+4] or 2061 (total 9) etc.).

There is much less obsession for fancy numbers in the city suburbs. “There is seldom any auction for fancy numbers, including for one. Thus, 1 goes for the minimum rate — Rs. 1 lakh,” said Adarshkumar Nair, Motor Vehicle Inspector of the Tripunithura Sub RTO Office.

Instructions

1) Reservation Status

Just select your office and click list and check the ranges

Reg Number - KL-01-BX-3273
Reservation Fee - 3000
Status - Open

Reg Number - KL-01-BX-3232
Reservation Fee - 3000
Status - Booked and Open

2) Fancy Number Booking History

Just select your office and select a series as well as enter a number, click list

Reg No - KL-01-AA-9999
Owner - Managing Director
Booking Amount - 2000
Auction/Tender Amount - NIL
Booking Status - Issued
DD Amount - NIL
Balance Collected - NIL

Reg No - KL-01-AA-9997
Owner - Spooky Solutions Pvt Ltd
Booking Amount - 2000
Auction/Tender Amount - NIL
Booking Status - Lapsed
DD Amount - NIL
Balance Collected - NIL