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Beware! Your fancy number plate will invite heavy fines from RTO
Team AckoJun 10, 2026
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By law a vehicle should display its registration number on the front and rear side. All number plates are required to be in modern Arabic numerals with Latin letters. In short, the registration number of a vehicle should be readable and clearly visible. However, as we Indians love to decorate each and everything we own, a vehicle’s number plate is not an exception.
While plying on the road, we all have noticed several self-proclaimed BOSS, BOYZ, SAI. Along with these numerous words which appear to be written in Devanagari i.e. Hindi and Marathi fonts are also a common sight. As fancy as these words may seem, they are misleading in most cases. To guess the actual registration number from a fancy number plate, one has to contemplate the possible numbers which make a word like BOYS or BOSS.
Contents
Why Are Fancy Number Plates Not Allowed?
Imagine a situation where a car speeds across a police check post, at night, without stopping for the mandatory checking. To note the details of this car, an official would try to see the color of the car and its registration number. Since it is night time, the color could not be identified clearly. What if this vehicle has a fancy number plate with a big bold BOYZ displayed across the plate? It would be very hard to track such a vehicle as the last digits of the number itself are not clear.
Two-wheeler and four-wheeler vehicles are used in criminal events such as kidnapping, murder, molestation, and chain or mobile phone snatching. It is observed by the officials that a common factor in such crimes was that a vehicle with a fancy number plate was used to throw the police off their trail.
What Are the RTO Fines for Fancy Number Plate?
Even if personalizing the number plate is preferred by most of us, it is not allowed under the Regional Traffic Office – RTO rules. An RTO is responsible for the registration of vehicles and keeping a track of ownership of a specific vehicle. A driving license is also issued by this authority.
RTO fines for displaying fancy number plates on a vehicle is Rs. 1000/-. The fine collected by officials mounts to crores of rupees across the country.
Guidelines for Vehicle Number Plate
Vehicles having less than 70cc engine should display a vehicle number plate with a font height of 15mm and width of 2.5mm. The space between each letter and number should be at least 2.5mm. For 500cc vehicles or three-wheelers, the font height should be 35mm and width should be 7mm. These vehicles should have at least 5mm of space between each letter and number.
For vehicles which do not fall into this category, the font height of number plates (both front and rear) should be 65mm with the width of 10mm, and space of 10mm between each letter and number. Also, the vehicle’s number plate should not display any symbols, names or stickers.
Which Color Combination Is Allowed by RTO?
The following color combination is allowed by the rules of Regional transport office in India:
| Type | Background Color | Color for Registration number |
| Private Vehicles | White | Black |
| Transport Commercial | Yellow | Black |
| Temporary Registered | Yellow | Red |
| Rental Cabs | Yellow | Black |
Regional Transport Offices (RTO) in Mumbai
If you are looking for RTOs in Mumbai, here are the details:
South Mumbai
RTO Office Code: MH-01 Address: Old Bodyguard Lane, Tulsiwadi, Tardeo, Mumbai, Maharashtra Pin code – 400034. Contacts : +91-22- 24944600, +91-22- 24932337, +91-22- 24944601, +91-22- 24944602.Fax : +91-22- 23534603 Working Hours: 10AM–5:30PM
Western Suburb
RTO Office Code: MH-47 Address: Dy. Regional Transport Officer, Wing-A Link Rd, Kandarpada Anand Park,Dahisar West, Near Borivali, Mumbai Pin code: 400068 Contacts : +91-22- 26366957, +91-22- 26362252, +91-22- 26319821, +91-22- 26323315 Working Hours: 10AM–5:00PM
Also, read: Vehicle Scrappage Policy in India
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