Unpaid traffic challans used to be a nuisance you could ignore for months. Under rules the road transport ministry (MoRTH) notified in January 2026, they can now stop a car from being sold. If a challan is neither paid nor contested within 45 days, the owner's licence and registration-related applications can be held back and the vehicle can be marked "Not to be Transacted" on the government portal. That flag can hold up an ownership transfer.
For anyone buying or selling a used car in Delhi NCR, the takeaway is simple: check for pending challans and toll dues before any money changes hands, and clear them before you file the transfer papers.
The 45-day challan rule in brief
- What changed: the Central Motor Vehicles (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 48(E)) replaced Rule 167, which governs how challans are issued and settled.
- The 45-day window: you can pay the challan or contest it online, with evidence, within 45 days of it being issued.
- If you do nothing: the challan is treated as accepted, and unpaid challans can block licence and registration services and flag the vehicle "Not to be Transacted".
- Toll dues too: a separate January 2026 amendment says no NOC for ownership transfer or a move to another state will be issued until unpaid toll fees are cleared.
- Status in Delhi NCR: Haryana has announced its new e-challan system; Delhi put its rollout notification on hold in September 2026 (details below).
What the new rules say
Issue and delivery
Under the substituted Rule 167, a police officer in uniform or an officer authorised by the state can issue a challan in physical or electronic form, as summarised by TeamLease RegTech's compliance note on G.S.R. 48(E). According to Prime Legal's summary of the 2026 amendments, an electronic challan must reach the person within 3 days and a physical one within 15 days.
Pay or contest within 45 days
The person then has 45 days from issue to either pay or contest the challan on the portal, with documentary evidence. If an objection is rejected, the person can pay within 30 days of the order or go to court after depositing 50% of the challan amount, as ANI reported while describing the amended rule.
If you neither pay nor contest in 45 days, the challan is deemed accepted. The exact payment window after that is set out in the rules and state notifications; The Tribune's explainer on Haryana's system says an accepted challan must be paid within 90 days there, while summaries of the central rule give 30 days. Pay well before either deadline.
The "Not to be Transacted" flag
According to The Tribune, Rule 167(12) lets authorities restrict registration and licence transactions until the challan is cleared and mark the vehicle "Not to be Transacted" on the portal. Rule 167(13) deals with detention of the vehicle. In practice, an RTO application such as an ownership transfer can stall until the dues are cleared.
Five offences in a year can cost you your licence
The same amendment added a new ground to Rule 21: committing five or more offences in a one-year period, counted from 1 January 2026, can lead to disqualification from holding a driving licence. Offences from an earlier year do not carry forward.
Unpaid toll fees now block the NOC
A separate amendment, explained in PIB's release of 20 January 2026, says an NOC for transfer of ownership or for moving a vehicle to another state will not be granted until any unpaid toll fee (recorded by the electronic toll system but not paid) is cleared. Form 28 now asks whether any toll demand is pending. This matters in NCR, where cars often move between Delhi, Haryana and UP registrations. Our guide to FASTag on a used car explains how to close the seller's tag.
Where Delhi, Gurugram and Noida stand
The rules are central, but states roll out the portal, redressal officers and enforcement.
- Delhi: the Transport Department issued a notification on 14 September 2026 naming redressal authorities. On 23 September, after objections from district court lawyers, Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh directed that it be kept "on hold till further consideration", ANI reported. At the time of writing, we found no announcement that the hold has been lifted.
- Haryana (Gurugram, Faridabad): Haryana Police announced a next-generation e-challan system statewide in early October 2026, with a notice within 3 days and 45 days to accept or contest, according to UNI and The Tribune.
- Uttar Pradesh (Noida, Ghaziabad): check the UP Transport Department and the Parivahan e-challan portal for the current status.
Even where the new redressal system is on hold, old challans do not disappear. Treat every pending challan as something to clear before a sale.
Why this matters when you buy or sell a used car
If you are selling
Under Section 50 of the Motor Vehicles Act, the seller must report the sale to the RTO within 14 days if the car is registered in the same state (45 days if it is going to another state), and the buyer must apply within 30 days. Until the RTO records the new owner, the car is still in your name. In Prakash Chand Daga v. Saveta Sharma (2018), the Supreme Court held that a person whose name continues in RTO records remains liable to third parties.
E-challans are generated against the registration number and go to the registered owner. So:
- Clear all your pending challans and toll dues before you list the car.
- Don't hand over the car on a "transfer later" promise. File Forms 29 and 30 promptly; our ownership transfer guide walks through them.
- Note the date, time and odometer reading at handover, and keep a signed delivery note. It helps if a challan for a later violation lands in your name.
- Selling to a dealer? Read up on Form 29C and dealer authorisation.
If you are buying
A flagged car can leave you having paid in full for a car you cannot register in your name. Before paying a token or the full amount:
- Check challans on the official Parivahan e-challan portal using the registration number. The portal warns about a fake look-alike website, so type the address yourself.
- For Delhi-registered cars, also search the Delhi Traffic Police notice page by vehicle number, because some traffic notices are tracked there.
- Use Hooter's free challan check and RC details check as a quick first pass, then confirm on the official portals.
- Ask the seller to clear everything and show payment receipts before the final payment.
- If you are paying a token, put the challan condition in writing. See our note on paying a token amount for a used car.
Buying a car with an HR or UP number to use in Delhi? Toll dues now affect the NOC too, so read buying a car with HR or UP plates before you commit.
How to check, pay or contest a challan
- Look it up: enter the registration number on the Parivahan e-challan portal, and for Delhi cars on the Delhi Traffic Police site.
- Check where it sits: a challan may be payable online, or it may have been sent to a virtual court, in which case it is handled on the virtual courts portal.
- Pay online: use only the official portals and save the receipt or transaction ID.
- Contest if it's wrong: where the new system is live, file the objection on the portal within 45 days with evidence, such as proof the car was sold before the violation or was elsewhere at the time.
- Keep your mobile number current: challans are sent to the mobile number linked to the RC, so update it on the Parivahan Vahan portal if it has changed.
Lok Adalat: a cheaper route for some old challans
Lok Adalats can settle eligible compoundable traffic challans. Delhi's last sitting was on 25 October 2026 and covered eligible compoundable challans and notices pending in virtual courts up to 30 June 2026, with slips downloaded in advance from the Delhi Traffic Police portal, as Business Standard reported. The next National Lok Adalat on the 2026 calendar is on 12 December 2026, per the Himachal Pradesh State Legal Services Authority. Watch the Delhi Traffic Police website to see whether traffic challans will be taken up.
If you are selling soon, don't wait for a Lok Adalat. Pay or contest the challan now so the car stays transferable.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Checking challans only on an app or website that isn't official, and paying through a look-alike site.
- Ignoring an e-challan because you think it's wrong. Silence for 45 days counts as acceptance.
- Selling the car on a delivery receipt and assuming the buyer will "do the transfer".
- Forgetting unpaid toll fees, which now block the NOC for transfer.
- Paying a token amount before the seller has cleared challans.
FAQs
Can an RC be transferred with a pending challan?
Under the 2026 rules, an unpaid challan can lead to registration services being withheld and the vehicle being flagged "Not to be Transacted", so expect the transfer to stall until the challan is cleared.
How many days do I have to pay an e-challan now?
45 days from issue to pay or contest it. If you do neither, it is treated as accepted and must be paid within the period the rules and your state allow.
Who pays challans issued after I sold my car?
Challans go to the registered owner. Until the RTO records the transfer, the car is legally yours, so report the sale quickly and keep proof of the handover date to contest wrongly sent challans.
Do five challans really lead to licence suspension?
Five or more offences within one year, counted from 1 January 2026, is now a ground on which the licensing authority can disqualify a driver.
Is the 45-day system live in Delhi?
Delhi's 14 September 2026 notification was put on hold on 23 September. Check the Delhi Transport Department and Delhi Traffic Police websites for updates.
The bottom line
Challans are now part of a car's paperwork, just like the RC, insurance and PUC. Sellers should clear them before listing, and buyers should confirm a clean record on the official portals before paying. When everything is clear, you can list your car on Hooter or browse used cars in Delhi NCR with one less surprise waiting at the RTO. For the full pre-purchase paperwork check, see our guide to verifying RC, insurance and challan records.