Pune gets MH-61 as iconic MH-12 vehicle registration numbers run out

Pune's vehicle registration identity is set to change after more than 37 years, with the Regional Transport Office replacing the MH-12 series with MH-61 after the available alphanumeric combinations were exhausted. Officials said Pune is the first city in Maharashtra to run out of registration numbers under the existing format.The new MH-61 code will be used from Monday after the process for fancy numbers is completed. Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Rajesh Narvekar said the new code would be a temporary arrangement until the Union government approves a revised format that retains Pune's MH-12 identity.A senior Pune RTO official said all 9,999 numbers in the last ZZ series under the MH-12 registration code were exhausted earlier this week, and the office is now moving to the new code. As per procedure, applications have already been invited from vehicle owners for fancy numbers, which are issued at an extra charge."Registration of new vehicles under the MH-61 code will start from Monday. Currently, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) is carrying out some backend testing," an official from the Transport Commissioner's office said. The Pune RTO, which covers Pune city and parts of Pune district, currently has more than 44.88 lakh live registered vehicles. Officials said neighbouring industrial townships of Pimpri-Chinchwad and some other parts of Pune district fall under a separate RTO."Most of the vehicles currently shown as live at the Pune RTO were registered after 2011. The majority of vehicles registered before that year may have been scrapped or transferred elsewhere," another RTO official said. Vehicles registered in Pune have carried the MH-12 code since July 1, 1989, when the Union government adopted a new format for vehicle registration numbers across the country, a retired RTO official said.According to RTO officials, more than 59 lakh registration numbers can generally be generated using alphanumeric combinations, excluding the letters I and O.Narvekar told PTI that three alternatives had been suggested as the MH-12 combinations were nearing exhaustion. "These options included registration numbers in the formats MH-12 1A and MH-12 A1, apart from introducing the new MH-61 code," he said.Another senior officer at the Transport Commissioner's office said the MH-12 AAA format had also been proposed earlier. However, that would have increased the registration number format to 11 characters, requiring amendments to the Central Motor Vehicle Rules and major changes to the NIC's system architecture. He said the proposal did not get approval from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and NIC even after multiple meetings.Narvekar said immediate implementation of the proposed MH-12 1A format would require an amendment to the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, which could take time.He said that under the format prescribed in 1989, the registration number has two letters for the state, two digits for the RTO, up to two letters and then a unique vehicle number. The current proposal is to change this to one digit and one letter instead of two letters, for which an amendment is needed."At least 45 days will be required for issuing the notification and then inviting suggestions and objections," Narvekar said.Earlier this month, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol had approached Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari seeking continuation of the MH-12 code for Pune, and Gadkari had responded affirmatively. For now, Pune will move to MH-61 before a final decision is taken on a revised format to retain MH-12.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 29, 2026 20:28 IST