Government allows vehicle owners to assign nominee in registration certificate
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, to now allow a vehicle owner to assign a nominee in the registration certificate. This move is meant to simplify the transfer of ownership of a vehicle in case of the owner's death.
The ministry said in a notification, "Where the owner of a motor vehicle dies, the person nominated by the vehicle owner in the certificate of registration or the person succeeding to the possession of the vehicle, as the case may be, may for a period of three months from the death of the owner of the motor vehicle, use the vehicle as if it has been transferred to him, Provided that such person has, within thirty days of the death of the owner, informed the registering authority of the occurrence of the death of the owner and of his own intention to use the vehicle."
Photo by Kaif on Unsplash
The nominee can be added to the registration certificate either while the vehicle is being registered or online later. The nominee can also be changed through a standard operating procedure in the event of a divorce or property division. For the nominee to take ownership of the vehicle after the original owner's passing, a Form 31 application needs to be made within three months of the death to the registering authority.
This move simplifies a complex and non-standard procedure currently in place across states that involves a raft of supporting documents and multiple visits to the RTO. The government originally mooted this change in November 2020. After having invited suggestions from the public and stakeholders then, this has turned into law.
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