If you have a car or a bike or literally any vehicle in India, you know how important a PUC certificate is. You can land fines if you aren’t able to produce it when asked at a police checkpoint. Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate is a mandate as per the Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 where every vehicle must have it and with a valid date.
A PUC Certificate is a document that shows if the pollution emitted by any vehicle is within the government-specific norms. It is usually done at authorized pollution testing centers. Since we are talking about India, you will find mobile PUC testing units on highways or you can walk into a petrol pump station to get a PUC certificate which is valid for one year for a new car.
Note that you need to renew the certificate before the end of one year or else, it will be counted as a violation and you could be fined if a traffic cop verifies all the mandatory documents you need to carry when traveling such as driving license, vehicle registration certificate, insurance, and PUC.
How To Download PUC Online?
Let’s see how you can actually download your PUC online using these simple and straightforward instructions.
Step #1: First, go to the Parivahan Sewa website (Link: https://vahan.parivahan.gov.in/) on your phone or PC.
Step #2: Head towards the PUC option on the website.
Step #3: Next, you’ll need to enter the vehicle registration number and then, the last five digits of the chassis number. You will be asked to enter a captcha as well. Provide all the information before submitting it.
Step #4: If all the information checks out, your PUC should be available online ready for downloads in a second.
Step #5: If you are on your PC, simply hitting the ‘Print P’ will give you an option to download without following the options provided by the website itself.
How To Get PUC Certificate Offline?
It is a traditional method wherein you can get PUC certification offline. Here’s how.
Step #1: First up, take your vehicle to a nearby test center (or a petrol pump station with an authorized PUC station).
Step #2: Ask the attendant to analyze your vehicle’s emission levels.
Step #3: Pay and you will get a certificate valid for the so and so dates that will be mentioned on it as well.
What’s the Validity of the PUC Certificate?
It is a mandate to repeat pollution level checks from time to time. When it comes to validity, a new vehicle gets one year of PUC certification. Your dealer will take care of the first year while you will have to renew it at the interval of one year. On the other hand, older vehicles are mandated to renew their PUC every six months of interval until the vehicle’s emissions get above the guidelines mandated by Motor Vehicles Act 1989.
What are the fines for not producing a PUC?
As per Section 190(2) under the Motor Vehicles Act 1989, there’s a fine for not producing a PUC certificate. It is INR 1,000/- for the first timer and INR 2,000/- for subsequent offenders.
