Check pending challans by vehicle number, driving licence number or challan number on the MoRTH e-Challan portal, pay online, and understand what an unpaid challan does to your RC transfer and fitness. Deliberately, we do not quote offence-wise fine amounts — those are fixed by state notification.
Quick snapshot
- The official portal is echallan.parivahan.gov.in, an initiative of MoRTH, linked from parivahan.gov.in. Anything else charging you a "service fee" is not it.
- You can search by challan number, vehicle number or DL number, with mobile number and OTP verification.
- Compounding amounts are set by the State Government by notification in the official gazette under Section 200 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — so the amount for the same offence differs between states.
- Camera challans must come with photographic evidence, device measurement, date, time, place and a Section 65B Evidence Act certificate under Rule 167A.
- Unpaid challans that go to court are handled by Virtual Courts; pendency is also cleared in bulk at National Lok Adalat sittings.
- For commercial vehicles, challan clearance from the traffic and enforcement branch is a required document for transfer of ownership, duplicate RC and re-assignment of registration mark.
- Grievances for a wrongly issued challan go through the portal's Grievance System; helpdesk is helpdesk-echallan@gov.in / 0120-4925505, 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM.
To check a pending traffic challan, go to echallan.parivahan.gov.in, open "Check Challan Status", and search using your challan number, vehicle number or driving licence number along with your mobile number and OTP. The portal shows the challan details and lets you proceed to online payment. It is the Digital Traffic/Transport Enforcement Solution of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
We are not listing fine amounts for specific offences, and you should distrust any page that does. Under Section 200 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 the State Government may, by notification in the official gazette, specify the amount for compounding of certain offences — so the figure for the same violation varies by state. Check the amount on the challan itself and on your state's portal.
1. How to check a pending challan, three ways
All three searches run from the same screen on the e-Challan portal. Pick whichever identifier you have.
| Search by | When to use it | What you also need |
|---|---|---|
| Challan number | You have the physical or SMS challan and want that one record | Mobile number and OTP |
| Vehicle number | You want every challan outstanding against the vehicle — the usual case before buying or selling | Mobile number and OTP; chassis or engine number may be asked in some flows |
| DL number | The challan was issued against the driver, not the vehicle — for example when you were driving someone else's car | Mobile number and OTP |
Open the official portal
Go to echallan.parivahan.gov.in. The portal itself carries a warning to beware of fraudulent websites impersonating e-Challan services — reach it from parivahan.gov.in if you are unsure, never from a search ad or an SMS link.
Choose "Check Challan Status"
Select the identifier you have — challan number, vehicle number or DL number — and enter it exactly as printed, including the state code.
Verify with mobile number and OTP
OTP verification is what stops strangers from pulling your challan history off a number plate. Use a number you control.
Read the challan before you pay
Check the date, time and place of the offence, the provision said to be violated, and the photographic evidence. If it is a camera challan, that evidence is mandatory — see section 3 below.
Pay online, then save the receipt
Proceed to payment from the challan details screen. Download and keep the receipt. Payment confirmation is your only proof if the record does not update immediately.
If money left your account but the challan still shows pending
Use the portal's Check Pending Transaction and Check Failed Transaction / payment verification pages before paying again. Paying twice is easy and getting a refund is slow.
2. State traffic police portal vs the Parivahan e-Challan record
This confuses a lot of people, and it causes real problems during resale. They are two different views of the same enforcement world.
Parivahan e-Challan (national)
- MoRTH's national Digital Traffic/Transport Enforcement Solution, part of the Parivahan family alongside Vahan and Sarathi.
- Holds challans issued through the e-Challan application by participating enforcement agencies, keyed to the Vahan and Sarathi databases.
- This is the record the RTO sees when it processes your vehicle transaction, and it carries the virtual court status for challans sent to court.
State traffic police portal (state)
- Run by the state or city traffic police, with its own notice and challan numbering.
- May show notices that are not yet, or never become, e-Challan records — the national portal separately lists a Delhi Traffic Notice check alongside the Delhi Traffic Challan check.
- Compounding amounts shown here follow your state's gazette notification, which is why the same offence costs different amounts in different states.
- Some legacy or manually issued challans may only appear here.
Before you buy or sell a used vehicle, check both
A clean screen on the national portal does not prove there is nothing outstanding on the state portal, and the reverse is equally true. Check echallan.parivahan.gov.in by vehicle number and the state traffic police portal for the state where the vehicle was used, and get the seller to clear everything before the transfer is filed. Once the RC is in your name, the follow-up is your problem.
3. Camera challans: what the law requires on the notice
Automated challans are not a free-for-all. Rule 167A of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, notified by MoRTH vide G.S.R. 575(E) dated 11 August 2021 under Section 136A of the Motor Vehicles Act, governs electronic monitoring and enforcement. It specifies the devices that may be used — speed camera, CCTV, speed gun, body-worn camera, dashboard camera, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), weigh-in-motion machine and similar technology — and lists the offences for which stamped camera footage can support a challan.
Crucially, every electronically auto-generated challan must be accompanied by:
- Clear photographic evidence highlighting the offence and the licence plate of the vehicle;
- The measurement from the electronic enforcement device;
- The date, time and place of the offence;
- A notice specifying the provision of the Act that has been violated;
- A certificate under sub-section (4) of Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, identifying the electronic record, describing how it was produced, giving particulars of the device, and signed by an officer authorised by the State Government.
The rules also require states to place these devices at high-risk corridors on National and State Highways and at critical junctions in million-plus cities, plus a list of 132 cities specified in the rules. If a challan reaches you with no photograph, no legible plate, or a location you were nowhere near, those are the provisions to cite in your grievance.
One more point in your favour: Rule 139 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules was amended by G.S.R. 1081(E) dated 2 November 2019 so that the RC, insurance, fitness, permit and driving licence are valid in electronic form, and MoRTH has repeatedly advised States to accept documents from DigiLocker or mParivahan at par with physical certificates.
4. What happens to an unpaid challan
Nothing dramatic happens on day one. The problem is cumulative, and it surfaces at the worst possible moment — usually when you are selling the vehicle or renewing something.
It goes to court, and the court may be virtual
A challan that is not compounded gets prosecuted. Traffic challan cases under the Motor Vehicles Act are a recognised category for Virtual Courts — courts run by a judge over an electronic platform, with jurisdiction that may extend to the whole state, functioning round the clock and taking payment of fine online. The e-Challan portal carries a status from virtual court lookup showing the court name, address and the date the challan was sent to court.
Two consequences. First, once a challan is before a court it is no longer a compounding amount you can settle on the portal at will — it is a case. Second, a court challan does not quietly expire; the record follows the vehicle and the licence.
Lok Adalat: the bulk-settlement route
Traffic challans are routinely included in National Lok Adalat sittings held on announced dates by State Legal Services Authorities under NALSA. A Lok Adalat settlement is amicable and final, which is why it is the fastest way to clear an old pile of challans.
How to use it properly:
- Watch your State and District Legal Services Authority announcements for the next National Lok Adalat date.
- Carry the challan list from the e-Challan portal, your RC, DL and insurance.
- Ask the DLSA about the pre-litigation counter — both pre-litigation and pending matters are taken up.
- Do not assume a figure in advance. What is settled at a Lok Adalat is case-specific.
5. Vehicle transfer, fitness and insurance: where it actually bites
Here is the practical answer to "what if I just ignore it".
| Transaction | What the official position is |
|---|---|
| Transfer of ownership (commercial vehicle) | Parivahan lists challan clearance from the traffic and enforcement branch among the required documents, along with the permit surrender slip, tax clearance certificate and a valid fitness certificate |
| Duplicate RC (commercial vehicle) | Challan clearance from traffic police or the enforcement wing of the transport department is required |
| Re-assignment of registration mark (commercial vehicle) | Challan clearance from traffic police or the enforcement wing is required |
| NOC / inter-state movement | Until the NOC process is completed, the citizen cannot apply for any other service in that period; once the NOC application is approved, other services open up |
| Fitness, tax and other RTO services | MoRTH's e-Challan Standard Operating Procedure requires violators to compound and close pending cases as early as possible in order to start or avail services such as tax payment, NOC and fitness |
| Insurance renewal | There is no central rule making challan clearance a precondition for buying or renewing a motor policy. What IRDAI has directed, following the Supreme Court in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, is compliance on the PUC certificate at the time of insurance renewal |
Read the insurance row carefully, because this is where misinformation is thickest. A pending challan does not by itself legally block a policy renewal. But the PUC requirement at renewal is a live IRDAI direction, and driving without valid insurance or PUC is itself an offence — so the loop closes anyway.
6. How to contest a wrongly issued challan
Wrong challans happen: cloned or misread number plates, ANPR errors, a challan against a vehicle you sold years ago, or a location you have never driven through.
Do not pay first
Paying is compounding the offence. It is an admission for practical purposes and it makes a refund much harder. Gather your evidence before you touch the payment button.
Download the challan and inspect the evidence
Compare the photograph against your vehicle: registration plate characters, make, model, colour. Check the date, time and place against where you actually were. For a camera challan, confirm the Rule 167A requirements have been met.
Raise a ticket in the portal's Grievance System
The e-Challan grievance form asks for your name, phone number, challan number, vehicle or DL number, challan state, city and location, plus a description of the issue. Be factual and attach proof — the sale deed and Form 29/30 if you sold the vehicle, a toll or fuel receipt if you were elsewhere.
Escalate to the issuing authority in parallel
The challan is issued by a state enforcement agency, so also write to that traffic police unit or RTO quoting the challan number. The national portal is the record; the state agency is the decision-maker.
Use the helpdesk for technical failures
For portal and payment problems, contact helpdesk-echallan@gov.in or 0120-4925505, available 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Keep the ticket reference.
If it has already gone to court, contest it there
Once the challan status shows it has been sent to court, the grievance route will not erase it. Note the court name and address from the virtual court status lookup and respond in that forum.
Why we are not listing fine amounts for offences
Because publishing them would be misleading. Section 200 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 lets the State Government specify, by notification in the official gazette, the amount for compounding of certain offences — MoRTH confirmed exactly this in Parliament. States have issued their own notifications, so the compounding amount for the same violation genuinely differs between states and changes without warning. The authoritative figures for you are the amount printed on your own challan and the current notification on your state portal. Any blog offering a single all-India table of challan amounts is guessing.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check my pending e-challan online?
Go to echallan.parivahan.gov.in, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways e-Challan portal, and open Check Challan Status. Search by challan number, vehicle number or driving licence number, verify with your mobile number and OTP, and the portal shows the challan details and allows online payment. Reach it from parivahan.gov.in, since the site itself warns about fraudulent lookalike websites.
How much is the fine for a particular traffic offence?
There is no single all-India figure to quote. Section 200 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 provides that the State Government may, by notification in the official gazette, specify the amount for compounding of certain offences, and MoRTH has confirmed this position. The amount therefore differs between states and changes whenever a fresh notification is issued. Rely on the amount printed on your challan and your state transport or traffic police portal.
Can I check a challan using my driving licence number?
Yes. The portal accepts challan number, vehicle number and DL number, with mobile number and OTP verification. The DL search matters when the challan was issued against the driver rather than the vehicle — exactly what happens when you were driving a car registered in someone else's name.
What happens if I never pay a traffic challan?
It does not lapse. An uncompounded challan is prosecuted, and traffic challan cases under the Motor Vehicles Act are a recognised category for Virtual Courts, which function over an electronic platform with fines paid online. The e-Challan portal carries a virtual court status lookup showing the court name, address and the date the challan was sent to court. Separately, the record keeps resurfacing at the RTO when you try to use vehicle services.
Can a pending challan be settled at a Lok Adalat?
Traffic challans are routinely taken up at National Lok Adalat sittings organised by State and District Legal Services Authorities under NALSA, and both pre-litigation and pending cases are heard. A Lok Adalat settlement is amicable and final, which makes it the practical route for clearing years of accumulated challans. Watch your State Legal Services Authority for the next date and carry your challan list, RC, DL and insurance.
Does a pending challan block transfer of my vehicle?
For commercial vehicles, yes in effect. Parivahan lists challan clearance from the traffic and enforcement branch among the required documents for transfer of ownership, a duplicate RC and re-assignment of the registration mark. MoRTH's e-Challan Standard Operating Procedure requires violators to compound and close pending cases in order to avail services such as tax payment, NOC and fitness. Clear challans before you file a transfer, not after.
Can I renew my insurance with a pending challan?
There is no central rule making challan clearance a precondition for buying or renewing a motor insurance policy. What IRDAI has directed general insurers, following the Supreme Court in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, is scrupulous compliance regarding the PUC certificate at the time of renewal of vehicle insurance. So the gate at renewal is PUC, not the challan.
How do I complain about a challan issued wrongly?
Use the Grievance System on the e-Challan portal, which asks for your name, phone number, challan number, vehicle or DL number, challan state, city and location, with a description of the issue. Do not pay first, since paying compounds the offence. For a camera challan, check that Rule 167A requirements are met, including clear photographic evidence showing the offence and the licence plate, the device measurement, the date, time and place, and a Section 65B Indian Evidence Act certificate. Also write to the issuing state enforcement agency, and use helpdesk-echallan@gov.in or 0120-4925505 for technical problems.
Sources: MoRTH e-Challan — Digital Traffic/Transport Enforcement Solution (official portal, linked from parivahan.gov.in); PIB / MoRTH — Penalties under Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, Lok Sabha reply confirming Section 200 compounding amounts are specified by the State Government, and G.S.R 1081(E) on electronic documents; PIB / MoRTH — Notification G.S.R. 575(E) dated 11 August 2021, Rule 167A on electronic monitoring and enforcement of road safety, including the mandatory contents of a camera challan; Parivahan — Frequently Asked Questions (challan clearance for transfer of ownership, duplicate RC, re-assignment; NOC process); Ministry of Road Transport & Highways — circulars and advisories; NALSA — Lok Adalats; IRDAI — Circular IRDAI/NL/CIR/MISC/215/08/2020 dated 20 August 2020 on the PUC certificate at the time of renewal of vehicle insurance.
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