Caught on camera?
Check your challan online.

A traffic police officer photographing the number plate of a car at a Delhi junction — Most e-challans are raised this way — the plate is photographed and the notice follows by SMS. Nobody is stopped.

Check pending challans

Your vehicle

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Documents

Why the cover is worth it

Third party cover is compulsory. Driving without it is an offence under the Motor Vehicles Act — ₹2,000 for a first offence, more for a repeat.
Third party liability for injury or death is unlimited. One serious accident can cost more than the car is worth.
Third party alone pays nothing towards your own car. Comprehensive adds theft, fire, flood and collision damage to it.
Every claim-free year cuts your own damage premium, up to 50% after five. Let the policy lapse for more than 90 days and that discount is gone.
IRDAI fixes the third party rate, so it is identical everywhere. Insurers only compete on the own damage part, the optional covers and the claim service.

What happens if a challan stays unpaid

A challan does not expire. It stays against the vehicle until it is paid or a court disposes of it.
After about 60 days it is sent to court. From there it is a case under the Motor Vehicles Act, not a fine you can clear online.
A court challan takes 45–60 days to settle, against 1–3 hours for one paid online — and court fees make it cost more.
The RTO will not clear an ownership transfer, an NOC, an RC renewal or a fitness certificate while challans are pending. In practice that blocks selling the car.
Five or more challans in one year can disqualify the driving licence under the rules in force from January 2026. Some states act at three.
Once it is in court, a National Lok Adalat can compound it at a reduced amount — commonly 30–50% less. Those sittings are quarterly, so it is a wait, not a shortcut.

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Reviewed by Abhishek Gupta Automotive Editor Updated 18 Sept 2026

How to check a challan by vehicle number

It takes less than a minute. You do not need the challan number or your licence number.

1
Enter your number

Your vehicle registration number and a mobile number. Nothing else.
2
See what is pending

Every open challan, with the offence, the date, the location and the amount — split into what can be paid online and what only a court can settle.
3
Clear what you can

Tick the challans you want to pay, see the fine, the service charge and GST separately, and pay in one go.

New in 2026

What happens if you do not pay

MoRTH has amended the Central Motor Vehicles Rules. Ignoring a challan now has real consequences.

~60 days Then it goes to court

An unpaid challan is referred to court after roughly two months. Court fees are added and clearing it takes 45–60 days instead of a few hours.

Blocked Your paperwork stops

The RTO will not clear an ownership transfer, an NOC, an RC renewal or a fitness certificate while challans are pending.

5+ a year Your licence is at risk

Five or more challans in a single year can disqualify the driving licence under the rules in force from January 2026. Some states act at three.

Check my challans now

What is an e-challan?

An e-challan is a traffic fine issued electronically instead of on paper. Most are raised without anyone stopping you: a speed camera, a red-light camera or an ANPR gantry records the vehicle, and the challan is generated against the registration number and pushed to the national e-challan system.

Because the challan attaches to the vehicle rather than to the driver, it follows the car. If you buy a used vehicle with pending challans, they come with it — which is why the RTO checks them before clearing a transfer.

Some challans are compounded online and close within hours. Others are marked for court, usually where the offence is more serious or the challan has gone unpaid long enough to be referred. Those cannot be paid on any website, including this one.

What your challan status means

Pending: Open and not yet paid. If it is marked payable online, you can clear it here.
Paid / Disposed: Settled. Keep the receipt — the RTO record can take one to three hours to catch up.
Sent to court: Referred to a regular or virtual court. It cannot be paid on any website, including this one.
Under review: A grievance has been raised against it and the issuing officer has not decided yet.

Traffic challan fines list 2026

First-offence figures under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019. Several states compound these at lower amounts.

Offence	First offence	Notes
Over-speeding	₹1,000 – ₹2,000	Higher for medium and heavy vehicles
Driving without a valid licence	₹5,000	—
Driving without insurance	₹2,000	₹4,000 for a repeat offence
Riding without a helmet	₹1,000	Licence can be suspended for 3 months
Not wearing a seat belt	₹1,000	—
Using a mobile phone while driving	₹5,000	—
Jumping a red light	₹1,000 – ₹5,000	—
Driving under the influence	₹10,000	And/or up to 6 months imprisonment
Driving without a valid PUC	₹10,000	—
Dangerous or rash driving	₹5,000	—

Indicative first-offence amounts under the Motor Vehicles Act. States compound many offences at lower rates, and the amount changes with vehicle class — an LMV over-speeding challan in our own records settles at ₹2,000. What you actually owe is shown after you enter your number.

How to pay an e-challan online

There are three ways to pay a traffic challan online.

Here, on this page

Enter your number above, tick the challans you want, and pay by UPI, card or net banking. The fine, the service charge and the GST are shown separately first.

On the Parivahan e-Challan portal

echallan.parivahan.gov.in → Check Challan Status → enter your challan, vehicle or DL number → pay. The government route charges no service fee.

Your state traffic police site

Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and several other states run their own challan portals, which sometimes list a challan before the national system does.

Paying offline? Visit the traffic police office or the court named on the challan. Carry your RC, driving licence and the challan number.

Got a wrong challan? How to dispute it

Wrong challans happen — a cloned number plate, a vehicle you have already sold, or insurance that was in fact valid.

1 Open the challan and check the photograph and the location. Most wrong challans are a misread number plate.
2 Raise a grievance on the e-Challan portal, or with the issuing state’s traffic police.
3 Upload your proof — sale papers if the vehicle was sold, a valid policy, a valid PUC, or dashcam video.
4 Note the grievance number and follow it. A decision is not automatic and an ignored challan keeps ageing.

Buying or selling a used car? Check challans first

A challan attaches to the vehicle, not to the person who was driving. Unpaid fines hold up the RC transfer and the NOC, so a buyer inherits them and a seller cannot complete the sale. Check the number before money changes hands.

Six ways to avoid traffic challans

Keep the DL, RC and insurance in DigiLocker or mParivahan — a digital copy is accepted
Renew insurance and PUC before they expire, not after
Watch the posted speed limit in camera zones, not the traffic around you
Helmet for the rider and the pillion; seat belt for everyone in the car
No phone in your hand while the vehicle is moving
Check your challans once a month — a camera challan arrives without anyone stopping you

Challan check: frequently asked questions

Which challans can I pay here?

Challans that are still open and have not been referred to a court. Those are marked payable online and can be cleared in one payment. Court challans are listed too, but they cannot be settled on any website — they have to go through the court or a Lok Adalat.

Can I pay more than one challan at once?

Yes. Tick the ones you want and they are paid together. The fine, the service charge and the GST are shown separately before you pay, so you can see exactly what the total is made of.

How long does it take to reflect?

An online challan usually clears in one to three hours. A court challan takes 45 to 60 days, which is one reason it is worth paying before it reaches that stage.

Why is my challan showing as a court challan?

Either the offence is one that goes straight to court, or the challan has been pending long enough to be referred — usually around 60 days. Once it is there, the amount and the process are the court’s to decide. A National Lok Adalat can often compound it at a reduced amount, commonly 30 to 50 per cent less, but those sit quarterly.

The details of my vehicle look wrong. What do I do?

Check the registration number first — a single wrong character is the usual cause. If the number is right and the make or model is still wrong, the RTO record itself is out of date, and that has to be corrected at the RTO.

Do I have to give my mobile number?

Yes. It is how we send you the payment receipt and how an advisor can reach you if a challan needs following up. We do not ask for anything else.

Challan data is fetched live from the national e-challan system through our data partner. My Wheels Expert is not a government body and does not issue, cancel or contest challans. Amounts, offence descriptions and court status are as recorded by the issuing authority. Challans marked as court matters cannot be settled online — those are dealt with by the court concerned or at a Lok Adalat. A service charge and GST apply to online payments and are shown separately before you pay.