Is HSRP still compulsory for old vehicles in Karnataka?

What changed in Karnataka

If your car or two wheeler was registered before 1 April 2019 and still carries the old aluminium number plate, you do not have to fit a High Security Registration Plate right now. Karnataka's transport minister Ramalinga Reddy told News First in April 2026 that the rule "has not been officially cancelled" but "cannot be enforced strictly at present" because a case against the mandate is pending in the Karnataka High Court. Of the nearly 2 crore vehicles in the state that fall in this pre 2019 category, only about 59 lakh had fitted an HSRP by then, leaving 1.41 crore still without one.

This is not a new rule disappearing. It is an eight year old central rule stuck in a state level legal fight. The transport department has issued and extended HSRP deadlines in Karnataka since August 2023, and each time compliance stayed low, according to the same report.

What makes a plate "high security"

The rule itself comes from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, not from Karnataka. Under S.O. 6052(E) and G.S.R. 1162(E), issued on 4 and 6 December 2018 under Rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, every vehicle sold anywhere in India from 1 April 2019 must carry a factory fitted HSRP before delivery. Rajasthan's transport department describes the plate as carrying a chromium based hologram, a unique laser branded identification number and non reusable snap locks that cannot be removed and refitted without visible damage. A matching colour coded sticker, light blue for petrol or CNG, orange for diesel, green for electric, goes on the inner windscreen as a third registration mark. Only vendors empanelled through the ministry's booking portal can issue a genuine one.

So anyone buying a new vehicle today already gets a compliant HSRP as part of delivery. The entire Karnataka debate concerns only vehicles registered before that April 2019 cut off, the same stock that most of this story is about.

The buyer's trade off

For an owner of a pre 2019 vehicle in Karnataka, the honest trade off is this. Fitting an HSRP through an authorised vendor costs between Rs 650 and Rs 850 for a car, according to Bankbazaar's fee page for the state, which is a small sum against the risk of a fine whenever the court case ends and enforcement restarts, as it has threatened to eight times already. Waiting costs nothing today but means joining a queue of over a crore vehicles if the department gets a fresh deadline. It also means driving on a plate that insurers and other states may treat as non compliant if you cross a state border where HSRP is actively enforced.

For someone buying a used pre 2019 car in Karnataka, an HSRP already fitted is a small but real sign that the previous owner kept paperwork current. For someone selling one, fitting it before listing removes a question a buyer will otherwise ask. Either way, use only a vendor listed on siam.in or the Karnataka transport department's own portal. Cheap roadside copies look identical but carry no laser branded PIN and will not count if the rule is enforced again.

Sources

• HSRP rule on hold in Karnataka: Not cancelled, but not compulsory now, Newsfirst Prime
• S.O. 6052(E) regarding High Security Registration Plates (Order), 2018, MoRTH
• HSRP on Old Vehicle, Transport Department, Government of Rajasthan
• High Security Registration Plate Regulation, Honda Cars India
• HSRP Karnataka: Fees, Penalties and Deadline, Bankbazaar