Reservation rules vary state by state. Most states refund the full reserve price on a losing bid, but Telangana and Andhra Pradesh retain 10% — verified against state gazette amendments. Chandigarh takes payment in person, Jharkhand has no auction, and Punjab and Madhya Pradesh run weekly auctions on Parivahan. This guide walks the 10 most common ways people lose money.
Published 18 May 2026 · Last updated 13 October 2026. Spotted something out of date, or want a guide we haven’t written? Email us.
Some people lose money on Indian fancy number plates because they assume the rules are the same everywhere. They aren’t. Every state has its own application window, its own bidding hours, its own refund policy, and its own vehicle-registration deadline. A handful of states don’t even use Parivahan.
We checked every rule below against the official Transport Department portals and state gazette amendments — not aggregator blogs, which we found are often outdated on the most important details (especially refunds). Read this before you click “reserve”.
Rules vary by state — TG/AP are the outliers
Across the states we checked against official portals and gazette notifications, the dominant pattern is:
Apply 3 days, bid 2 days on fancy.parivahan.gov.in
Full reserve price refunded on a losing bid (only the ~₹1,000 application/registration fee is non-refundable)
90 days to register the vehicle from the allotment letter date
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh break that pattern. Both states run a single-day apply-and-bid cycle and retain 10% of the reservation fee even when you lose the auction — written into their respective Motor Vehicles Rules.
Telangana (TG) — outlier
Apply: 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Bidding: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM the same day
Uncontested? You auto-win — no need to enter the bidding round.
Multiple bidders? Enter the 2–4 PM round, or your application fee is forfeited.
Lose the auction: 90% of the reservation fee is refunded; 10% is retained. Per G.O. 77, Telangana Gazette, 15 November 2025, amending Rule 81 of the Telangana Motor Vehicles Rules 1989.
Vehicle registration deadline: 30 days to complete permanent registration at the RTO.
Andhra Pradesh (AP) — outlier
Apply: cut-off 1:00 PM
Bidding: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM the same day
Uncontested? Still must bid. AP’s own notification: “If any applicant fails to offer e-bidding 2 pm to 4 pm on the same day, the fee shall be forfeited.”
Lose the auction: 90% refunded; 10% retained. Per Rule 81 amendments, Andhra Pradesh Motor Vehicles Rules 1989.
Vehicle registration deadline: check your allotment letter for the exact date.
Everywhere else (the standard Parivahan flow)
Apply: 3-day window on fancy.parivahan.gov.in
Bidding: 2-day window after applications close
Uncontested? Sole bidder is allotted at the reserve price (no second-round bid required).
Lose the auction: Full reserve price refunded to your source account in roughly a week; only the ₹1,000-class application fee is non-refundable.
Pay the balance: within 5 days of winning
Vehicle registration deadline: typically 90 days, unless your state shortens it (see below).
10 ways people lose money
1. Missing your state’s bidding window
In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh it’s 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM the same day you apply. In standard-Parivahan states it’s a 2-day window after applications close. Set a phone alarm 15 minutes before bidding opens. Don’t leave it for the last 5 minutes.
2. Assuming the rules are the same everywhere
Delhi ≠ Telangana ≠ AP ≠ Punjab. Many online guides describe the national Parivahan pattern universally — which is wrong for TG and AP (single-day cycle + 10% retention), wrong for Chandigarh (payment in person), and wrong for Jharkhand (no auction at all). Verify on the official portal for your state.
3. Treating the application fee as fully refundable in TG/AP
In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, 10% of the reservation fee is retained even when you lose the auction — written into the state Motor Vehicles Rules. Aggregator blogs that claim a full refund are reporting the national-Parivahan default, which doesn’t apply here. A no-show forfeits 100% in both states.
4. Not bidding when there are other bidders
Telangana auto-wins for uncontested applicants; AP and many other states require active bidding regardless. The safe rule: always assume you must bid, set the alarm, and show up.
5. Letting the dealer file standard registration first
If your dealer submits the regular vehicle registration before the allotment letter is issued, the fancy-number application is auto-rejected and the money is gone. Tell the dealer to wait for the allotment letter.
6. Missing the post-win balance payment window
After winning, you have a short window to pay the balance — usually 5 working days in standard-Parivahan states; less in TG/AP. Late payment cancels the allotment and the fee is forfeited. The number goes to the next-highest bidder.
7. Missing the vehicle-registration deadline
Allotment letter ≠ done. You must register a real vehicle against the number within your state’s deadline. Telangana, Odisha and Chandigarh give only 30 days. Punjab gives 8 weeks. Most other states give 90. Miss it, the allotment lapses, full amount forfeited.
8. Bidding at 3:59 PM on a flaky network
Parivahan records the submitted bid, not the attempted one. If the network drops your final click, the system sees a no-bid and your fee is forfeited. Stable connection, bid by 3:45 PM at the latest. Delhi’s auctions add five minutes when a bid comes in during the last five minutes, up to 5:30 PM, and Madhya Pradesh’s do the same up to 24 times (two hours); most others don’t.
9. Misreading the colour states during bidding
The green/orange indicators during the bidding window are live auction state, not historical availability. Green doesn’t mean “I can grab this now” — it means no winning bid has cleared yet in the current auction.
10. Trusting agents who claim “guaranteed allotment”
Allotment is auction-driven — the highest legitimate bid wins. No agent can override that. Anyone promising a guaranteed allotment is either reselling the free Parivahan flow with a markup, or running a scam. Apply yourself; it takes about 15 minutes.
State timing quick-reference
State
Portal
Apply / Bid window
Lost-bid refund
Veh. reg. deadline
Telangana (TG)
Parivahan
Same day, 8–1 / 2–4 PM
90% (10% retained)
30 days
Andhra Pradesh (AP)
Parivahan
Same day, by 1 / 2–4 PM
90% (10% retained)
Per letter
Maharashtra (MH)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Gujarat (GJ)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Goa (GA)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Karnataka (KA)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Tamil Nadu (TN)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Kerala (KL)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Rajasthan (RJ)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Haryana (HR)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Himachal Pradesh (HP)
Parivahan (since May 2023)
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Uttarakhand (UK)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
West Bengal (WB)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Bihar (BR)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Chhattisgarh (CG)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Punjab (PB)
Parivahan (Aadhaar sign-in)
Register Sat 9 AM – Mon midnight / bid Tue 9 AM – Wed 3 PM
20% deposit refunded; ₹1,000 participation charge kept (₹2,000 for 0001–0009 and 0786)
8 weeks
Madhya Pradesh (MP)
Parivahan
Weekly, Mon–Thu; last-5-minute bids extend it
Check your allotment notice
Per allotment letter
Jharkhand (JH)
Parivahan (no auction)
FCFS at fixed price — no bidding
n/a (no auction)
90 days
Odisha (OD)
Parivahan (two-track)
Notified numbers: monthly auction (register 1st–7th, bid 8th–15th); other numbers booked online for a fixed fee
Full refund
30 days
Sikkim (SK)
Parivahan
Unconfirmed — verify on the portal
Manipur (MN)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Delhi (DL)
Parivahan — Delhi residents only
3 days / 2 days, last-5-minute extensions
Full refund; ₹1,000 fee forfeited
90 days
Chandigarh (CH)
Parivahan — fee in cash, reserve by Demand Draft at the RLA, Sector 17
7+ days / 3+ days
Full refund — claim within 60 days
1 month (10% p.a. penalty otherwise)
Puducherry (PY)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund (indemnity letter on ₹20 stamp required)
1 month
J&K (JK)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund
90 days
Ladakh (LA)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund (unconfirmed)
90 days
Andaman & Nicobar (AN)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund (unconfirmed)
90 days
Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu (DD)
Parivahan
3 days / 2 days
Full refund (unconfirmed)
90 days
Rows highlighted yellow are the exceptions worth knowing about. TG and AP are the only states we found with a 10% retention. Telangana, Odisha and Chandigarh have the shortest registration deadline, 30 days. Jharkhand doesn’t auction fancy numbers at all.
States that work differently
Every state on this list books on fancy.parivahan.gov.in, but these have rules worth knowing before you apply:
Punjab (PB): A weekly auction with Aadhaar sign-in. Register Saturday 9 AM to Monday midnight, bid Tuesday 9 AM to Wednesday 3 PM, pay by Friday. A ₹1,000 participation charge per number (₹2,000 for 0001–0009 and 0786) is kept; the 20% deposit is refunded on a losing bid. Register the vehicle within 8 weeks of the allotment letter.
Delhi (DL): For Delhi residents only. The ₹1,000 registration fee is not refunded; the reserve price is, on a losing bid. Cars and two-wheelers are auctioned separately, and a bid in the last five minutes adds five more, up to 5:30 PM.
Chandigarh (CH): Bidding is on Parivahan, but payment is in person: the ₹500 registration fee in cash and the reserve price by Demand Draft at the RLA office, Sector 17 (details at chdtransport.gov.in/e-auction-of-fancy-registration-number). Registration runs at least 7 days, then at least 3 days of bidding. Only Chandigarh-address buyers may apply. On a losing bid, collect the Demand Draft within 60 days or it’s forfeited. Registration must be completed within one month, with a 10% p.a. penalty for late.
Jharkhand (JH): Uses Parivahan, but does not run auctions for fancy numbers. Allotment is first-come, first-served at the fixed reserve price. No bidding, no 10% retention, no “lost bid” — but no chance to outbid someone who got there first, either.
Odisha (OD): Two-track system. “Notified” numbers go to a monthly e-auction (register 1st–7th, bid 8th–15th); any other number can be booked online for a fixed fee, within 10,000 of the current running number. Vehicle must be registered within 30 days of allotment — significantly shorter than the 90-day default.
What’s refundable, what’s not
Payment
If you win
If you lose (most states)
If you lose (TG / AP)
If you no-show
Application fee (~₹1,000)
Applied toward the plate
Non-refundable
Included in the 10% retention
Forfeited
Reserve price (EMD)
Applied toward the plate
Fully refunded in ~5–10 working days
90% refunded (10% of reservation fee retained)
Forfeited
Final balance (after winning)
Required within state’s payment window
n/a
Allotment cancelled
The 10% retention in TG/AP isn’t a processing fee — it’s a non-refundable portion of the reservation fee written into each state’s Motor Vehicles Rules. Most other states don’t retain anything beyond the small application fee. The standout caveat is Chandigarh: your refund is by demand draft and must be claimed within 60 days, or it’s forfeited.
Pre-flight checklist
Before you click reserve:
Looked up YOUR state’s rules today on the official Transport Department portal
Confirmed your state’s own rules on Parivahan (Chandigarh takes payment at its RLA office; Punjab needs Aadhaar sign-in)
Know your application window
Know your bidding window
Know whether your state requires active bidding even uncontested (AP does; TG doesn’t; most Parivahan states auto-allot the sole bidder)
Phone alarm set 15 min before bidding opens
Wi-Fi or stable mobile data at bidding time
Dealer instructed: wait for the allotment letter before standard registration
Aware of your state’s refund treatment (10% retained in TG/AP; full reserve refund elsewhere; Chandigarh requires a 60-day refund claim)
Prepared to pay the balance within your state’s window if you win
Vehicle invoice will arrive in time for your state’s registration deadline (TG/Odisha/Chandigarh: 30 days; Punjab: 8 weeks; most others: 90)
Sources used: Telangana Gazette G.O. 77 (15 November 2025, amending Rule 81 of TG MV Rules 1989) as reported by Deccan Chronicle, Siasat and NewsMeter; Andhra Pradesh Transport Department Number Reservation page and Rule 81 amendments of AP MV Rules 1989; Chandigarh Transport e-auction notification at chdtransport.gov.in; Parivahan’s own notices for Delhi, Chandigarh and Odisha (fancy.parivahan.gov.in, read October 2026); Puducherry transport.py.gov.in Refund notification; Parivahan e-bidding handbook for the standard flow; press coverage of HP’s Parivahan migration (May 2023), Punjab Transport Department notifications (19 Oct 2020, 19 Jan 2021, 29 Jan 2025) at transport.punjab.gov.in; MP Transport’s notice at transport.mp.gov.in; Jharkhand’s FCFS policy and Odisha’s notified-vs-FCFS two-track system. Aggregator blogs (mycarhelpline, mparivahansewa, cars24, ackodrive) were cross-checked but contain outdated “same rules everywhere” claims and should not be relied on for state-specific facts.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the Telangana bidding window?
Apply 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM, bid 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM on the same day. If no one else applied for the same number you auto-win without bidding. If multiple people applied, you must enter your bid in the 2–4 PM window.
What about Andhra Pradesh?
Apply by 1:00 PM, bid 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM the same day. AP requires you to actively bid even when uncontested — a no-show forfeits the application fee. Per AP Transport: “If any applicant fails to offer e-bidding 2 pm to 4 pm on the same day, the fee shall be forfeited.”
What if I lose the auction — do I get my money back?
In most states (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, UP, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, etc.) you get the full reserve price refunded to your original payment method; only the small application/registration fee is forfeited. Chandigarh takes the reserve price by Demand Draft and returns the draft — collect it within 60 days or it is forfeited. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are the exception — they retain 10% of the reservation fee, formalised in TG G.O. 77 of November 2025 and AP Rule 81 amendments. Always verify your own state’s portal.
What if I apply but don’t show up to bid?
100% forfeited in almost every state. The 10% retention rule in TG/AP only applies when you actively participate and lose. Skipping the auction entirely is much costlier than losing it.
How long do I have to register my vehicle after winning?
Most states give 90 days from the allotment letter. Telangana, Odisha and Chandigarh give 30 days, and Punjab gives 8 weeks. Always check your allotment letter for the exact date. If you miss the window, the allotment lapses and the full amount is forfeited.
Are there agents who can guarantee a fancy number?
No. Allotment is auction-driven — the highest legitimate bid wins. No third party can override that. Anyone promising a guaranteed allotment is either reselling the free Parivahan flow with a markup, or running a scam. Apply yourself; the process takes about 15 minutes.
Does every state use Parivahan?
Mostly. Delhi, Chandigarh and Odisha now run on fancy.parivahan.gov.in like most states; Chandigarh takes the ₹500 registration fee in cash and the reserve price by Demand Draft at the RLA office, Sector 17. Madhya Pradesh and Punjab also book on Parivahan, with weekly auctions. Jharkhand uses Parivahan but does not run an auction — fancy numbers are first-come, first-served at fixed prices.
Why do online guides quote different times and refund rules?
Many aggregator blogs (mycarhelpline, mparivahansewa, cars24, ackodrive) describe the Delhi or national pattern (multi-day applications, 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM bidding) and claim a full refund on losing bids. State rules differ — AP and TG both run a same-day 2–4 PM cycle and retain 10% on losing bids. Always verify on your state’s official Transport Department portal, not aggregator blogs.