Pune, 22nd August 2026: Iconic MH-12 vehicle registration identity of Pune will remain in place, but new vehicles will temporarily receive the MH-61 registration number.
The Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) will begin issuing MH-61 numbers for new vehicles from Monday, August 24, to avoid inconvenience to vehicle buyers as the current registration series nears completion.
The temporary arrangement will remain in place until the proposed MH-12 1A series becomes operational.
The Pune RTO had proposed the MH-12 1A series to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways before the existing two-wheeler ZZ and four-wheeler ZW series were exhausted.
However, the new series cannot be introduced immediately. The ministry must first issue an official notification and invite objections as part of the prescribed procedure.
This objection period alone is expected to take 45 days, followed by technical and administrative processes. As a result, the new series is likely to take at least two months, and possibly up to three months, to become operational.
The proposal was taken up to ensure that Pune’s long-standing MH-12 identity is retained. Union Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol also met Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and pushed for the continuation of MH-12 for Pune.
The MH-12 identity will therefore continue, although vehicle owners will have to wait for the new MH-12 1A series to be implemented.
Once MH-12 1A becomes operational, vehicles registered under the temporary MH-61 series will have to be shifted to the new MH-12 1A series.
The process is expected to involve additional administrative and technical procedures, and vehicle owners will have to bear the associated costs.
Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said the temporary MH-61 arrangement was introduced specifically to prevent inconvenience to Pune residents. He said new vehicles would be registered under MH-61 until the MH-12 1A series is ready, after which the registration process would move to the new series.
