How to Add a Nominee to your Car, Scooter and Bike
Earlier the process of selling a car, scooter or a bike was full of hassles if the vehicle was in the name of the deceased. The vehicle ownership was transferred in the name of the legal heir and for all the formalities, frequent visits to different offices had to be made.
The procedure to transfer name could also differ from one Regional Transport Office to another. If the cities of the person who is no more and legal heirs are different, it could make the process even more cumbersome.
Nomination for Vehicles
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has recently notified changes to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. With the new set of rules in place, the vehicle owner can now nominate a person in the registration certificate(RC). If in case the vehicle owner who has died and had registered a nominee, the nominee can get the ownership transferred in his or her name.
The owner can tell the nominee name when buying a new car(or be it any other vehicle) as well as after purchase. While telling the name of the nominee, the owner must submit proof of the identity. Below we are telling the vehicle nomination procedure.
Vehicle Nomination Procedure - How to Add Name to Vehicle Nominee?
The nominee needs to inform the registering authority of the owner's demise within 30 days. If within 30 days the legal heir successfully informs the authority, then it will not be a problem for the nominee and can use the vehicle like he or she is the owner for three months.
To transfer the ownership of the vehicle in his/her name, the nominee will also need to submit Form 31 within three months of the owner's demise.
The owner can also change the nominee in case of divorce, division of property, or transfer of assets - but not when selling the vehicle.
If the car is on loan, the nominee will first need to pay the lender. The transfer can only happen after the lender gives a no-objection certificate.