Owners may soon have to name nominee during vehicle registrations

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 to facilitate the owner of a vehicle for nominating a person in the registration certificate.

Nomination facility is proposed to be incorporated at the time of registration of the vehicles. This would help the motor vehicle to be registered/transferred in the name of the nominee, in case of death of the owner. The process is otherwise cumbersome and non-uniform across the country, the ministry said in a statement.

The government "has invited suggestions and comments from public and all stakeholders on the proposed amendment...," it added.

Under the proposed amendment, "an additional clause is proposed to be inserted wherein 'proof of identity of nominee, if any' to enable the owner to nominate anyone to be the legal heir of the vehicle in case of death," it said.

For transferring the vehicle to the legal heir in case no nominee has been specified by the owner, it is proposed that an additional clause may be inserted to enable the owner to nominate a nominee.

In case where the nominee is already specified, the vehicle will be transferred in his/her name.

The nominee will have to upload the death certificate on the portal to inform the registering authority and apply for a new certificate of registration in his/her name through the portal which will be faceless if Aadhaar authentication is chosen by the nominee, it said.

For change in nominee in case of contingencies like divorce or division of property, the owners may change the nomination with an agreed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), it added.