Kerala vehicle transfer: Aadhaar-RC name mismatch stalls ownership changes

Vehicle ownership transfers in Kerala have reportedly been disrupted after Aadhaar-based verification became mandatory for the process. Vehicle dealers and owners say even a minor difference between the name recorded on an Aadhaar card and the name on the vehicle's registration certificate can result in a mismatch and prevent the transfer from being completed.

The ownership transfer process is now carried out online and requires a one-time password sent to the mobile number linked to the vehicle owner's Aadhaar. For the transaction to proceed, the names recorded in Aadhaar and the RC book have to match.

According to vehicle dealers, the system can flag even a single-letter difference as a mismatch. They claim that ownership transfers have been held up for around a month because of such discrepancies.

Taxi owners face additional difficulties

Taxi vehicle owners are particularly affected because ownership transfer is linked to the vehicle's permit.

When a taxi is sold, the existing permit first has to be cancelled. Ownership is then transferred to the new buyer before a new permit can be obtained.

A name mismatch between Aadhaar and the RC book can prevent the ownership transfer after the original permit has already been cancelled. This can leave the previous owner without the permit and the new owner unable to obtain a new one.

Second-hand vehicle market affected

Vehicle dealers say the transfer problems are also affecting the second-hand vehicle market. When ownership cannot be legally transferred, buyers and sellers can face delays in completing transactions.

The disruption has reportedly contributed to a slowdown in second-hand vehicle sales, with dealers calling for a practical solution to resolve genuine name discrepancies.

Why Aadhaar verification was introduced

Aadhaar-based verification was introduced to make vehicle ownership transfers more secure and reduce the possibility of misuse. The OTP-based system links the transaction to the mobile number registered with the owner's Aadhaar.

However, the current process has created difficulties for owners whose names differ slightly between their Aadhaar records and RC documents.

Vehicle owners and dealers are therefore seeking measures that would allow genuine discrepancies to be corrected or verified without blocking the entire ownership-transfer process.

The problem highlights a practical issue created when two official records use slightly different versions of the same person's name. Differences in initials, spelling, expanded names or individual letters can cause an automated system to treat the records as belonging to different people.

For ordinary vehicle sales, this can delay the transfer of ownership. For commercial vehicles such as taxis, the consequences can be more complicated because permit cancellation and reissuance are linked to the ownership process.

The issue therefore affects not only individual vehicle owners but also dealers and the wider used-vehicle market. A mechanism for resolving genuine identity mismatches could help maintain the security benefits of Aadhaar verification while reducing disruption to legitimate transactions.