PUC Every Three Years for New BS6 Cars: The Draft Rule and the Six-Year and Ten-Year Cliffs Used Buyers Must Check

In the last days of July 2026 the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways published a draft notification to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules on how long a Pollution Under Control Certificate stays valid. For the first time, validity would depend on the vehicle's age. A BS-VI private car would get a three-year certificate while it is under six years old, a one-year certificate from six to ten, and a six-month certificate after ten. The draft invited objections for 30 days; that window has closed and the final notification is awaited. Nothing has changed yet. But the shape of the rule is clear enough that a used car buyer should already be reading two fields on the vehicle record with fresh eyes: the date of first registration and the emission norm.

What the Draft Proposes, Band by Band

The draft sorts vehicles three ways: by emission norm, by whether they are transport (commercial) or non-transport (private), and by age counted from the date of first registration. The table below sets out the proposed validity periods against the rule in force today.

The relief is real but narrow: only BS-VI vehicles benefit, and only while they are young. The draft also tightens the screw on the oldest cars: a BS-III or earlier vehicle would need a fresh certificate every three months, twice as often as now. BS-IV stays at six months whatever its age.

Why "From First Registration" Is the Phrase That Matters

The age bands in the draft are measured from the date of first registration shown on the VAHAN record, not from the day the current owner bought the car or the model year on the badge. For a used car this distinction is everything. A car that has changed hands twice still carries the original registration date, and that date decides when it crosses the six-year and ten-year lines.

This is why the draft, if notified, changes the buyer's homework. Two fields on the record now carry a direct compliance meaning. The registration date places the car in a band. The emission norm, printed on the RC and held in the record, decides whether the car is on the BS-VI ladder at all or fixed at six months (BS-IV) or three months (BS-III and older). A seller's description of the car as "2020 model, BS6" is a claim, not a record.

A third field matters on the day of purchase: whether the current PUCC is valid right now. PUCC status is linked to the vehicle record. An expired certificate on a car that is for sale is not a deal-breaker, but it is a small red flag about how the car was kept; an owner who let the cheapest compliance paperwork lapse may have been equally relaxed about servicing and insurance. Our guide to how the PUC test works in India covers what the certificate measures.

Which Band Is This Car In: Worked Examples by Registration Year

The table below walks through five registration years and shows where each private car would sit if the draft were notified as written. It assumes the norm typical for that year; the norm on the RC always overrides the assumption. Cars registered from 2020 onwards are generally BS-VI; anything earlier should be treated as BS-IV or older until the record says otherwise.

A BS-VI car bought used at four or five years old is close to its first cliff: a buyer who assumed "three years, sorted" will be renewing yearly within a year or two. The 2020 cohort crosses that line during 2026, which is why the registration date deserves a second look now.

What Has Not Changed: The Penalty and the Pump

Whatever the final notification says, the consequences of driving without a valid certificate are already set. Driving without a valid PUCC is an offence under Section 190(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, as amended in 2019. A first offence carries a fine of up to Rs 10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to three months, together with disqualification from holding a driving licence for three months. Repeat offences attract higher penalties.

In Delhi, enforcement no longer depends on a constable asking for the paper. Since 18 December 2025, petrol pumps in the capital have refused fuel to vehicles without a valid PUCC, with number-plate cameras at the forecourt checking the plate against the record. Buyers browsing used cars in Delhi should treat a valid PUCC as a precondition of the test drive.

Two other consequences follow the certificate around. An expired PUCC can complicate an insurance claim, because insurers may check PUCC validity at claim time; see our report on expired PUC and insurance claims. And it can block some RTO services. A separate draft earlier this year proposed refusing ownership transfer where the PUCC has lapsed, covered in our piece on transfers blocked by lapsed PUC and insurance. Together, the two drafts point one way: the certificate is being wired into the record and the transactions that depend on it.

The Buyer's PUC Checklist

None of this needs a mechanic, only the registration number and the record.

1. Pull the first-registration date from the VAHAN record. Not from the seller's advert or the number plate series. The six-year and ten-year lines are counted from it.
2. Read the emission norm on the RC and in the record. BS-VI puts the car on the age ladder. BS-IV means six months regardless of age. BS-III or older means three months if the draft is notified, and a hard look at fitness and end-of-life rules.
3. Work out which band the car is in today and when it next moves. A 2020 BS-VI car is crossing six this year; a 2016 car is crossing ten.
4. Confirm the current PUCC is valid, not just "recently done". The status is linked to the record. If it has lapsed, ask the seller to renew before the deal; it costs little.
5. Check insurance and fitness validity on the same record. An expired PUCC often travels with other lapsed paperwork.
6. Add a challan check. Unpaid challans follow the car, not the previous owner. A Vahan Verify RC and challan check together costs Rs 149.

A Note for Sellers

A seller cannot change the registration date or the emission norm, and there is no point talking around either. What a seller can do is remove the third question entirely. Renew the PUCC before listing the car. It is one of the cheapest pieces of paperwork on the vehicle, and it means the buyer running a record check sees a valid certificate next to valid insurance instead of a lapse that invites a lower offer. A verified listing for Rs 99 cross-checks the registration number against the VAHAN record before the advert goes live, so the buyer already knows the car, the owner and the number match. A fresh PUCC in that record is the easiest good impression a seller can buy.

What This Means for Used Car Buyers and Sellers

For buyers, the draft turns two fields that were easy to skim into two fields worth reading carefully. The first-registration date decides how often the car will need a certificate, and when that frequency steps up. The emission norm decides whether the car is on the three-year ladder or fixed at six months or three months. Both are on the VAHAN record, both are pulled by a Rs 99 RC check, and neither can be taken from an advert. The cheapest cars in the market, BS-IV and older stock, are the ones the draft treats least generously, so the saving on price should be weighed against a shorter compliance cycle and, in Delhi-NCR, an end-of-life clock. A valid PUCC on the day of sale is the baseline; a lapsed one is a reason to look harder at everything else.

For sellers, the message is simpler. Renew the certificate before the car goes on the market, list it with the registration number verified against the record, and let the record answer the buyer's questions. A BS-VI car under six, if the draft goes through, will be the easiest thing on the road to keep compliant, and that is worth saying in the advert.

The rule is still a draft, and the current one-year validity for BS-VI vehicles stays in force until the final notification is published. But the fields it depends on are already in the record, and a buyer who reads them now loses nothing if the draft is amended and gains a clear view of the car's next few years if it is not.

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