e-StampNotary
Why the RTO wants this on oath
A duplicate registration certificate or driving licence replaces a document that is still, in law, in existence somewhere. The registering authority is therefore being asked to issue a second copy of something that could be misused. It reduces that risk by making you say on oath what happened to the first one. That is all the affidavit does. Under section 8(1)(e) of the Notaries Act, 1952 the notary administers the oath and takes the affidavit, and under section 8(2) the act is complete only under the notary's signature and official seal. The seal certifies that you swore it. It says nothing about whether the document is really lost.
What the affidavit has to contain
- Your full name as it appears on the RTO record, your address, and your relationship to the vehicle or licence.
- The identifying particulars - registration number, engine and chassis number for an RC; licence number, date of issue and the classes of vehicle endorsed for a DL.
- How and roughly when the document was lost, or how it was destroyed or mutilated.
- That the document has not been pledged, deposited as security, sold, impounded, suspended or cancelled.
- An undertaking to surrender the original to the authority if it is later found.
- For a mutilated document, that the damaged original is being surrendered with the application.
If the licence was impounded by a court or the authority, or is under suspension or disqualification, applying for a duplicate is the wrong remedy and swearing that it is merely lost is a false affidavit. The route there is to deal with the order itself. Tell us the real position and we will tell you whether an affidavit has any part to play.
The police acknowledgement
Most registering authorities want a police complaint or a lost-report acknowledgement filed with the application, and it is sensible practice regardless. Two points on it. First, keep the wording consistent: if the police paper says the document was stolen, the affidavit must not say it was misplaced at home. Contradictions between the two are the single most common reason these files come back. Second, the acknowledgement should carry the same document numbers as the affidavit - a report that says "driving licence lost" with no licence number rarely helps.
Where a duplicate RC differs from a duplicate DL
Registration certificate
If the vehicle carries a hypothecation entry, the financier's position matters and the authority will usually want its no-objection before releasing a duplicate. If the vehicle has since been sold, the duplicate and the transfer are two separate exercises - see the vehicle transfer affidavit. If the registered owner has died, the duplicate application and the heirship question come together, and a legal heir affidavit may be needed as well.
Driving licence
Here the record held by the issuing authority governs. If your licence was issued by an authority outside Vadodara, the duplicate is normally pursued through the issuing record, and an affidavit sworn here is still valid but the application follows the record. Where your name or date of birth on the licence differs from your other identity documents, deal with that squarely - a one and same person affidavit alongside, rather than a quiet re-spelling in the duplicate application.
What gets these rejected
- Licence or registration numbers that do not match the authority's record, character for character.
- The affidavit and the police report telling different stories about the loss.
- No denial of pledge, impounding or suspension - a plain "it is lost" affidavit with nothing more.
- Deponent is not the recorded holder, and no explanation of who they are or under what authority they are deposing.
- Stale documents - an address proof that no longer matches, or a report filed long ago with no explanation of the gap.
- Mutilated original not surrendered where the application is for replacement of a damaged document.
Stamp duty as currently prescribed under the Gujarat Stamp Act, 1958 - the current figure is confirmed at the counter. Administering the oath and taking the affidavit is capped at ₹35 under Rule 10(1) of the Notaries Rules, 1956; you receive a receipt and the matter is entered in the notarial register in Form XV. Full list on our charges page.
If several documents went missing together - licence, RC, insurance, identity cards - do not swear four separate affidavits without asking. Often one properly drafted lost document affidavit covers the set, and only the RTO application needs its own.
What to bring
- Photocopy of the lost RC or driving licence, if you have one
- Police complaint or lost-report acknowledgement, with the document numbers on it
- Aadhaar and PAN of the applicant
- Insurance policy or an old tax receipt showing the vehicle particulars, for an RC application
- Financier's no-objection where the vehicle is or was under hypothecation
- The damaged original itself, if the document is mutilated rather than lost