Last updated: October 2026
The direct answer: your driving licence and your vehicle registration are two separate records, and the mobile number has to be updated in each one separately. Update the licence record on Sarathi Parivahan, using Others and then Mobile Number Update, and update the vehicle record on Vahan. There is no fee for a mobile number update on either portal, and the update does not reprint your card. Both routes verify you with an OTP, in most cases sent to your Aadhaar linked mobile, so keep that phone with you. If the online check fails, the registering RTO in Kerala is the fallback.
Parivahan sends almost every OTP to the number already on the record, so an old number blocks online services, not just reminders.
| Record | Portal | What breaks when the number is old |
|---|---|---|
| Driving licence, Sarathi record | sarathi.parivahan.gov.in | DL renewal, duplicate and address change applications, and fetching the licence in DigiLocker or mParivahan |
| Vehicle registration, Vahan record | vahan.parivahan.gov.in | RC print and download, tax payment, fitness and transfer services, and e-challan alerts |
Updating one record does not update the other. If you hold a licence and own a vehicle, do both updates, then test each record before you need it urgently.
| Service | Fee | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile number update on a driving licence, Sarathi | Free | Not listed on the Parivahan Licensing Related Fees page; service guides consistently describe it as free |
| Mobile number update on a vehicle registration, Vahan | Free | No fee for this service is listed on the Parivahan Fees and User Charges page |
| New smart card, only if you separately apply for a reprint or another paid service | As per that service | A mobile update alone does not issue a new card |
One caution: parivahan.gov.in and mvd.kerala.gov.in did not respond at research time in October 2026, while the Sarathi mobile number update service itself responded normally, so the fee position is based on the fee pages as last read for this site and on consistent service guides, with the live portal screen treated as final. The mobile number is a record field, not a printed card field, so no reprint is needed. Anyone charging for this update is selling assisted filing: treat that amount as a service charge and ask for an itemised receipt.
| For the driving licence update | For the vehicle registration update |
|---|---|
| Driving licence number | Vehicle registration number, exactly as on the plate |
| Date of birth, as on the licence | Full chassis number and full engine number, from the RC |
| State of issue: select Kerala for a Kerala licence | Registration date and registration or fitness validity date, from the RC |
| Aadhaar number and access to the Aadhaar linked mobile for the OTP | Owner name and Aadhaar details as on the vehicle record, and access to the Aadhaar linked mobile for the OTP |
| The new mobile number you want on the record | The new mobile number you want on the record |
The same new number can be used for both records, and for more than one vehicle. If the mobile linked to your Aadhaar is itself old, update that with UIDAI first, or use the RTO route below.
After the update, our driving licence status check guide is a quick test of the new number.
Menu labels change from time to time: follow the label closest to Update Mobile Number, and stay only on official parivahan.gov.in domains. Our guide to checking vehicle registration details online in Kerala shows the same Vahan record.
Do two quick checks. First, use an OTP based Parivahan service for each record and confirm the code now arrives on the new number. Second, fetch fresh digital copies after the records update, using our guides to downloading a driving licence online in Kerala and downloading your RC from DigiLocker and mParivahan. This update does not change your address or name: those are separate services, for example the driving licence address change.
Go to the RTO or sub RTO that issued the licence or registered the vehicle, with the original licence or RC, Aadhaar and another ID proof. Ask for the number to be corrected on the Sarathi or Vahan record and, before you leave, test it with an OTP based service. Use this route when the Aadhaar details do not match, when the record is an old paper record the portal cannot fetch, or when you no longer have the Aadhaar linked mobile. No separate official fee for an RTO assisted correction could be verified on an official page: if a charge is shown, ask what service it is for and keep the receipt.
| Problem | Likely cause and fix |
|---|---|
| OTP goes to an old number | That is the problem this update solves, but pick the Aadhaar route: its OTP goes to the Aadhaar linked mobile, not to the old record number. If you cannot access that either, use the RTO route |
| No record found on Sarathi or Vahan | Re-enter the number without spaces and check the date of birth or validity date against the card or RC. Older records that were never digitised need the RTO first |
| Aadhaar details do not match | The name or date of birth on Aadhaar and on the licence or RC differ. The portal stops the update; correct the mismatch at the RTO with both documents |
| Chassis or engine number rejected on Vahan | Copy the full numbers from the physical RC, character by character. Do not use the shortened last-five-digits version that some apps ask for |
No. No fee for a mobile number update is listed on the Parivahan fee pages for either record, and the update does not reprint a card. If a payment screen appears, check which service you have actually opened before paying.
No. Sarathi and Vahan are separate databases, so update each record separately.
The normal online route uses Aadhaar OTP verification, so in practice you need access to the Aadhaar linked mobile. Without it, visit the issuing RTO with your original documents and ask for the record to be corrected there.
The portal update completes on screen once the OTP steps succeed, with a confirmation to the new number. No fixed official timeline could be verified, so test the record the same day with an OTP service.
No, and you do not need one. What changes is the number stored against the record, which is what OTPs and alerts use.
Fees and portal screens change without notice. Verify the current process on parivahan.gov.in before you start, and treat the live Sarathi and Vahan screens for your own licence and vehicle numbers as the final record.
Keralam Transport