Last updated: October 2026
A fitness test at an Automated Testing Station (ATS) is not a visual inspection by an officer. The vehicle is driven through a test lane where calibrated machines measure its brakes, suspension, alignment, speedometer, lights and emissions, and the system generates the test report automatically. For transport vehicles, fitness testing moved to this automated model from 1 October 2024, and in Kerala you book through the Vahan appointment portal for the station linked to your RTO.
The ATS rules, notified as G.S.R. 652(E) on 23 September 2021 and summarised by the Press Information Bureau, set two different rhythms. Transport vehicles are tested every 2 years up to 8 years old, and every year once they are older than 8 years. Private vehicles are tested at renewal of registration, at 15 years, and then at the shorter intervals that apply to renewed registrations, commonly every 5 years. The 8-year line matters: a 9-year-old lorry is tested every year, a 7-year-old one every 2 years, each time with a fee and a day off the road.
| Vehicle type | Testing rhythm |
|---|---|
| Transport vehicle up to 8 years old | Every 2 years |
| Transport vehicle older than 8 years | Every year |
| Private vehicle | At registration renewal after 15 years, then at renewed-registration intervals, commonly every 5 years |
The test has three parts: visual checks, equipment-based checks, and an emission check. The visual part covers documents, insurance and identification, steering play, chassis and frame condition, CNG or LPG safety, fuel tank and piping, exhaust and catalytic converter, engine mountings, battery, seatbelts, tyres including the spare, lights and signals, oil leaks, springs and shock absorbers, windscreen, wipers, doors, horn, tool box, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, warning triangle and registration plates.
| Equipment check | What it measures | Machine used |
|---|---|---|
| Service brakes | Braking force on each wheel | Roller brake tester |
| Parking brakes | Holding force of the parking brake | Roller brake tester |
| Speedometer | Whether the speedometer reads correctly | Speedometer tester |
| Side slip | Wheel alignment drift | Side slip tester |
| Suspension | Suspension performance | Suspension tester |
| Emissions, diesel | Smoke density | Opacity meter, free acceleration test |
| Emissions, petrol, CNG or LPG | Exhaust gases at idle | Four-gas analyser |
Guides on the ATS regime also list horn, exhaust noise, speed governor where fitted, headlight performance, vehicle weight and axle load among the measured items. The practical point is that every result is a number, not an opinion, so worn brakes, tired suspension, poor alignment and an engine out of tune are failures a workshop can predict before the test.
The fee table below is from the Parivahan Fees and User Charges page under Rule 62(2), as last read for this site and used in our vehicle fitness certificate renewal guide. Both official sites were unreachable at research time for this post, so the table could not be re-read live today: treat the total on your own Vahan payment screen as final.
| Vehicle class | Manual test fee | Automated test fee |
|---|---|---|
| Motorcycle | Rs.200 | Rs.400 |
| Three-wheeler, quadricycle or LMV | Rs.400 | Rs.600 |
| Medium or heavy motor vehicle | Rs.600 | Rs.1,000 |
| Grant or renewal of the fitness certificate | Rs.200 | Rs.200 |
| Delay in applying, per day | Rs.50 | Rs.50 |
Two cautions. First, late-2025 news reports described much higher age-based test fees for older vehicles. Those figures do not appear on the official fee page as last read, so they are not quoted here. Second, the station is a test-only facility under the ATS rules: it must not repair vehicles, sell vehicles, or sell spares, so any repair bill is a separate workshop bill.
Clear tax, insurance and challan arrears before booking: a vehicle with lapsed tax or insurance cannot be presented for testing until the record is cleared.
A failure is not the end of the road, but it is not a negotiation either. Under the ATS rules, the owner may opt for a retest after paying the retest fee. If the vehicle fails the retest as well, it is declared an End of Life Vehicle (ELV), and scrapping, not another repair, is the route: see our guide to vehicle scrapping in Kerala.
If you are not satisfied with a test result, the rules give a separate appeal route: appeal with the requisite fee, and the appellate authority may order a partial or complete re-inspection within 15 working days. If the vehicle passes that re-inspection, the authority orders the certificate to issue, and its decision is final. A retest is a fresh test after repairs; an appeal asks for the original result to be re-examined. Repair and retest is the normal route for a genuine defect.
While a transport vehicle has no valid fitness certificate, it cannot legally operate, so it stops earning until the defect is fixed and the retest is passed. Book the retest as soon as the repair is done.
Fix the measured failures before the test: uneven braking or a weak parking brake, a vehicle that sits unevenly or pulls to one side, dim headlights or broken lamps, worn tyres, a missing spare, fire extinguisher or warning triangle, faulty seatbelts, and an engine that smokes or runs rich. Where a speed governor is fitted, confirm it works and the speedometer reads true. A workshop check on brakes, suspension, alignment, lights, tyres and emissions is cheaper than a failed test plus a retest.
Not on the transport-vehicle cycle. A private car is tested at registration renewal after 15 years and then at renewed-registration intervals, and that test is increasingly instrumented in the same way.
Kochi is the Kerala location named in the central list of inspection and certification centres. Kerala has also tendered for further automated centres, including Chathannoor in Kollam and Ponnani in Malappuram. No live Kerala ATS directory could be verified on an official page for this post, since mvd.kerala.gov.in did not respond at research time, so confirm the station for your RTO on the Vahan appointment portal or at your RTO counter.
See the fee table above: Rs.400 for a motorcycle, Rs.600 for a three-wheeler or LMV, and Rs.1,000 for a medium or heavy vehicle, plus Rs.200 for the certificate and Rs.50 per day for delay. The Vahan payment screen for your own application is final.
No. The ATS rules make the station a test-only facility with no financial interest in repairs, vehicle sales or spares. Repairs happen at a workshop of your choice, then you return for a retest.
Under the ATS rules, a vehicle that fails the retest is declared an End of Life Vehicle, and the scrapping route applies.
You can appeal with the requisite fee, and the appellate authority may order a re-inspection within 15 working days. If the vehicle passes that re-inspection, the certificate is ordered. An appeal does not extend the validity of an expired certificate while it is decided.
Fees and rules change without notice. Verify all fees and rules on parivahan.gov.in before applying, and treat the fee total and the station shown on your own Vahan application as the final figure.
Keralam Transport