How to read your Indian driving licence number

The four parts

A DL number looks like SS-RR-YYYY-NNNNNNN — for example BR-28-2022-0012473. It is often printed without the dashes, as BR28 20220012473.

1. SS — the state code. Two letters for the state or union territory that issued the licence: BR for Bihar, MH for Maharashtra, DL for Delhi, and so on.
2. RR — the RTO code. Two digits (sometimes three) for the specific Regional Transport Office. BR-28 is the DTO at Gopalganj; MH-12 is Pune.
3. YYYY — the year the licence was first issued at that RTO.
4. NNNNNNN — a running serial number, unique within that RTO and year.

The state in the number is where the licence was issued. If you later transfer to another state's RTO, the number does not change — only the endorsements on the back do.

Where the RTO code comes from

The RR digits map to a fixed list published by each state transport department. The same two digits can mean different offices in different states, which is why the state code always comes first. On the card, the RTO that issued each vehicle class is printed again in the class-of-vehicle table on the back — useful when classes were added at different offices.

Checking a number is genuine

The only authoritative check is the government's licence-verification page: enter the number and date of birth and it returns the holder's name, validity dates and vehicle classes. A number that does not resolve there is either mistyped or not a real licence. Nothing about the format alone proves a licence is valid — only the portal does.

Common mistakes when typing it

• Dropping a leading zero in the serial (…0012473 becomes …12473).
• Using O for 0 — DL numbers never contain letters after the state code.
• Adding a space in the wrong place. The safe form is the two-letter state code, then everything else with no spaces.