A Regional Transport Office (RTO) handles nearly all operational tasks related to vehicles. Apart from issuing vehicle registration and driving licence, RTOs are responsible for managing several aspects associated with the complete vehicle ecosystem. It takes care of parameters like collecting revenues and road tax, inspecting vehicles as well as road safety. The role and responsibility of the Regional Transport Office are set up as per the Motor Vehicles Act. To put it simply, RTO is a government entity responsible for keeping a tab on drivers and vehicles database for the entire country.
According to the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, it is mandatory for every state and union territory to have its own Regional Transport Office (RTO) to ensure complete safety and security on the roads. Lately, RTO has also introduced high-security registration plates for controlling vehicle crimes. Besides being vehicle registrations offices in India, RTOs are accountable for many other functions related to the transportation system of the country such as conducting the driving test, issuing licences and certificates. It also keeps track of vehicles connected with any accidents or crimes, especially for public vehicles like rickshaws, taxis and buses. Regional Transport Offices also have the authority to issue driving permits and international licences.
The District Transport Offices (DTO) function as a district-level entity of Regional Transport Offices. Both Regional Transport Offices and District Transport Offices are supposed to carry out similar functions, however, there are some differences between these organizations. To say it all, District Transport Officers (DTOs) are for a district and Regional Transport Offices are for a state. The key difference occurs because of the jurisdiction range. As there are many districts present in a state, therefore multiple district transport offices are present in a state to carry out every function within the district at ease. However, there’s just one RTO present per state to manage the whole work. For instance, there are several DTO offices present in the state of Tamil Nadu but when it comes to RTO Offices in Tamil Nadu, there is just one office in Chennai.
While both work with the intent for the proper functioning of vehicles, there are some primary differences between RTO and DTO such as:
- RTO is responsible for maintaining the data and information for all the vehicles of the state whereas DTO keeps a check on records for the vehicles of one district.
- Regional Transport Office is a state-level organization and District Transport Office is a district level organization.
- There can be more than one DTO in a state, but there is just one RTO in the entire state.
- RTO can issue international permits and licences, DTO does not have the authority to do it.
When listing down the similarities, both are government’s organizations and maintain a database of vehicles as well as drivers amidst the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways as a parent agency. Both RTO and DTO also address environmental concerns in accordance with the Motor Vehicles Act. Also, both RTO and DTO are headed by the Transport Commissioner. Learn more about various terms being used in the auto vehicle industry, on this website: www.automobileinsur.net