Pollution Under Control Certificate Or PUC Certificate

Pollution under Control Certificate or PUC Certificate


A valid driving license, valid insurance cover and a PUC Certificate are the mandatory documents that every vehicle owner must possess while driving a motor vehicle in India.

While every vehicle owner would be familiar with the importance of carrying a valid driving license, the significance of the other two documents is often overlooked.

Remember that it is mandatory as per the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 that you obtain a compulsory insurance coverage. As per the Central Motor Vehicles Rule, 1989, it is mandatory to get a PUC Certification for your vehicle.

What is a PUC Certificate?

The full form of PUC is Pollution under Control. It is a valid certification, that’s granted to a vehicle that has passed the PUC Test. If your vehicle receives this certificate, it implies that your car or bike’s vehicular emissions are under control and in accordance with the pollution norms. In short, your car / bike is not a threat to the air of your city.

The process for the PUC certification has been specified as per the Central Motor Vehicles Rule.

All motor vehicles release smoke which has the potential to pollute the environment, if left unchecked. As such, there have be some norms to check the vehicular emission levels to determine how safe they are and whether they add to the city’s air pollution.

In a PUC test, a vehicle should meet the following criteria:

When Should You Obtain PUC Certification?

PUC must be obtained when a new vehicle is purchased. A PUC Certificate is always issued with the new vehicle. This certificate has a validity period of one year. After that, you will be required to get a new PUC Certificate through a PUC testing centre.

You must carry a valid PUC certificate in the vehicle according to the Rule 115 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989. This means that you must have the PUC Certificate in the vehicle at all times and that it must be produced immediately when asked by any officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police or the Inspector of Motor Vehicles. Section 115 (given above) is very clear that “the certificate shall always be carried in the vehicle and produced on demand”.

PUC Certificate Validity

PUC Certificate issued to a brand new car is valid for one year.
After the lapse of that one year, PUC tests must be conducted every six months.
In case the vehicle emission are detected to be higher than the normal limit, the validity of the PUC certificate, and thus the time in which you would have to get a re-test done, will be decided by the reading of the test.
The PUC testing centre in-charge might inform the RTO of your vehicle’s pollution test results and registration number, in case the vehicle emissions are found to touch dangerous levels.

Read Insurance Notice about puc