Every commercial vehicle in India operates under a permit, and the permit type controls what work the vehicle can legally do — city rides, inter-state tours, fixed bus routes or goods carriage. Buying a vehicle whose permit does not match your intended work means fresh RTO paperwork, fees and lost earning weeks. Here is the full permit map for 2026.
Passenger Vehicle Permits
- Contract Carriage Permit: the standard taxi/cab permit — carry passengers on hire for a whole journey (no picking up separate fares en route). This is what most T permit cars hold.
- Stage Carriage Permit: for buses running fixed routes with per-seat fares and stops — city and inter-city bus services.
- All-India Tourist Permit (AITP): inter-state passenger work — tourist taxis, tempo travellers and coaches crossing state lines.
- Private Service Vehicle Permit: staff transport for companies and institutions.
- School Bus Permit: dedicated permit with strict safety norms for school transport.
Goods Vehicle Permits
- State Goods Permit: carry goods within one state — the default for local delivery vehicles like the Tata Ace.
- National Permit: goods carriage across states, for trucks and larger carriers, with composite fee paid for multi-state operation.
Which Permit Do You Need?
City app-cab or local taxi work: contract carriage. Airport transfers plus occasional inter-state trips: contract carriage may suffice for home-state work, but regular inter-state duty needs an AITP. Tour operator with tempo travellers: AITP. Fixed-route passenger service: stage carriage. Local goods delivery: state goods permit. Match the permit to the revenue, not the other way round.
Checking the Permit When Buying Used
The permit is a document with its own validity, conditions and operating area — verify all three before paying for a used commercial vehicle. A Delhi contract-carriage car cannot legally do regular Jaipur runs without the right authorisation, and a lapsed permit means the vehicle cannot earn until renewed. Every listing on Buy Sell Taxi should be checked for permit type and validity as part of your document inspection.
What Each Permit Actually Means – Plain English
The legal wording confuses most first-time buyers, so here is what the common terms mean in practice:
- Contract carriage permit means the whole vehicle is hired for one journey under a single contract — you carry that passenger or party from A to B and cannot pick up separate paying fares along the way. This is the ordinary taxi and app-cab permit.
- Commercial permit is not a legal category by itself — people use it loosely for any permit that lets a vehicle earn money, which for a car almost always means the contract carriage permit.
- T permit means the same thing again: "T" is simply the transport series a commercial vehicle is registered under, so a "T permit car" is a car holding a valid contract carriage permit and wearing a yellow plate.
- Stage carriage permit means the opposite of contract carriage — passengers board and alight at stops and each pays a separate seat fare, which is the bus model.
- Private service vehicle permit means the vehicle carries an organisation's own staff or students and is not for hire by the public at all.
All India Permit vs National Permit – The Difference
These two get mixed up constantly because both allow inter-state running, but they cover different vehicles and are issued under different rules. The All India Tourist Permit (AITP) is for passenger vehicles — tourist taxis, MPVs, tempo travellers and coaches — and is issued under the All India Tourist Vehicles (Permit) Rules 2023. The National Permit is for goods carriers — trucks and larger freight vehicles — and runs on a composite fee paid for the states you operate in.
- Carrying passengers across states: you need an AITP, not a national permit.
- Carrying goods across states: you need a national permit, not an AITP.
- Both are additions to, not replacements for, correct registration, fitness and commercial insurance.
- Validity to check on any used vehicle: contract carriage and most state permits run 5 years, AITP authorisation runs 1 year, and national permits are renewed annually.