Government Service · Traffic · Maharashtra
How to Check and Pay a Traffic E-Challan in Maharashtra (and Dispute It)
A traffic e-challan in Maharashtra is a fine recorded against your vehicle number, raised either by a CCTV or ITMS camera or by an officer with a handheld device, and it stays online until you pay or contest it. Maharashtra Traffic Police run their own e-challan website and mobile app, the Highway Safety Patrol handles highway cases, and Mumbai Traffic Police operate within the same state system; all of it also surfaces on the national portal at echallan.parivahan.gov.in. This page shows you how to check a challan by your vehicle, driving licence or challan number, how to pay it online or at a counter, the problems people hit most often in Maharashtra, and what to do if the challan is wrong and you want to dispute it. Last verified October 2026.
- Where to check: the Maharashtra Traffic Police e-challan portal or echallan.parivahan.gov.in, by vehicle, challan or driving licence number.
- Quirk: searching by vehicle number often needs the last 4 digits of the chassis or engine number from your RC.
- How to pay: UPI, net banking or card on the portal, or at a traffic police station or kiosk.
- If it is wrong: contest it in the Virtual Court (vcourts.gov.in) or settle it at a National Lok Adalat.
01How e-challans work in Maharashtra
Maharashtra was one of the first states to push traffic enforcement online. Challans are issued by the Maharashtra Traffic Police, with the Highway Safety Patrol covering expressways and national highways and the Mumbai, Pune and other city traffic units covering their areas. Most challans now come from fixed cameras and ITMS, tied to your vehicle registration number through the Vahan database.
The same challan appears on the Maharashtra Traffic Police e-challan portal and on the national Parivahan portal, so you can look it up from either without waiting for a paper notice.
02Check your challan
Three reliable ways to check a Maharashtra challan:
- Maharashtra Traffic Police e-challan portal: the state runs a dedicated e-challan website and app. To search by vehicle number you usually also need the last 4 digits of the chassis or engine number, a check that stops strangers from pulling your challans.
- National e-challan portal: open echallan.parivahan.gov.in, go to Check Challan Status, enter your challan number, vehicle number or driving licence number and the captcha, then Get Detail.
- mParivahan app: check challans by registration number on your phone.
Have your RC handy, because the chassis or engine digits are the part people most often get stuck on.
03Pay the challan online
Select the challan and choose to pay. Maharashtra accepts:
- UPI, net banking, and credit or debit card on the payment gateway.
- A downloadable receipt with a transaction ID once the payment clears; keep it as proof.
If you prefer to pay in person, you can clear a challan at the nearest traffic police station or a designated payment kiosk.
04Common problems
The issues drivers hit most often in Maharashtra:
- Cannot search by vehicle number: the portal asks for the last 4 digits of the chassis or engine number. Take these from your RC and try again.
- Wrong plate read by a camera: ITMS cameras sometimes misread a plate, so a challan can land on the wrong vehicle. Check the photo and location before paying.
- Paid but still shows pending: keep the transaction ID; if the status does not update in a day, raise a grievance quoting that ID.
- Old owner still getting challans: if the RC transfer was not updated on Vahan after a sale, challans keep reaching the previous owner. Record the transfer at the RTO.
05Deadlines and what happens if you do not pay
A challan is best paid or contested promptly. In Maharashtra, an unpaid challan that is not cleared in time is commonly forwarded to the Virtual Court or the traffic magistrate, and you can receive a court summons. The exact window is the one printed on your challan or notice, so treat that as final.
Unpaid challans can also hold up vehicle services such as fitness and transfer, so it is cheaper to deal with them early.
06How to dispute a wrong challan
If the challan is genuinely wrong, you do not have to pay it. You can contest it:
- Virtual Court: Maharashtra uses the eCourts Virtual Court for traffic matters at vcourts.gov.in. You can pay online there, or plead not guilty, in which case the matter goes to a regular traffic magistrate.
- Traffic magistrate court: once contested or referred, the challan becomes a case with a number and a hearing date, where you can show your evidence.
- Lok Adalat: the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority holds National Lok Adalats under NALSA, where pending traffic challans are often settled quickly and sometimes at a reduced amount.
Keep the challan, the camera photo if you can obtain it, your RC and licence, and any proof of where the vehicle actually was.
07Track the case with Claw
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
Paying a challan ends it. Contesting one starts a case, and that is where Claw helps. If you plead not guilty in the Virtual Court the matter is sent to a traffic magistrate and gets a case number, and a Lok Adalat settlement or an appeal also leaves a record. Claw lets you search and follow that matter by your name or the case number across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, so you can see the next hearing date and the status without standing in a queue. Claw returns results in under 5 seconds, its judgment library runs to 30 crore+ decisions (Supreme Court from 1950 and High Courts from 1990) if you want to see how similar challans were decided, and Claw does not train its AI models on the documents or names you search. You can create a FREE Claw account to track a matter. Claw shows a case only where it appears on the forums it covers, on the date searched, and this is general information, not legal advice on your challan.
08Sources and further reading
- National e-challan portal (MoRTH): echallan.parivahan.gov.in
- Maharashtra Highway Safety Patrol: highwaypolice.maharashtra.gov.in
- eCourts Virtual Courts (contest or pay traffic challans): vcourts.gov.in
- National Legal Services Authority (Lok Adalat): nalsa.gov.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This page is general information for drivers in Maharashtra, not legal advice. Fine amounts and portal steps can change, so confirm the figure on your own challan and on the official portal before you pay.
09Frequently asked questions
How do I check a traffic e-challan in Maharashtra?
Use the Maharashtra Traffic Police e-challan portal or echallan.parivahan.gov.in. To search by vehicle number on the state portal you usually also need the last 4 digits of the chassis or engine number, which you can read off your RC.
Why does the portal ask for my chassis number?
It is a privacy check so that only the owner can pull a vehicle's challans. Enter the last 4 digits of the chassis or engine number from your registration certificate along with the vehicle number.
Can I pay a Maharashtra challan online?
Yes. Select the challan and pay by UPI, net banking or card. A receipt with a transaction ID is generated once it clears, and you should save it as proof.
What if a camera challan is on the wrong vehicle?
ITMS cameras sometimes misread a number plate. Do not pay it. Note the photo and location, then contest it in the Virtual Court at vcourts.gov.in, where you can plead not guilty and have it heard by a traffic magistrate.
What happens if I do not pay a Maharashtra challan?
An unpaid challan can be forwarded to the Virtual Court or the traffic magistrate, and you may be summoned. It can also hold up vehicle services like fitness and transfer. The exact window is the one printed on your challan.
Can a traffic challan be settled at a Lok Adalat?
Yes. The Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority holds National Lok Adalats under NALSA where pending traffic challans are often settled quickly, sometimes at a reduced amount. Carry your challan details to the venue.