The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced an important policy reform that will provide relief to millions of car owners across the country. From February 1, 2026, car owners will not be required to complete the ‘Know Your Vehicle’ (KYV) process while obtaining new Fastag for passenger vehicles including cars, jeeps and vans.
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The issue came into focus after the “one vehicle, one Fastag” policy, implemented to prevent misuse of the toll collection system, came into effect in late 2024. However, with the implementation of the KYV system, vehicle owners faced many real problems. Many users faced technical issues, including frequent app crashes, issues uploading documents, and OTP not working.
Under the new system, all verification processes will be completed before FASTag activation instead of after. For the newly issued FASTag, car owners will receive activated devices without the need for KYV (Keyword Verification) after issuance. For FASTag already in use, KYV will no longer be a routine requirement. This will be necessary only in some special cases, which include complaints like looseness of FASTag, wrong issuance or misuse.
To ensure accuracy and integrity of the system, NHAI has strengthened the pre-activation verification criteria. Banks must verify all vehicle details with the VAHAN database before activating any FASTag. If vehicle details are not available in VAHAN, banks will have to verify using Registration Certificate (RC) before activation, and the same will be the sole responsibility of the banks. This also includes FASTags sold through online channels.
The aim of the new policy is to establish a proper balance. It retains the necessary safeguards to prevent misuse, but removes unnecessary hassles for vehicle owners after FASTag is issued. By removing one of the biggest problems of the previous system, it is expected to make toll payment easier, faster and clearer, especially for those who travel every day.
