If you run buses, taxis, school vans or trucks on a national permit, you have probably been told you need an "AIS-140 GPS". Dealers quote twice the price of a normal tracker for it, and the RTO asks for a certificate at fitness time. This guide explains what the standard is, in plain words, so you know what you are paying for and what you are obliged to do.
What AIS-140 is
AIS stands for Automotive Industry Standard. These are the technical standards for vehicles and vehicle parts in India, published by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. AIS-140 is the standard for Vehicle Location Tracking (VLT) devices with an emergency button, released in 2016 and later made part of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
The intent came from the Nirbhaya framework for passenger safety: every public transport vehicle should report its position to a government backend and give passengers a button that raises an emergency alert with the vehicle's location.
What the device must do
An AIS-140 certified device is a GPS tracker with extra requirements. The main ones:
- Positioning with GPS and GAGAN/IRNSS, India's satellite augmentation, for better accuracy.
- Panic buttons wired into the vehicle. When pressed, the device sends an emergency alert with location to the state's control room backend.
- Reporting to two servers: the state government backend (through the Vahan-linked state VLTD portal) and, optionally, the operator's own tracking platform.
- Embedded SIM (eSIM) with two network profiles, so the device stays online if one network fails.
- Internal backup battery for at least four hours if the vehicle's power is cut.
- Tamper alerts: a message when the main power is disconnected or the device is opened.
- Vehicle data storage when there is no network, sent later when the connection returns.
- Configuration over the air and a defined message format so every state backend can read it.
Devices are tested and certified by ARAI or ICAT (International Centre for Automotive Technology). A certified device carries a certificate number, and the manufacturer must also be empanelled by the state in which the vehicle is registered.
Which vehicles need it
The rule (CMVR Rule 125H) covers public service vehicles: buses, taxis, cabs, school buses and other vehicles that carry passengers for hire. Two-wheelers, three-wheelers and e-rickshaws are exempt. Many states have extended the requirement to goods vehicles on national permit, and some to all newly registered commercial vehicles. The effective dates and vehicle classes differ by state, so the practical rule is:
- New public service vehicles: fitted at the factory or before registration.
- Existing public service vehicles: retrofitted by the date set by your state transport department, checked at fitness renewal.
- Goods vehicles: check your state's VLTD notification; Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan and several others have mandates in force.
If you are not sure, your RTO's fitness counter and the state VLTD portal list the vehicle classes and the empanelled vendors.
How fitment and registration work
- Buy a certified device from a state-empanelled vendor. A device certified by ARAI but not empanelled in your state cannot be registered there.
- Get it fitted by the vendor's installer, with the panic buttons placed where passengers can reach them.
- The vendor registers the device against your vehicle's registration number and chassis on the state VLTD portal. This links the device IMEI to the vehicle in Vahan.
- You receive a fitment certificate with the device model, IMEI, certificate number and validity. Keep it with the vehicle papers.
- At fitness renewal the RTO checks the certificate and that the device is reporting to the backend.
- Renew the device plan every year with the vendor. If the device goes offline on the backend, the vehicle can fail fitness.
What it costs
| Item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| AIS-140 certified device, fitted | ₹3,500 to ₹7,000 |
| Yearly renewal (backend reporting, eSIM data, certificate) | ₹1,200 to ₹2,500 |
| Your own tracking software (optional, for your dashboard and reports) | ₹80 to ₹300 per vehicle per month |
The device is costlier than a plain tracker because of the eSIM, backup battery, panic buttons and certification. See the truck GPS price guide for how it fits into the total cost.
AIS-140 and your own fleet software
Reporting to the state backend satisfies the rule, but the state portal is not a fleet management tool. It will not give you daily reports, fuel logs, geofence alerts or a login for your branch managers. That is what the second server in the device is for: the same device sends positions to your own platform at the same time.
SaralTrack works with AIS-140 devices from all the common manufacturers. It also keeps the compliance side in one place: each vehicle record has an AIS-140 block for the VLTD model, IMEI, certificate number, agency and fitment date, with validity dates for the device plan and the RTO approval. The system warns you 15 days before any of them expires and again when they pass, so a lapsed certificate does not surprise you at the fitness counter. See the features page and the school bus solution.
Frequently asked questions
What is AIS-140 in simple words?
AIS-140 is the Indian government standard for GPS tracking devices with a panic button in public transport vehicles. A certified device reports the vehicle's location to the state transport backend and lets passengers raise an emergency alert.
Is AIS-140 mandatory for private cars?
No. The rule applies to public service vehicles such as buses, taxis and school buses, and in many states to goods vehicles on national permit. Private cars and two-wheelers are not covered.
Can a normal GPS tracker be converted to AIS-140?
No. Certification applies to the device model as tested by ARAI or ICAT. A non-certified device cannot be registered on the state VLTD portal, however good it is.
What happens if the AIS-140 device stops working?
The vehicle shows as offline on the state backend, and the RTO can refuse the fitness certificate or issue a challan at a check. Keep the yearly renewal paid and get the device repaired or replaced by the vendor quickly.
Does AIS-140 give me fleet reports?
The state backend only receives location and emergency data. For reports, alerts and fuel tracking you connect the device's second server to a fleet platform such as SaralTrack.