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Bulletproof Cars in India: Rules, Standards and Who Uses Them

By DARTZ Editorial · 1 October 2026 · Updated 4 October 2026

Bulletproof cars are used in India, but armouring a registered car is tightly controlled. Section 52 of the Motor Vehicles Act bars alterations that change a car's registered particulars, and in 2019 the Supreme Court held that a vehicle cannot be altered to change its manufacturer's specification. In 2022 the Ministry of Road Transport published draft AIS-194, a type-approval route for armoured vehicles. Security forces buy to Ministry of Home Affairs specifications.

India builds, buys and uses armoured vehicles, from security-force patrol vehicles to the Prime Minister’s car. For a private owner the question is not whether armour exists, but how a car can carry it legally.

Section 52: the alteration rule

Section 52 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 says that no owner shall alter a motor vehicle so that the particulars in its certificate of registration differ from those originally specified by the manufacturer. Its explanation defines alteration as a change in the structure of a vehicle that changes its basic feature. (Section 52 on India Code)

On 9 January 2019, in Regional Transport Officer v. K. Jayachandra, the Supreme Court held that no vehicle can be altered so as to change the original specification made by its manufacturer. (SCC Online) Armour, with its heavier doors, thicker glass and uprated running gear, changes a car’s structure. That is why the route matters.

AIS-194: a route for armoured vehicles

In May 2022 the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways circulated draft AIS-194, Specific Exemptions for Armoured Vehicles from the notified provisions under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. Its introduction explains that the ministry had been receiving requests for exemptions case by case, and wanted a simpler, comprehensive process.

Extreme close-up of the edge of bullet-resistant glass, showing its laminated layers

It covers armoured vehicles of categories M and N, passenger and goods vehicles.
It defines an armoured vehicle as a special purpose vehicle intended to protect conveyed persons or goods with anti-bullet armour plating, and names EU Regulation 2018/858 as its reference.
Armoured vehicles still go through type approval under the CMVR, with listed exemptions, for example on tyres, glazing and some crash tests.
A testing agency may grant an exemption only if the maker shows the vehicle cannot meet the requirement because of its special purpose, and the exemption is written on the type-approval certificate.
For the driver’s forward field of vision, the glass must still let through at least 60 per cent of light, and additional panic alarms are allowed.

(Draft AIS-194, May 2022) Read armoured cars in Europe for the EU rules it follows.

Security forces: the MHA specification

India’s central armed police forces buy bulletproof vehicles to specifications from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The version of 24 January 2008 describes a light 4x4 for a driver and four soldiers, with sides and top that withstand 7.62×51 mm, 5.56×45 mm and 7.62×39 mm rounds at 10 metres, protection against a hand-grenade blast underneath, run-flat tyres good for at least 10 km, and a gross weight of no more than 3,500 kg. A 2011 amendment set a separate level for the National Security Guard. (MHA specification)

The Prime Minister’s car

In December 2021 a new armoured limousine joined the Prime Minister’s fleet. Autocar India reported that it is rated VR10, with a 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12, and that the Special Protection Group chose it after a security review, under a norm that replaces protectee vehicles every six years. (Autocar India)

Before you armour a car in India

Talk to the Regional Transport Office before any work starts, ask the builder how the car will be approved and registered as armoured, and choose a level that matches the real threat. Read armoured car protection levels explained.

Craftsmen welding an armoured steel shell inside a workshop

Gold steering-wheel buttons set in alligator leather on the DARTZ Black Alligator

DARTZ builds every Prombron’ to commission, armoured or non-armoured, and agrees the level with each client in a private consultation. India has a long history with coachbuilt cars; read the Maharajas and their motor cars.

About DARTZ

DARTZ is a Riga carrosserie that builds bespoke, opulent vehicles, armoured or non-armoured, in strictly limited numbers. It calls them BONDs: Bespoke Opulent Noble Drives.

Its heritage runs back to the Russo-Baltic Wagon Factory (RBVZ), founded in Riga in 1869, whose automobile department built its first car in 1909. Leonard F. Yankelovich revived that heritage as DARTZ in 1988. The group, DARTZ Grupa OÜ, is registered in Tallinn, Estonia.

Its Prombron’ models, from the Iron Diamond and Black Dragon to the Black Shark, Black Alligator and Black Stallion, have been covered by Top Gear, Forbes, Robb Report and Fox News, among many others.

Questions we are asked

Is it legal to own a bulletproof car in India?

Bulletproof cars are used in India, but converting a registered car is restricted by Section 52 of the Motor Vehicles Act, which bars alterations that change the particulars in its registration certificate. Ask the RTO before any conversion.

What did the Supreme Court say about altering cars?

In Regional Transport Officer v. K. Jayachandra, decided on 9 January 2019, the Supreme Court held that no vehicle can be altered so as to change the original specification made by its manufacturer.

What is AIS-194?

A draft Automotive Industry Standard of May 2022 for armoured vehicles of categories M and N. It lists which Central Motor Vehicles Rules requirements an armoured vehicle may be exempted from, and names EU Regulation 2018/858 as its reference.

What car does the Prime Minister of India use?

Autocar India reported in December 2021 that a new armoured limousine, rated VR10, had joined the Prime Minister's fleet, after a review by the Special Protection Group.

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