What is BPAN? India’s EV Battery Number Explained

If you own an electric scooter or electric car in India, you have probably noticed a strange 21-character code printed somewhere on your battery pack. Maybe a service center technician pointed it out to you. Maybe you saw it on an invoice. Maybe you stumbled on it while cleaning your scooter.

For years, that code had no official name. Battery packs had serial numbers, batch codes, manufacturer stickers. But there was no standardized format. No way to look at a Tata Nexon EV battery and an Ola S1 Pro battery and compare them apples to apples.

Then, in September 2025, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways published a draft notification proposing something called the Battery Pack Aadhaar Number. Or BPAN for short.

What does BPAN stand for?

BPAN stands for Battery Pack Aadhaar Number. The naming is not subtle. The Indian government wants you to think of it like Aadhaar, but for batteries.

The proposal was published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in September 2025 as a draft notification. As of October 2026, the regulation is still in draft stage. That means the final specification may change before it is officially gazetted. But the broad structure is clear, and battery manufacturers are already printing BPAN-format codes on packs shipped from late 2025 onwards.

The MoRTH draft notification (the original PDF is available on the ministry website) gives three reasons for introducing BPAN:

• Battery fire traceability: When an EV catches fire (and they do, more often than manufacturers admit), there is currently no way to trace the battery back to its cell supplier, manufacturing batch, or chemistry without contacting the manufacturer directly. BPAN puts all of that information inside the code itself.
• Used EV transparency: When you buy a used EV today, you have to take the seller's word for the battery age and health. BPAN makes the manufacturing date and chemistry verifiable straight from the code.
• Recall management: If a batch of cells turns out to be defective, BPAN allows precise identification of affected battery packs. Today, recalls happen by model year and approximate VIN range, which is messy and imprecise.

The 21-character BPAN structure decoded

A BPAN is exactly 21 characters long. Each segment encodes specific information. Here is the structure as specified in the September 2025 MoRTH draft:

For example, the code MY008A6FKKKLC1DH80001 breaks down as: manufacturing year 2025 (MY), manufacturer code 008 (likely Tata Motors in the draft mapping), chemistry F (NMC), capacity A6F (decoded as 30 kWh), voltage KK (350V), manufactured in October on line C (KLC), cells from India (1D), serial number 80001.

A note on the manufacturer codes: the MoRTH draft specifies that the code format is fixed, but the actual mapping of codes to company names will be published in the final notification. Until then, we can decode everything except the manufacturer name. If you want to look up a manufacturer code, use our free BPAN manufacturer codes lookup tool (we update it whenever new mappings become public).

How to find the BPAN on your EV battery

This is the question we get asked most often. The short answer: it depends on what kind of EV you have.

For electric scooters (Ola S1, Ather 450X, TVS iQube, Bajaj Chetak)

The battery label is usually under the floorboard. On most scooters, you can access it by removing the floorboard cover (typically 4 to 6 screws). The label is a sticker, roughly 5cm by 8cm, with a QR code and the 21-character BPAN printed below it.

On scooters with removable batteries (some TVS iQube variants, some Hero Vida variants), the label is on the side of the battery unit itself. You do not need to remove anything. Just look at the battery from the side.

On the Ola S1 Pro and S1 Air, the battery is fixed under the floorboard. The BPAN sticker is on the top of the battery pack, visible when you remove the floorboard cover. Take a photo with your phone before reassembling. (Tip from a Reddit user in r/EVsOfIndia: do this when the scooter is fully dry. Water and dust make the sticker hard to read.)

For electric cars (Tata Nexon EV, MG ZS EV, MG Windsor, Hyundai Kona)

The BPAN label is in the boot area, usually near the charging port housing. On the Tata Nexon EV, it is on a sticker on the underside of the boot floor panel. Lift the boot floor, and you will see the sticker on the panel that covers the spare wheel well.

On some models, the BPAN is also printed on a sticker inside the driver-side door jamb, near the tire pressure sticker. Check both locations.

The QR code option

Many newer battery labels include a QR code alongside the printed BPAN. The QR code, when scanned, takes you to a manufacturer portal that displays the same information encoded in the BPAN. You can use our free BPAN decoder to scan the QR code with your phone camera and decode it instantly. No login required, and nothing is stored on our servers.

What information does BPAN reveal?

Once you decode the BPAN, you get five pieces of information:

• Manufacturing date (year and month)
• Battery chemistry (LFP or NMC)
• Battery capacity in kWh
• Nominal voltage
• Cell origin country (India, China, Korea, etc.)

This is enough to answer most practical questions an EV owner has. Is my battery still under warranty? The BPAN tells you the manufacturing date, and most manufacturers offer 5 to 8 year warranties from that date (not from the vehicle purchase date). Is my battery safe in summer? The BPAN tells you the chemistry. NMC batteries are more heat-sensitive than LFP, which matters a lot in Indian summers above 40 degrees Celsius. Should I buy this used EV? The BPAN tells you the actual battery age, not the vehicle age. Sellers routinely misrepresent battery age. The BPAN is the proof.

NMC vs LFP: what your chemistry code means for safety

Position 6 of the BPAN encodes the battery chemistry. The two most common codes are E (LFP, Lithium Iron Phosphate) and F (NMC, Nickel Manganese Cobalt). The chemistry matters more than most owners realize.

NMC batteries (code F) have higher energy density. More range per kilogram of battery. They are also more sensitive to heat. In Indian summer temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, NMC batteries are significantly more likely to experience thermal runaway (the technical term for what happens before a battery fire). According to data compiled from news reports and Reddit owner accounts, NMC batteries appear to be involved in approximately 70% of EV fire incidents in India, despite making up only about 55% of the market.

LFP batteries (code E) have lower energy density but are far more thermally stable. They degrade more gracefully over time. They are less likely to catch fire in high ambient temperatures. For Indian conditions, where summer temperatures routinely cross 40 degrees and many EVs are parked outdoors, LFP is generally considered safer for daily use.

Tata uses LFP chemistry in the Nexon EV and Tiago EV. Ola uses NMC in the S1 Pro Gen 1 and S1 Air. Ather uses NMC. TVS uses NMC in the iQube. The newer Ola S1 Pro Gen 2 and S1 X use LFP. If you are buying a used EV, check the chemistry code on the BPAN. If it is NMC and you live in a hot climate, factor that into your purchase decision. You can verify your exact chemistry code on your battery pack label using our BPAN decoder tool. For emergency handling protocols, review our EV battery fire safety guide.

BPAN and battery warranty claims

Here is a fact most EV owners do not know: the warranty on your battery starts from the battery manufacturing date, not from the vehicle purchase date. This matters more than you might think.

Example: You buy a new Tata Nexon EV in January 2026. The car is fresh from the factory. But the battery pack was manufactured in March 2024 (it sat in inventory for 22 months before being installed in your car). Tata's battery warranty is 8 years or 1.6 lakh kilometers, whichever comes first, from the battery manufacturing date. So your warranty expires in March 2032, not January 2034.

This is not a hypothetical. We have seen multiple cases (reported on Team-BHP and Reddit r/TataMotorsIndia) where owners were denied warranty claims because their battery was older than they thought. The BPAN is your proof of the actual manufacturing date. Always decode the BPAN when you buy a new or used EV, and keep a record of it for future warranty claims.

Ola Electric's warranty terms are slightly different. The standard warranty is 3 years or 40,000 kilometers (whichever is earlier) for the S1 Pro Gen 1, and 8 years or 80,000 kilometers for the S1 Pro Gen 2 and S1 X. Extended warranty options are available at additional cost. Read the fine print. Several Reddit users in r/olaelectric have reported that Ola denied their warranty claims citing "abnormal usage" or "tampering", even when the battery failed within the warranty period. The BPAN is your defense in these disputes. (See our dedicated Ola S1 battery warranty claim guide for exact dispute steps.)

BPAN vs VIN: what is the difference?

A common question: how is BPAN different from the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) that every vehicle already has?

The VIN is the vehicle's identity. It encodes the manufacturer, model, body type, engine (or motor) specifications, year of manufacture, and a serial number. The VIN stays with the vehicle for its entire life. It is printed on the chassis and registered with the RTO.

The BPAN is the battery's identity. It encodes the battery manufacturer, chemistry, capacity, voltage, manufacturing date, and cell origin. The BPAN stays with the battery pack. If the battery is replaced (under warranty or otherwise), the new battery has a new BPAN. The VIN stays the same.

This is the key difference. A used EV can have its battery replaced without the VIN changing. Sellers do not always disclose battery replacements. The BPAN lets you verify that the battery in the vehicle matches what the seller claims. If a seller says "battery replaced 6 months ago under warranty", ask for the new BPAN and decode it. The manufacturing date should be recent.

What if my battery has no BPAN?

If your EV was manufactured before late 2025, the battery may not have a BPAN. The regulation is in draft stage, and manufacturers are not yet legally required to print BPAN-format codes. Some manufacturers have started voluntarily, others have not.

If your battery has no BPAN, you have a few options:

1. Check the owner manual: Some manufacturers print the battery serial number (in their own format) in the manual.
2. Contact customer care: Contact the manufacturer's customer care with your VIN and ask for the battery manufacturing date. They should provide it.
3. Visit an authorized service center: Ask them to pull the battery information from the vehicle's OBD-II port. They can access BMS data including the original manufacturing date.

Once the MoRTH regulation is finalized (expected Q1 to Q2 2027), all new EV batteries sold in India will be required to have a BPAN. Older batteries without BPAN will continue to exist, but the BPAN system will gradually become the standard reference for battery identification.

MoRTH draft vs final regulation: what is expected to change

The September 2025 MoRTH notification is a draft. The final regulation may differ in several ways. Based on the typical Indian regulatory process and feedback submitted by industry stakeholders, we expect the following changes:

• Manufacturer codes will be publicly mapped: The biggest gap in the current draft is that positions 3 to 5 of the BPAN are not yet mapped to specific manufacturers. The final regulation is expected to include a public lookup table.
• QR code format may be standardized: The draft allows manufacturers to use any QR code format. The final regulation may specify a standard format that decodes to a government-hosted URL.
• Retroactive labeling may be required: The draft applies only to new batteries. There is industry pressure to require retroactive labeling of in-service batteries, possibly via service center visits.
• Penalties for non-compliance may be specified: The draft does not include penalties. The final regulation is expected to include fines for manufacturers who fail to comply.
• Integration with VAHAN database: The draft does not specify integration with the VAHAN vehicle registration database. The final regulation may require BPAN to be linked to the vehicle's registration record.

We will update this guide the day the final regulation is published. Subscribe to our updates to get notified.

How to use the free BPAN decoder

We built a free BPAN decoder that works in your browser. No login. No data stored on our servers. The decoding happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Here is how to use it:

1. Go to EVCheck.in BPAN Decoder.
2. Find the 21-character BPAN on your battery label. (See the "How to find the BPAN" section above if you cannot find it.)
3. Type or paste the 21-character code into the input field. Spaces and hyphens are stripped automatically.
4. Click "Decode Battery". The decoder will display the manufacturing date, chemistry, capacity, voltage, and cell origin within seconds.
5. If your battery label has a QR code, click "Scan QR Code" instead. The decoder will use your phone camera to scan the QR code and auto-fill the BPAN.
6. Take a screenshot of the results for your records. (We do not store any data.)

Frequently asked questions

Is BPAN mandatory in India?

Not yet. The MoRTH September 2025 notification is a draft. Battery manufacturers are not legally required to print BPAN-format codes until the final regulation is gazetted. However, most major manufacturers (Tata, Ola, Ather, TVS, MG) have started printing BPAN-format codes voluntarily on batteries shipped from late 2025 onwards.

Is the BPAN decoder tool official?

No. EVCheck.in is an independent private tool. We are not affiliated with MoRTH, the Government of India, ARAI, or any vehicle manufacturer. The decoder logic is based strictly on the publicly available draft BPAN guidelines. Chemistry, capacity, voltage, and manufacturing date results are accurate per the draft specification. Manufacturer codes are not yet mapped to public company names because the MoRTH draft has not yet published that mapping.

My code is not 21 characters. What should I do?

If your code is not exactly 21 characters, the battery may have been manufactured before the BPAN regulation was implemented. You may also have misread some characters. The BPAN system excludes visually ambiguous characters like I, O, Q and the digit 0 in specific segments. Contact your EV manufacturer or dealership with the code from the battery label for official clarification.

Is my data safe when I use the decoder?

Yes. The BPAN decoder runs entirely in your browser. The code you enter is processed by JavaScript on your device. Nothing is sent to our servers. Nothing is stored. You can verify this by opening your browser's developer tools (Network tab) and watching what happens when you click Decode. No network requests are made.

Sources and references

This article is based on the following primary sources:

• Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India. Draft notification on Battery Pack Aadhaar Number specification, September 2025. (Available on the MoRTH website.)
• Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). AIS-156 standard for electric vehicle battery safety. (Latest revision 2023.)
• Reddit r/EVsOfIndia, r/olaelectric, r/TataMotorsIndia. Owner reports on battery failure, warranty claims, and fire incidents. Multiple threads, 2024 to 2026.
• Team-BHP forum. Electric vehicles section. Detailed ownership reports including battery replacement experiences.
• News reports from Reuters, Hindustan Times, NDTV, Times of India, Economic Times Auto on EV fire incidents in India, 2022 to 2026.
• Manufacturer warranty documents: Tata Motors (Nexon EV, Tiago EV), Ola Electric (S1 Pro Gen 1, Gen 2, S1 Air, S1 X), Ather Energy (450X, Rizta), TVS Motor (iQube).

Found an error or have a question? Email us at hello@evcheck.in. We respond within 48 hours.