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Driving License – Become a Responsible Driver

In India, a person is eligible to drive a vehicle after completing 18 years of age. However, for that, each person will have to undergo a driving test for two-wheeler or four-wheeler or both to get that legal authorized document to drive, known as the driving license. There are different categories and types of driving license, an Indian citizen can apply for depending upon their requirements.

What is Driving License?

A driving license is a legal document that permits a person to drive a specified vehicle. It is issued by the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) or Regional Transport Office (RTO) of the state in which you reside. Driving any vehicle without a license can land you in the zone of troubles, including monetary compensations and disqualifications. As per the Motor Vehicles Act, the penalty for driving without a license is Rs 5000. A driving license is issued for a definite period. The validity of the license for private cars, motorcycle with gear and without gear is 20 years, while for commercial vehicles it is three years only. The grace period of only 30 days is provided for renewal by the issuing authority.

Why Do You Need a Driving License in India?

A driving license in India is a permit to drive a specific category of the vehicle on the road, i.e. a two-wheeler, four-wheeler or a commercial vehicle within territorial boundaries. Your driving license is an official document issued by the Government of India to drive your vehicle. It authorizes that the owner knows how to drive the vehicle and has undergone tests that abide by the traffic rules and regulations.

Driving brings comfort and convenience to our life, but it should not cause any damage to any third party. Therefore, mature adults above 18 are entitled to get a driving license. Anyone below this age is not permitted to drive. In case of a violation, the candidate's parents can be legally held liable.

Driving License Features

To identify whether a driving license is genuine or fake, you can check out the following features in it:
• It should have the name of the office from where it was made and issued. This will help you determine where to direct further processes or inquiries.
• It carries a photograph of the license holder.
• It carries a unique registration number.
• It carries a rubber stamp and the signature of the officer in charge of the issuing office.

Types of Driving License in India

Learner's License

The Road Transport Authority issues you a learner's license before getting your permanent license. However, the validity of the same is only for up to 6-months, implying that you must polish your driving skills within this time frame. Even when toddlers start to walk, we don't leave them unattended. We try to watch each step and teach them to balance their body. In the same way, a learning license holder should not be left alone to drive. A mature driver should always accompany them.

Permanent License

The RTO issues a permanent license to the applicant after the waiting period of six months gets over for the learner's license. The applicant 's age should be 18 years old, and they should clear the driving exam. The process of applying is made online; hence, the complete process is pretty simple and hassle-free. The permanent license is issued for private vehicles like cars and bikes. Issuing a permanent driver's license means that RTO is assured about the applicant 's driving skills.

Commercial Driving License

A commercial driving license authorizes the driver to drive heavy vehicles. Such kind of vehicle is used to transport passengers or goods. Therefore, the minimum eligibility criterion for a commercial driver’s license is slightly different. Here, the candidate should have necessarily cleared the examination of the 8th standard. The onus of the commercial vehicle driver is higher as they are accountable for their safety and others.

International Driving Permit

When an applicant applies for an international driving license, it implies that the person is eligible to rent and drive any vehicle in a foreign land. However, it can only be issued if you already have a permanent driving license. Moreover, unlike your driver's license, the IDP is only valid for one year. And on the expiry, one would need to apply again.

Eligibility Criteria

Type of Permanent Driving License	Eligibility Criteria
Motorcycles without gear (with a capacity of up to 50 ccs)	The applicant must be at least 16 years old and must have the consent of the parent/guardian if he/she is less than 18 years old.
Motorcycles with gear	The applicant should be at least 18 years old.
Commercial heavy vehicles and transport vehicles	The applicant should have completed the 8th standard. He/she must be at least 18 years old (in some states, the minimum age limit is 20 years).
General	The applicant must be conversant with traffic rules and regulations. He/she must have a valid age proof and address proof documents.

Documents Required for Obtaining a Driving License in India

While applying for a driving license, here are the following documents that you need to submit:
• Proof of age in the form of birth certificate, PAN Card, passport, 10th class mark sheet, or Transfer certificate from any school for any class with the date of birth printed on it.
• Proof of address in the form of a passport, Aadhaar card, electricity bill issued in your name, Voter ID card, agreement of house ownership, passport, ration card. If the house is rented, a rental agreement and an electricity bill or gas bill would work.
• Duly filled application form.
• Passport size photographs
• Application fees
• Medical certificate issued by a certified physician (for people aged 40 years or older).

Fees for Driving License & Learner’s License

The fees for driving license and learner’s license are charged as mentioned in the table below

Purpose	Amount
Issue of learner’s license in Form 3 for each class of vehicle	Rs 150/-
Learner’s license test fee or repeat test fee, as the case may be	Rs 50/-
For test, or repeat test, as the case may be, of competence to drive (for each class of vehicle)	Rs 300/-
Issue of a driving license	Rs 200/-
Addition of another class of vehicle to driving license	Rs 500/-
Renewal of driving license	Rs 200/-
Renewal of a driving license for which application is made after the grace period	Rs 300/-

How to Apply for Driving License

You can simply apply for driving license through an online medium, thereby saving time by visiting the nearest RTO office in your area. Following are the steps you need to follow:
• Visit Ministry of Road Transport and Highways website - https://parivahan.gov.in/parivahan//en
• Click on Online services tab and select driving License related services, after which select state name from dropdown menu on that page.
• Fill Applicant Details
• Upload Documents
• Upload Photo and Signature if required (applicable for only some states)
• DL Test Slot Booking (applicable for only some states)
• Payment of Fee
• Verify the Pay Status
• Print the receipt

How to Download Driving License Soft Copy

1. First, go to the official website of Digilocker at digilocker.gov.in or download the Digilocker app.
2. Click on ‘Sign In’ and log in by entering the details. In case you don’t have a Digi locker account, you need to first sign up using your Aadhaar number.
3. The dashboard of Digilocker will open up.
4. After opening driving license caption, click on browse documents.
5. Click on driving license and select the transport department of your state.
6. Once the new page opens, enter driving license number.
7. Now check the checkbox and click on ‘Get Document’.
8. Your driving license will be displayed on your screen, which you can download in PDF format.

How to Apply for Duplicate Driving License?

You can apply for a duplicate driving license if your original one is lost or destroyed, torn or wholly written up, and the photograph attached to your license requires replacement. It generally takes three weeks to dispatch a duplicate driving license after applying for a lost driving license, mainly if all required documents are correctly submitted. However meanwhile, you can also use your payment receipt for your daily commute

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Online Method to Apply for Duplicate Driving License

When you buy car insurance or two-wheeler insurance online, you have to pay a premium for the same. The premium of the policy depends on a lot of factors and is calculated considering all the factors together. Do you know what these factors are?

1. Visit the portal of Ministry Road Transport and Highways - https://parivahan.gov.in/parivahan/ and select the “Driving License Related Services” option by clicking on the online services dropdown menu.
2. Select issue of duplicate license.
3. Here, you will have to provide your driving license number, including your date of birth, to find the complete details.
4. Select your preferred DL service from the given options. After that, you will find the issue of the NOC page, a declaration box, etc. Put a tick mark on that box and provide the captcha to proceed further.
5. You will find the acknowledgement form here, go through it and upload all the documents as mentioned.
6. Next, upload your photograph and signature as well. Then, select “Click here to continue e-Payment” to complete the process. Collect the payment receipt generated.

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Offline Method to Apply For Duplicate Driving License

● Visit the nearest Regional Transport Office and submit the LLD form after entering relevant details.
● Make sure to attach all the documents along with that form and submit them.
● Make payment for duplicate driving license fees, and ensure that you collect the payment receipt. You can use it until you receive the driving license at your registered address.

Smart Card Driving License

Previously driving licenses were only issued in the old book format with several pages of information. Often, with regular use, the pages of the booklet came apart and had to be stuck again. To overcome this problem, modern driving licenses come in the form of a card known as the smart card driving licenses are slowly replacing the traditional card-type driving licenses.

A Smart Card Driving License (SCDL) is a tamper-proof driving license in the form of a plastic card with an embedded microprocessor chip of 64 kb memory which will have all information about the driving license holder stored in it. Although all Indian states have not yet developed this facility, this smart card driving license is far superior to the regular driving license as it holds the license holder's information on one single card. All the biometric data of the applicant, like their blood group, thumb & fingerprint, retina scan, body markings, etc., are recorded on the smart card driving license.

Eligibility for Smart Card Driving License

The applicant must be at least 18 years old to apply for a Smart Card Driving License for motorcycles with gear & for motorcycles with an engine capacity exceeding 50 CC.

For motorcycles with gear and motorcycles with an engine capacity of up to 50 CC, the candidate should be a minimum of 16 years of age to get a Smart Card Driving License. In case the applicant is aged less than 18 years, they must also obtain a letter of consent from a parent or guardian.

The applicant must have completed the 8th standard and be at least 18 years old to get a Smart Card Driving License for heavy commercial vehicles and transport vehicles.

Fines for Not Having a Valid Driving License

A driving license allows you to drive your vehicle on the road legally. This legal document is a permit from the government of India; hence, driving without one is illegal. Any person who drives without a driving license is liable for a fine of up to Rs 5,000. However, this may vary depending on your state and vehicle. While the fine for driving despite disqualification is Rs 10,000. As per the Motor Vehicle Act, a person driving a vehicle without a license cannot claim the insurance. If you caused an accident and were not carrying a DL, you are not eligible for third party claims. Any such insurance claims will be rejected by the insurance company and you are liable to pay the amount for the damage caused to the third party.

If your license gets expired, apply for the renewal using Form 9 available at the RTO. You will then have to enclose your original expired driving license, passport size photographs, and radar card. You can also visit visiting this site - https://parivahan.gov.in/parivahan//en and apply online for license renewal. As per the new Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, an individual can apply for renewal of a driving license any time between one year before its expiry and up to one after its expiry. However, if you apply for renewal after one year of the expiry of the license, then you will be required to undertake the driving license test once again.

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Frequently Asked Questions on Driving License

1. How long do I have to renew the driving License?

As per the new Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, you can apply for License renewal any time between one year before its expiry and up to one after its expiry.

2. What should I do to start the driving License application process?

You can simply visit the portal of Ministry Road Transport and Highways - https://parivahan.gov.in/parivahan/ and select the “Driving License Related Services” option by clicking on the online services dropdown menu. Here you can apply for new driving License.

3. Is the driving License valid across the country?

The driving license is valid across the country. If one is migrating to other Indian states, the driving license need not be modified.

4. Is it mandatory to provide a medical certificate to apply for a driving License?

It is mandatory to submit the medical certificate or Form 1A along with the certificate of physical fitness to the concerned authorities while applying for a driving License. You can get a medical certificate from a government doctor or practitioner.

5. Where can I apply for a learner’s License?

You can apply for learner’s License online by visiting the following the portal of Ministry Road Transport and Highways https://parivahan.gov.in/parivahan/.

6. Can I get my IDP renewed while in foreign lands?

Indian citizens whose International Driving Permit (IDP) has expired while abroad can now apply for renewal through embassies or missions in their respective country of stay. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a notification in this regard on January 7, 2021.

7. What is a driving License number?

A driving License Number is the unique identity of every driver. Therefore, one Should Always note down their driving license number. An Indian driver's license number consists of an alphanumeric code that shows the issuing city, year of issuance, and a unique I.D. number.

8. I don’t remember my driving License number. How do I find my lost driving License?

If you have lost your driving License and you do not remember the driving License number, you can get it online. To check driving License number online, you need to visit the Parivahan official website - https://parivahan.gov.in/parivahan/. Choose “Driver’s License Related Services” from the menu. Select [Other] from the main menu, then [find the application number]. Now to search DL by name, enter your name, date of birth, and capture code after selecting your state and RTO. After that, click Submit. Your driver’s license transaction history is also available on the same page. Click Get Details to view it. An OTP will be sent to the mobile number you registered. Please enter the OTP. Entering an OTP allows you to find driving License number by name and date of birth.

9. How long does it take to receive a permanent driving License in India?

It takes an average of about 30 days from the date of clearing the driving License test for the RTO to deliver the driving License to the registered address.

10. How to check the dispatch status of a driving License in India?

You can simply visit the Parivahan official website - https://parivahan.gov.in/parivahan/. Select the concerned state and then click on “Application Status” from menu.

11. What is the cost of applying for a Duplicate Driving License?

Generally, you need to pay ₹200 to get a duplicate copy of a lost driving License.

12. Can You Apply for a Smart Card Driving License Online?

Yes, you can apply for smart card driving license online by visiting the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways website - https://parivahan.gov.in/parivahan//en. The procedure is same as the one used for applying for a new driving license. However, not all states in India offer smart card driving license.