‘Oh no! I have to pay the electricity bill! That’s okay. They’ll just cut the power. What else can they do? I’ll pay tomorrow.”
Does that sound familiar? Do you take everything a bit too casually just because you’re lazy? With things like electricity, you might be able to risk it (if you can survive without it). But with other important things like your driver’s licence, it isn’t a good idea. If you get caught driving without a valid licence, you’re likely to be penalised. We’re sure you don’t want that to happen, right?
Additional Reading: Paying Utility Bills Online
Why?
The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, mandates you to carry a valid driving licence. As per Section 177 of the act, whoever is found driving without a valid licence is liable to get penalised. After reading this, we know you won’t want to risk it, will you? Now that you know why it’s a good idea to get your licence renewed, we’ll tell you exactly how to do that.
Who?
You might be wondering whether you need to get your licence renewed or not. Well, the answer is pretty simple genius. If your licence has expired, you need to get it renewed as soon as you can; unless of course you have a lot of money and don’t mind paying a heavy fine every now and then.
How?
Resident Indian
If you’re a resident Indian, here’s how you can get your driving licence renewed:
You need to visit the District Transport Office and contact the District Transport Officer of your area. The good part is that you can get your licence renewed anywhere within the country; you don’t necessarily need to visit the original place of issue.
What documents do you need?
In case you want to apply for a private licence, you’ll need:
- Form 9 (Application for the renewal of your licence)
- Original driving licence
- Two recent passport sized photographs
- A fee of Rs. 250
- Attested copies of age and address proof
- Form 1 (Self declaration of your physical fitness)
Applying for a commercial licence? Here’s what you need:
- Form 1A (Medical Certificate)
- Three recent passport sized photographs
- Original driving licence
- Driver Refreshing Training certificate for Heavy Motor Vehicle
- Form 9 (Application for the renewal of your licence)
Non-resident Indian
If you’re an NRI with an expired driving licence, and you’re clueless about how to get it renewed, here’s how you can proceed:
In case your licence expired less than five years ago, here’s what you need to do:
- Submit Form 1A (Medical Certificate) and Form 9 (Application for the renewal of your driving licence) at the local District Transport Office.
- A nominal fee that varies from region to region
- Two latest passport sized photographs
If all goes well, you’ll get your new licence within two to three working days. The maximum time for disposal of the new licence, however, is 30 working days.
Now comes the difficult part. There could be a possibility that your driving licence expired more than five years ago. In that case you need to repeat the entire process from scratch and apply again.
The fee
The fee amount depends on whether you want your licence in a book form or as a smart card. In case you opt for a smart card, you’ll be charged a fee of Rs. 250 (if you apply within a grace period of 30 days). In case you apply after that, an additional fee of Rs. 200 at the rate of Rs. 50 for a period of delay of one year from the date of expiry of the grace period is applicable.
If you apply for your licence in book form, you’ll be charged a fee of Rs. 50 on applying within a grace period of 30 days. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay an additional fee of Rs. 100 at the rate of Rs. 50 for a period of delay of one year from the date of expiry of the grace period.
Fee refund
In case your application gets rejected under sub-section 15 of the Motor Vehicles Act, you get a refund of half of the total fee paid, provided you apply for a refund within 30 days from the date of rejection.
Lost your original licence? Here’s what to do:
First things first! If you’ve lost or damaged your driving licence, you must contact the RTO as soon as possible. In this case, you need to visit the same RTO that issued your original licence.
Here’s a list of documents you’ll need:
- Original licence (in case it isn’t lost)
- Application Form LLD (to intimate about the loss or destruction of your original licence and application for a duplicate one)
- An FIR, in case your licence was lost or stolen.
- Details of your original licence
- Attested photocopies of your original licence
- Latest passport sized photographs
- Documents as address proof
- Documents as age proof
There are two ways of applying for a duplicate driving licence—online and offline. The online facility might not be available at all RTOs across the country. So, you need to check before applying online.
In case you want to apply online, here’s what you need to do:
- Completely fill and upload the LLD form
- You’ll get an option to upload all the other necessary documents as well
- Take a printout of the completely filled LLD form and attach your latest passport sized photographs and sign it
- Submit it at the RTO office (from where you got your original licence)
- Once everything is in place, you’ll receive your duplicate licence by post. You’ll also be given a receipt that you can use in lieu of the driving licence until you get the duplicate one.
Don’t worry! You won’t have to take the driving test again.
Planning to apply offline? Here’s what to do:
- Take the LLD form from your RTO office, fill it in completely and ensure you sign it as well
- Submit it with all the other necessary documents and your latest passport sized photographs
- You may be asked to produce some additional documents, depending on your reason for applying for a duplicate licence.
- Once you pay the fee, you will get a receipt that you can use in lieu of the driving licence until you get the duplicate one.
- The duplicate licence is then sent to your registered address via post
Additional Reading: What To Do If You Lose Your RC Book/Smart Card
Now that you know that applying for a duplicate licence or getting it renewed isn’t a very complicated procedure, you need to stop procrastinating and apply as soon as you possibly can.
All processes are equally simple for resident and non-resident Indians. In case you need more information, you can contact your RTO office.
Got your licence in place? What are you waiting for? Get your dream car now!