No more relaxations: Updated driving licence, registration certificate must for all drivers from Jan 1

For those those holding expired vehicle documents such as driving licence, fitness certificate and registration certificate, you must soon apply for its renewal because the move to exempt holders of lapsed documents from prosecutions is set to end on December 31.

For those those holding expired vehicle documents such as driving licence, fitness certificate and registration certificate, you must soon apply for its renewal because the move to exempt holders of lapsed documents from prosecutions is set to end on December 31.

The exemption, that has been in place for nine months, was introduced owing to the coronavirus-induced lockdown in the country, sparing drivers with expired vehicle documents from challans.

But it is finally coming to an end, i.e. vehicle owners will finally need to start renewing their expired documents once again. The final deadline, i.e. the one till 31 December 2020, will not be extended. 

Now, from January 1, 2021, unless the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) gives directions to extend it further. Those found with expired driving licence will be charged a penalty of ₹5,000, as per the amended Motor Vehicles (MV) Act.

RENEW DRIVING LICENCE ONLINE

• One can apply to renew their driving licence online via parivahan.gov.in. Once there, click on ‘driving licence-related services’ in the drop down menu under the ‘online services’ tab.
• Then select the state and then you will be redirected to the individual state’s page where you will need to click on ‘DL services’
• Fill out the form, upload documents, and pay for the service.
• You will then need to visit the nearest RTO, to complete the remainder of the process.
• At the RTO, the person’s biometric details will be checked and documents will be verified, post which the driving licence will be issued. The process is similar to that of renewing RCs.