The government has proposed changes to India’s driving licence rules, including recording licence holders’ nationality, introducing separate colour schemes for Indian and foreign nationals, and tightening document requirements.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a draft notification on Wednesday proposing amendments to the Motor Vehicles Rules. The proposals also include raising the pass mark for the online safe-driving tutorial assessment from 60 per cent to 75 per cent.
The draft seeks to reduce the risk of fraudulent documentation, strengthen driver assessments and streamline licence-related services through digital applications.
Driving licence rules propose stricter document requirements
Under the proposed changes, affidavits sworn before an executive magistrate, judicial magistrate or notary public would no longer be accepted as substitutes for specified proof of age and address documents. Life insurance policies would also cease to qualify as proof.
At present, licensing authorities may accept an affidavit if applicants cannot produce any of the 12 listed documents.
Anil Chhikara, an expert in motor vehicle licensing, said the move would address the misuse of affidavits to register false addresses and dates of birth.
“The use of simple affidavits is being phased out after miscreants used them to register false addresses and dates of birth. Applicants must now provide verifiable documents,” he said.
The draft sets out separate lists of acceptable documents for address, age and identity verification.
Address proofs would include Aadhaar, Electoral Photo Identity Card, e-ration cards and electricity or gas bills covering the preceding three months. Foreign nationals would need to provide proof of legal presence.
Acceptable age proofs would include passports, school board mark sheets, birth certificates and identity cards issued by government departments. Aadhaar, passports, e-ration cards and PAN would be accepted as identity proofs.
Online driving test pass mark proposed at 75 per cent
The ministry has proposed increasing the qualifying score for the online safe-driving tutorial assessment from 60 per cent to 75 per cent.
The tutorial would also have to run for at least 30 minutes. The proposed changes aim to make the assessment more stringent.
The draft also proposes requiring driving licences to carry the holder’s blood group, mobile number and emergency contact details.
Nationality would be recorded on licences, with separate colour schemes proposed for Indian and foreign nationals.
Online licence services may become free with Aadhaar authentication
The proposal includes waiving fees for specified driving licence services when applicants use online Aadhaar authentication.
These services would include changes to address, name and contact number.
The draft also seeks to establish timelines for processing online applications to update licence particulars. Licensing authorities would have to approve or reject such applications within 15 days and provide reasons for rejection.
An application for an address change that remains undecided for 30 days would be deemed approved under the proposal.
Consolidated form proposed for driving licence services
The ministry has proposed a consolidated application form covering multiple services, including licence renewal, duplicate licence issuance, addition of a vehicle class and changes to personal particulars.
Specified applicant details would be retrieved electronically from the Sarathi portal wherever available.
The proposed amendments are intended to simplify licence-related procedures while improving document verification and application processing.
The measures remain proposals under a draft notification. Their implementation will depend on the final rules issued by the ministry.
