New Driving Licence Rules: Address Change May Be Free, Auto-Approved in 30 Days; Check All Details

Changing the address on your driving licence could soon become free and a request that the Regional Transport Office (RTO) neither approves nor rejects within 30 days could be treated as automatically approved.

The Centre has proposed the changes in draft amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, in order to simplify licence-related services and cut the time taken to process applications. The road transport ministry issued the draft notification on October 21.

What Happens If the RTO Doesn't Act in 30 Days

Under the proposed Rule 16A, licensing authorities would have 15 days to approve or reject applications for changes to licence particulars.
If an application is rejected, the authority would have to give its reasons in writing and communicate the decision to the applicant, including through electronic means.

Address changes get an extra safety feature If the licensing authority neither accepts nor rejects an address-change application within 30 days, it would be deemed approved. This automatic approval would apply only to address changes, not to all requests to update licence details. The 30-day clock covers the application itself and does not require a driver who moves house to report the change within 30 days.

Which Services Could Become Free

The draft proposes removing the existing Rs 200 fee for changing the name or other particulars recorded on a licence. Updating an address, mobile number or email ID would also carry no fee. The amendments further propose that services availed through online Aadhaar authentication under Rule 32 be free of charge.

Vehicle owners could get relief too. The government has proposed scrapping the fee for recording a change of residence in a vehicle's registration records, along with the extra charge for delays in submitting a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for a change of residence. At present, a delay attracts an additional Rs 300 for every month or part of a month for motorcycles and Rs 500 for other vehicles. These charges would be removed.

How the New System Would Work

The draft introduces a new Form 2A for services such as renewal, issue of duplicate licences, addition of a new vehicle category and correction of personal details. Applications for changing licence particulars would be filed on the online portal with valid supporting documents, and applicants could verify their identity through an electronic signature or another mode notified by the Centre. Existing licence details on the Sarathi portal could be fetched automatically, so applicants would not have to enter the same information repeatedly.

The draft lists Aadhaar, voter ID, passport, electronic ration cards, government-issued identity documents and pension documents as acceptable proof of address. An application to remove a vehicle category from a licence would be processed automatically within seven days.

When Will the New Rules Come Into Force

The changes are proposals and have not yet come into effect. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has invited objections and suggestions for 30 days from the date copies of the Gazette notification are made available to the public. The government will consider the feedback before finalising the amendments. Until then, the current process and fees continue to apply.