Regional Transport Office also commonly known as RTO has the authority to issue a driving licence in India. It is well known that Regional Transport Offices have the prime responsibility to register new vehicles. There are many RTO vehicle registration offices in the country where people can visit to register vehicles, transfer ownership, or to obtain a driving licence. A driving licence is an official document issued to a person above 18 years of age. According to the laws set up by the Indian Government in accordance with the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, it is essential to have a driving licence if you want to drive on public roads. There can be different types of driving licences depending upon the class and type of vehicles. It does not matter whether you drive a two-wheeler or a four-wheeler, you must hold a driving licence.
There are a few steps that need to be followed either online or offline in order to get a driving licence in India. Before applying for a driving licence, a person should check the eligibility criteria. Besides being 18 years old, a person should know all the traffic rules and regulations. He/she has to pass a driving test before a driving licence can be issued. It should be noted that a learner licence can be issued to a person who is at least 16 years old. Another basic eligibility criteria is that a person should have a valid ID proof and address proof.
However, there may be an instance where your original driving licence gets stolen or damaged, In such a case, a person can apply for a duplicate driving licence. However, it should be kept in mind that a duplicate driving licence can be issued by the same RTO that issued the original driving licence. Hence, let’s assume a person obtained the original DL from the RTO office of Chandigarh, then RTO Offices in Chandigarh has to be visited to apply for a duplicate copy of the driving licence. It is worth mentioning that you can apply for the duplicate DL online and submit the documents from the convenience of your home.
Here’s the list of documents needed to apply for a duplicate DL in India:
- A copy of FIR in case the driving licence is stolen
- LLD Application form
- A copy of the driving licence, if the original one is lost
- Passport-size photographs
- Copy of Aadhar Card or PAN Card as Identity proof
- Copy of Birth Certificate or Educational Certificate as Age proof
- Copy of Address Proof
Once you have all the above-mentioned documents, then you can either apply online or through offline mode to get a duplicate driving licence. The documents required remain more or less the same for both online and offline mode. For the online mode of application, the state transport website has to be visited, whereas for offline mode, the local RTO from where the original driving licence was issued, has to be visited. Once the documents are verified, you will receive the driving licence at the registered address through speed post.