The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, has announced new driving licence rules 2024 to be implemented from June 1.
As per the new rule, applicants seeking driving licences are no longer required to take driving tests at Regional Transport Office (RTO) but can do so at accredited private driving schools.
Once the applicant passes a driving test at such schools, they will recieve a certificate which can be used to obtain driving licence from the RTO without undergoing any further tests.
However, in case of no certificate from any accredited private driving schools, applicants will have to perform driving tests at the RTOs to obtain a driving licence.
Only central government accredited private driving schools will be authorised to issue such certificates.
Private driving training schools are required to renew it’s licence with the RTO each year to remain operational.
The Ministry has also revised the guidelines for private driving training schools and has mandated a minimum of 1 acre of land for two wheeler training and 2 acres of land for four wheeler training with appropriate testing facilities.
Trainers at such traning schools must posses a high school diploma (or equivalent), minimum of five years of driving experience and have knowledge on fundamentals of biometric and IT systems.
With atleast 29 hours, the driving training for light vehicles must be completed within four weeks with 21 hours practical and eight hours of theoretical trainings.
For heavy motor vehicle, training must be completed within 6 weeks with 8 hours of theory and 31 hours of practical instructions.
The application process for obtaining a driving licence will continue to remain same with online – offline mode and fee depending on the licence type.
