Driving license expired? No penalty till this date. All you need to know

If your driving license has expired and you may be apprehensive about getting it renewed at the nearest RTO in Covid-19 times, this news is for you. While many state transport departments have taken the process of renewing driving license online, the central government last week announced that validity of essential documents like driving license, vehicle registration certificate and fitness certificate has now been extended till September 30. The union transport ministry stated that to prevent any chance of transmission of Covid-19, enforcement agencies have been instructed to accept these documents, even if expired, till September end.

There are certain rules and guidelines that you, however, need to keep in mind. These are:

*Valid only for the said documents that have either expired since February of 2020 or are scheduled to expire on or before September 30.

*States and union territories have been told to implement the new rules to ensure that commuters and those engaged in transport services are allowed to move from point to point without 'harassment.'

*Pollution Under Control (PuC) certificates are not exempted. If your vehicles' PUC is due to expire, it is mandatory to get the vehicle tested for a fresh certificate.

*Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari also said that the validity of documents related to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 has been extended till September 30, 2021. “This covers all documents whose validity has expired since 1st Feb, 2020 or would expire by 30th Sept 2021. Enforcement authorities are advised to treat such documents valid till 30th of Sept 2021."

A number of measures and mofidications to existing rules have been made even at various levels. For instance, as per the new rules announced by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), an applicant will now be able to get a driving licence without taking a physical test a the RTO. However, he or she has to undergo training at any of the accredited driving training centres. (Full report here)

State governments such as Delhi and Maharashtra have already implemented online or test from home methods for availing learner licences.