A driving licence is a valuable document that every person above 18 years of age should have in order to drive a vehicle in India. As per the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, it is necessary for a vehicle owner in India to have a valid driving licence in order to drive on all public roads in the country. In accordance with that, to be able to drive in Maharashtra, you must have a driving licence. Learn about how to apply for a driving licence in Maharashtra, the application process and the fee structure.
Just like any other state, the type of driving licence one can hold in Maharashtra depends on the class and type of motor vehicle. The different types of driving licence in Maharashtra are of three categories:
For a person to be eligible to obtain a driving licence in Maharashtra, they must meet the following eligibility criteria:
If a person is eligible to apply for a driving licence in Maharashtra, he/she is supposed to submit the following documents to the local RTO:
In general, there are 4 basic steps that you need to follow in order to apply for a driving licence, which are:
There are two ways by which you can get started on your application process, online as well as offline.
In case you wish to apply for your driving licence offline, you need to follow the steps below:
Step 1: Visit your concerned zonal Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Maharashtra
Step 2: Fill the application form with your correct and updated details
Step 3: Submit your application, along with the documents mentioned in the previous section
Step 4: You will be allotted a slot for the driving test
Step 5: Visit your concerned RTO on the date of the slot booked for your document verification and a driving test
Step 6: After you have passed the test, you will be issued a licence in two to three weeks
In case you wish to apply for your driving licence online, you need to go through the following procedure:
Step 1: Visit the website parivahan.gov.in
Step 2: Click on “online services” and choose ‘Driving licence related services’ from the drop down menu
Step 3: Select Maharashtra as the name of your state
Step 4: Click on Driving Licence and select A New Driving Licence from the drop down list
Step 5: Press Continue and Fill your applicant details, such as your Learner’s licence number, date of birth, etc
Step 6: Upload the documents mentioned in the previous section, along with your photograph.
Step 7: Pay the application fee and book a slot for your driving skills test
Step 8: Visit the RTO to give the driving test
Step 9: After you have passed the test, your driving licence will be delivered to the registered address
The fee structure for driving licence application in Maharashtra has been segregated into three parts: the test fee, the DL issue fee and the Smart Card fee.
The test fee, or the repeat test fee (whatever the case may be), for each class of vehicle, is of Rs. 300. The DL issue fee is a standard Rs. 200, meanwhile the fee for Smart Card is of Rs. 200 as well.
Since a driving licence is an official document that any person driving a vehicle must have, it is important to ensure that you renew your licence after it expires. If you are caught driving a vehicle with an expired driving licence, you will be subjected to heavy fines, or imprisonment, or both. A driving licence in Maharashtra is issued for a period of 20 years, post which you must apply for a renewal after every 5 years.
Documents Required:
To get your driving licence renewed in Maharashtra after it expires, you need to be in possession of the following documents:
Application Process:
You can apply for renewal of your driving licence in the following way:
Step 1: Collect Form 9, which is for renewal of DL, from your nearest RTO and fill it up. You can also download the form from the Maharashtra transport Department official website
Step 2: Submit the form, along with the documents mentioned above, to your concerned RTO
Step 3: Pay a DL renewal fee of Rs. 200
After your documents and application form is verified, the RTO office will issue a renewed licence to you on the same day itself.
If you have applied for a driving licence in Maharashtra, you can easily check the status of your application online. There are two separate ways for you to do that. You can either check your application status via the official Transport Department website of the Maharashtra government, or you can check through the Parivahan Sewa portal, curated by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
If you choose to check your driving licence application status through the state transport department website, you would be ultimately redirected to the Parivahan Sewa website. This is so because the MoRTH has been striving towards making a centralised system for all transportation-related services and activities in India.
To check the application status of your DL, visit https://parivahan.gov.in/parivahan/ and click on Online Services → Driving Licence Related Service.
Step 1: Choose the state from the drop down menu
Step 2: From there, select the icon ‘Application Status’ from the page
Step 3: Enter your application number, date of birth and captcha code
Step 4: After you click on the Submit button, you will get to see all information related to your DL application in Maharashtra
There may be instances where your driving licence gets lost, is stolen, or is damaged. In any of these cases, you must immediately apply for a duplicate driving licence. The process of obtaining a duplicate driving licence in Maharashtra is fairly straightforward.
Eligibility:
You will be allowed to apply for a duplicate driving licence in Maharashtra only if your driving licence is lost, stolen or mutilated.
Documents Required:
To apply for a duplicate licence, you must submit the documents mentioned below:
Fee:
As in the case of applying for a driving licence in Maharashtra, for a duplicate driving licence, you need to pay a fee of Rs. 200 as well.
Process to Apply:
Step 1: Fill the application form LLD
Step 2: Submit the application, plus the documents required to the concerned RTO
Step 3: Make payment of the application fee of Rs. 200
Step 4: Collect the receipt
Once your documents and application is verified, you will receive a duplicate DL at your registered address. It is important to remember that you should apply for a duplicate DL within 30 days of the date of loss or damage.