Chapter II — Licensing Of Drivers Of Motor Vehicles
Section 9 — Grant of driving licence
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (Act 59 of 1988)
Text of the section
Grant of driving licence—(1) Any person who is not for the time being disqualified for holding or obtaining a driving licence may apply to the licensing authority having jurisdiction in the area— (i) in which he ordinarily resides or carries on business, or (ii) in which the school or establishment referred to in section 12 from where he is receiving or has received instruction in driving a motor vehicle is situated, for the issue to him of a driving licence. (2) Every application under sub-section (1) shall be in such form and shall be accompanied by such fee and such documents as may be prescribed by the Central Government. 1[(3) If the applicant passes such test as may be prescribed by the Central Government, he shall be issued the driving licence: Provided that no such test shall be necessary where the applicant produces proof to show that— (a) (i) the applicant has previously held a driving licenceto drive such class of vehicle and that the period between thedata of expiry of that licence and the date of the applicationdoes not exceed five years, or (ii) the applicant holds or has previously held a driving licence to drive such class of vehicle issued under section 18, or (iii) the applicant holds a driving licence to drive such class of vehicle issued by a competent authority of any country outside India, subject to the condition that the applicant complies with the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 8,
Reproduced from the India Code text of the Act. Bracketed superscript numerals are the official footnote markers for earlier amendments.
Amended by the 2019 Amendment Act
In section 9 of the principal Act,— (i) in sub-section (1), for the words “the licensing authority having jurisdiction in the area”, the words “any licensing authority in the State” shall be substituted; (ii) in sub-section (3), for the second proviso, the following proviso shall be substituted, namely:— “Provided further that a driving licence for driving an adapted vehicle may be issued to the applicant, if the licensing authority is satisfied that he is fit to drive such motor vehicle.”; (iii) in sub-section (4), the words “such minimum educational qualification as may be prescribed by the Central Government and” shall be omitted; (iv) in sub-section (5), in the proviso, after the words “last such test”, the words and figures “and such applicant shall be required to complete a remedial driver training course from any school or establishment under section 12” shall be inserted. 6.
This is the amending instruction from the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 32 of 2019), quoted verbatim. Read it together with the text above — the consolidated version is the section as it reads once these changes are applied.
Before you rely on this. The base text above is the Act as consolidated by the India Code, which predates the 2019 amendment; any 2019 change is shown separately rather than merged in. Later amendments may also apply. For anything official, read the current text on the e-Gazette or the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways site.
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