Govt extends validity of expiring driving licenses, vehicle documents till 31 December owing to COVID-19 pandemic

With the coronavirus pandemic still showing no signs of abating in India, the government has further extended the validity of driving licenses and other vehicle documents to 31 December 2020. This is the third such extension since the pandemic began, the earlier deadlines being 31 July and 30 September. The documents covered under this are those mentioned in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989. This includes driving licenses, fitness certificates, vehicle registration documents and permits. [caption id=“attachment_8760541” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] This is the third such extension since the pandemic began, the earlier deadlines being 31 July and 30 September. Image: Pixabay[/caption] The government said in a statement, “Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to extend the validity of Fitness, Permits, Licenses, Registration or other documents under Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 till the 31 of December 2020. The Ministry had earlier issued advisories on 30 March and 9 June this year regarding extension of validity of the documents related to Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989. It was advised that the validity of Fitness, Permit (all types), License, Registration or any other concerned document(s) may be treated to be valid till 30th of September 2020.” Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari said on social media, “To reduce inconvenience due to the following of social distancing norms during COVID-19 outbreak, MoRTH has issued an advisory to all state governments to further extend the validity of the documents related to Motor Vehicles Act 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989, such as Fitness, Permits (All Types), Driving License, Registration or any other concerned documents until 31st of December 2020.” MoRTH says this step will protect citizens who are in need of these documents but haven’t been able to step out due to COVID19. The ministry has also requested all states and union territories to follow these timelines to make things easier for their citizens.