[phamilyman]

I am probably sure someone beat me to this, but the SARATHI system of the GoI (thank you UPA2 and NDA2 and Sheila ji!) is brilliant.

Like many other 80s NCR kids I was born in Delhi, living in Gurgaon, with a license issued in Delhi during my college days.

I wanted to change my license but it was valid for a few years more, so I was loathe. Plus the anxiety of changing states meant horrendously painful dealings with apathetic government bureaucrats at both ends.

However, I am ECSTATIC to report that is no longer the case. Thanks to a pickpocket in Gurgaon.

In 100 min on a Saturday in April, I got my duplicate licence & NOC for transfer to Gurgaon in 100min on a Saturday. Thanks to honest and helpful inspector Sh Rajkumar. Not just me - he patiently cleared every application in that period. Mind you - I had been that honest idealist idiot who had applied online to cancel my Delhi voter ID card to prevent misuse, but now found myself without a secondary ID card to allow me to get a duplicate. Thankfully, he examined my background, saw my full data (GGN voter card, passport, college certificates etc) and approved the duplicate instantly.

Not just that, he realized my predicament as a consultant who travels a lot and authorized a one-off exception to give my license to me hand-to-hand instead of via speed post.

Fast forward a month later, I applied for the gurgaon license, and lo and behold, no one in the Gurgaon office really knew what to do. The wife suggested waiting for another 1.5 months to let an overseas driving vacation finish, but the idealist that I am, I applied on https://parivahan.gov.in/sarathiservice (State: Haryana, choose services on DL and enter original DL number)

Then I proceeded to enter all the information required (old address/RTO/new address) and visited the Gurgaon RTO a week later. If you do this in states like Delhi, you can even book a visit Slot. Gurgaon has no concept of slots. Yet.

What to do in Gurgaon then:
1. At mini secretariat (9am-1pm only), get file worth Rs 10 from counter 2, attach your form printout and required proofs (please carry from home).
2. Go to counter 10 to get confirmation (only one guy - you could be unlucky if he's on leave)
3. Submit files at counter 13. If your data is old (more than 3-4 years, no hard rule), they will click photo and take digital sign.

Voila - Your license will be printed same date complete with SMS alerts

Caveats:
a. My delivery was delayed a full week because of incorrect airway bill (AWB) number from the VAAHAN portal and a strike in Gurgaon speed post. Else it should ideally be delivered within a couple of days!
b. In every RTO, there is an operators' room who have admin access and can give you the right information (correct AWB in my case). In Delhi - Sheikh Sarai, these guys sit opposite the counters 9/10 (photo/sign). In Gurgaon - they sit next to counter 13 i.e at the very right when entering.

Its that simple.
PS: I am posting this out of gratitude to the unsung technocrats in the government and Shri Kumar and to request every single one to please stop encouraging touts. Donate to the armed forces or an orphanage instead - if even one person does this, my 30 min effort of this post will be achieved.

[vharihar]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

...In 100 min on a Saturday in April, I got my duplicate licence & NOC for transfer to Gurgaon in 100min on a Saturday. Thanks to honest and helpful inspector Sh Rajkumar. ...

Fast forward a month later, I applied for the gurgaon license, and lo and behold, ...

Thats good to hear.

Just one clarification: I was confused from your post as to whether you could initiate the entire process online? Or did you have to do the pre-work of getting NOC from Delhi RTO (which can be a pain for most folks whose *former* state is quite far from where they live)?

Your earlier para seems to indicate that you had to go to Delhi RTO in April and get an NOC (which is where Shri Rajkumar was apparently very helpful, and we may not find such helpful souls in all cases :-(), and then subsequently you had to initiate the online process for Gurgaon. If thats the case, then thats a pity and I suspect most people will still end up using touts, bcoz getting NOC from the former state (esp if its quite far from where one is living now), is known to be non-trivial.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by vharihar

Thats good to hear.

Just one clarification: I was confused from your post as to whether you could initiate the entire process online? Or did you have to do the pre-work of getting NOC from Delhi RTO (which can be a pain for most folks whose *former* state is quite far from where they live)?

Your earlier para seems to indicate that you had to go to Delhi RTO in April and get an NOC (which is where Shri Rajkumar was apparently very helpful, and we may not find such helpful souls in all cases :-(), and then subsequently you had to initiate the online process for Gurgaon. If thats the case, then thats a pity and I suspect most people will still end up using touts, bcoz getting NOC from the former state (esp if its quite far from where one is living now), is known to be non-trivial.

Correct. I had to go anyways. I got the duplicate license which was a must - and alongside got the NOC as well.

It is literally an hour's (parallel) job for the NOC - no questions asked. On the NOC, maybe the touts or friends or relatives could come in handy.

[Lord Ickenham]

Hey folks,

I'm shifting to Goa next month - will be there for a year or so. Now, my license (UP-16 - Noida) expires in December this year. And that's got me confused - go to Goa and apply online for renewal? Or get an NOC to transfer this to Goa? Or simply let it expire and then get a learners and a fresh license in Goa.

Personally, I'd prefer option #1 - keeping my UP license. Is that possible? Does the Vahan service let you renew a license from your home state even if you aren't there?

[volkman10]

Driving licences to be uniform across India.

From next July, new driving licences (DLs) and vehicle registration certificates (RCs) issued by all states and union territories will be uniform in look, colour, design and will have the same security features.

The 'smart' DLs and RCs embedded with microchips will have QR codes. They will also be enabled with the near-field communication (NFC) feature, just like that of Metro and ATM cards, so that traffic enforcers with hand-held devices can easily access details stored in the cards.

The feature of emission norm for the vehicle will be specified on the RC to help carry out the pollution under control test objectively

anyone goes for renewal or re-registration, the transport authorities will issue the new DLs and RCs so the old ones will get replaced gradually

LINK

[DWind]

I would have been happy if driving tests, rules and test infrastructure would have been made uniform and standardized. I wish it is the next step and Govt starts incentivising folks to be re-evaluated ( by lowered insurance premium?) . This would standardize driver education across road users. I know this is akin to demonetization and no Govt would do this citing loss of livelihood for poor. Wishful thinking?

[sgiitk]

My son needed to get his license transferred to Gurugram. His was a license issued at 18 years and now he is almost 40. We got the NOC from RTO Kanpur. The Gurugram RTO was unable to track the license. The numbering system had changed! In fact he opined that to him it is an invalid license he has. So he applied afresh and following the due process got a fresh license from HR.

[rex_varghese]

Originally Posted by concorde24

My original license was issued in TN and it is in F/TN/05x/xxxxxx/YY format. I did have 4 wheeler endorsement in Karnataka, but my same license number was retained. I am unable to search this license in Parivahan website and so online request for NOC is not possible yet.

Anyone having luck with finding their old format licenses in parivahan website - Do we need to format the numbers in any other format to make it work?

concorde24,

I'm in the very same situation. My license has the same format (F/TN/007/...) and am unable to search it on the website. How did you resolve this issue? Did you get NOC and renewed the license in Bangalore?

How can I go ahead with the renewal? Do I have to visit Chennai RTO in person since I'm unable to submit the NOC request online? Will an agent be of any help? Unfortunately, I'm running on the grace period of one month and need this to be done quickly.

Any help/guidance/direction is greatly appreciated.

Regards
Rex

[narayan]

Not sure if it helps. I recently approached the Mattancherry RTO in Cochin for issuance of card license and also subsequent renewal of my 20yr old license falling due next year. The RTO could not track my license online. So they first asked me to submit an application to get my license updated on their online system. As dumb as this can be I had to do it. Subsequently they issued me a card license and confirmed my license is now in their online system. I now have to file a separate application for renewal with the relevant supporting docs like medical certificate etc

[concorde24]

Originally Posted by rex_varghese

concorde24,

I'm in the very same situation. My license has the same format (F/TN/007/...) and am unable to search it on the website. How did you resolve this issue? Did you get NOC and renewed the license in Bangalore?

How can I go ahead with the renewal? Do I have to visit Chennai RTO in person since I'm unable to submit the NOC request online? Will an agent be of any help? Unfortunately, I'm running on the grace period of one month and need this to be done quickly.

Any help/guidance/direction is greatly appreciated.

Regards
Rex

I was unable to travel to Bangalore for getting Driving license NOC from Yeshwantpur RTO. I tried calling up some agents but they were aware of 2/4 Wheeler NOC and not for Driving license. Also, since my original two wheeler license was from Madurai, I was not sure if I had to take NOC from 2 places. Hence gave it up and went in a new LLR/DL in Chennai as soon as my old license expired.

If you could travel to Chennai or catch hold of a good agent, you can try the renewal route.

Hope this helps!

[rex_varghese]

Originally Posted by concorde24

I was unable to travel to Bangalore for getting Driving license NOC from Yeshwantpur RTO. I tried calling up some agents but they were aware of 2/4 Wheeler NOC and not for Driving license. Also, since my original two wheeler license was from Madurai, I was not sure if I had to take NOC from 2 places. Hence gave it up and went in a new LLR/DL in Chennai as soon as my old license expired.

If you could travel to Chennai or catch hold of a good agent, you can try the renewal route.

Hope this helps!

Thanks, concorde24.

Anybody out there know what are the documentation requirements to apply for an DL NOC from Tamilnadu? Is there a standard form to be filled or a written letter would do? Any documents other than copy of DL required?

Regards
Rex

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

My son needed to get his license transferred to Gurugram. His was a license issued at 18 years and now he is almost 40. We got the NOC from RTO Kanpur. The Gurugram RTO was unable to track the license. The numbering system had changed! In fact he opined that to him it is an invalid license he has. So he applied afresh and following the due process got a fresh license from HR.

I had to do something similar for renewing my wife's DL. It was issued long back in Vizag and was valid till age 50. Now that we are in Hyderabad for the past 16 years, and owing to state bifurcation into Telangana and Andhra, she would have had to travel to Vizag to get a renewal or an NOC to Telangana. We thought it was easier to apply for a fresh DL and took that route. Only change was that she had to undergo the driving test after getting an LLR. The one in Vizag was issued 2 decades ago without one though!

[rex_varghese]

Originally Posted by rex_varghese

Thanks, concorde24.

Anybody out there know what are the documentation requirements to apply for an DL NOC from Tamilnadu? Is there a standard form to be filled or a written letter would do? Any documents other than copy of DL required?

Regards
Rex

So, I was able to get an NOC from Chennai (South) - TN-07 RTO and apply for my DL renewal at Bangalore East (Kasturi Nagar) - KA-03 RTO yesterday.
Below is the summary of the process and details, if it can be helpful for others in the same situation.

1. Getting NOC from Chennai (South) - TN-07 RTO
I had taken my DL when I was doing my final semester at IITM, though I lived in Bangalore that time. The renewal was due on 3/Dec, which I missed and realized it only a week later. Trying to figure out the process/details/documentation for obtaining an NOC from Chennai (South) RTO took some time and getting in touch with a colleague whose relatives lived in Chennai came like a blessing in the whole story. His sister who lived in South RTO area had an RTO contact, who suggested to give a copy of license, along with a letter to RTO on a white paper mentioning license number, Blood Group and Mobile Phone number, the last two being mandatory, though blood group is already on the license card. The mobile number is required since the VAHAN portal will be sending you updates once the transaction in initiated by the RTO or anybody else on this license. One thing he missed to mention to include and I failed to was the RTO to which the NOC has to be issued, for which somebody from RTO (South) would call me later.

Now, the license format was TN/F/007/XXXXXXX/1998, which I could not search on the VAHAN/Sarathi portal, though I tried different combinations. It was probably that I did not try the right order/combination or the license was not uploaded to the VAHAN database, I may never know. Anyways, I got an SMS on 24/Dec from VAHAN mentioning that a transaction was initiated for NOC and the license format was mentioned as TN07 1998XXXXXXX. Might be helpful for others. Then, I got a call from somebody stating that he is from Chennai (South) RTO, speaking in good Tamil, asking me for the RTO to which the NOC has to be issued. I gave the RTO number and he asked me to ensure the correct RTO information is given since once NOC is issued it cannot be changed. I got couple more SMS following that and the final one it was mentioned that the NOC application was approved. No updates after that. Neither I could see anything on the portal. When I called my friend, he mentioned that NOC needs a signature from one of the officers and will be done on 26/Dec. 26th came and went with no update. Keeping fingers crossed. Then, on 27th evening, I got the NOC WhatsApp'ed to me by my colleague/friend.

2. Renewal Application, RTO (KA-03) Visit and Renewal Process
Once I received the NOC copy, I could see the transaction progressed on the portal and initiate DL renewal to the designated RTO (KA-03, here). Once I entered some details like address, etc., the portal auto filled the renewal form (CMV 9), fitness self-declaration (form 1) and medical certificate (form 1A) and generated PDFs of them. It also generated an acknowledgement detailing the transactions initiated (Address Change and DL renewal), documents required, and RTO to which the same have to the submitted. That appeared pretty cool from the VAHAN portal side.

Next day, at around 10:30, I landed up at Indiranagar BDA complex without knowing that the RTO office had changed it's location. My last visit to Bangalore East RTO was around 5 years back to renew/issue of FC for by RX100. It's due in Feb 2019. Another RTO visit is in the anvil in few months.
Reached the new RTO office in Ramamurthi Nagar, found a parking on one of the side lanes. Interestingly, on the way from parking to the RTO office found Dr. TN Lokesh's (yes, the same Dr. who was there at the BDA complex, for those who have used his service) office and got medical certificate done for Rs. 100/-.

Got a stamped envelope (with Rs. 20/- stamp affixed), a paper file folder (though not mandatory, it gives a better look and handling of all documents), a small plastic pouch for DL card insertion, and a Xerox copy of my current DL and address proof, from a nearby shop for Rs. 38/-

Arranged the below documents in the order:
(a) Small transparent plastic pouch for inserting the current DL
(b) VAHAN application acknowledgement
(c) CMV 9 - DL Renewal application form with photo affixed on the designated place
(d) Form 1 - Fitness self-certification
(e) Form 1A - Medical certificate from Medical Practitioner - with a photo affixed at the designated place
(f) Copy of address proof - BSNL telephone bill, in my case
(g) Self-addressed stamped envelope for DL to be dispatched

The RTO building looks majestic with many floors. DL related work is on the 1st floor. Once you reach, check on the counter which is at the right side of the stairs, for 'Application Receiving' counter, which receives application between 10:30am and 1:30pm. The counter was unmanned for a long time, as if they were waiting for a good queue build up. Finally, after a long wait, the person behind the counter showed up and checked the application and documents, did the routine 'red lining', tick marks, some scribbling here and there and asked to pay the fees. It's interesting to note that the paper NOC was not required anymore since it's automated, such that, unless the NOC is approved from the issuing RTO, the renewal or any other transaction on the DL cannot be initiated at a different RTO.

The fees counters are on the same floor towards left of the stair case. There was a serpentine queue for the cash counter. And, then there was a queue for VAHAN receipts that had just a handful number of people. Paid Rs. 610/- for Address Change and DL Renewal. This includes Rs. 58/- for Smart Card as well.

Once fees were paid, I was directed for 'Photograph and Biometric' (there is no bio metric process, except signature on the scanner pad) process. There too was a long queue. Finally, up on entering the room and sitting couple of minutes with a smiley face (for you have no idea whether the person behind the computer is clicking your picture or not, for he hardly says anything), he said that my documents are pending upload, and get that done first. He, as well as the lady manning the door, guided me to a shop just opposite to the RTO to get all the documents scanned and uploaded. This scan and upload was a step I missed, though I had seen this option on the VAHAN portal. My bad.

Now, the shop was manned by a gentleman, and two ladies, one of them appeared to be his mother and another his wife. These three were not able to manage the crowd coming in for Xerox copies, application forms, stationaries like envelopes, stamps, file folders, scans, etc. The gentleman was taking appointments for Driving Tests, scanning and uploading documents, etc., and the whole thing was in a disarray. I spent roughly 2 long hours to get my documents (application with photo affixed, DL front and back side copies, form 1, form 1A, address proof, VAHAN acknowledgement) scanned and uploaded. I did not want to step out and look for another shop for this since I was afraid of losing my position in the queue if I don't find another shop or that too had a similar queue. So decided to stay put. I was worried of not being able to submit the documents same day, if I get late. The gentleman assured me that the documents can be submitted (once applications were submitted and initialed before 1:30pm) till 3pm.

Once this process is completed, I went up to the 'Photograph and Biometric' room. There was no crowd and the person manning the room was standing outside. So, he just took me in checked things and snapped a candid picture of mine and let me go.

Now, it was time to meet the 'Inward Counter' person on the other side of the stairs at counter number 4. Like the application counter, nobody was found behind the counter. Queue was building up. Somebody said they might be out for lunch and will be back by 2:30pm. Still we waited and luckily the person showed up in few minutes. Took the documents, entered into a register and asked for copy of the VAHAN acknowledgement, which I did not remember I had. So, he asked me to take a picture of the sheet on which he has initialed. I did that. Then, I found a copy with me, which he duly initialed, affixed a seal and handed over to me. This will be my formal license document till I get my renewed DL. On asking how many days it will take for the DL to be renewed, the curt reply was that '40 days'.

So, that was a nice pleasant experience, except for the RTO Office location goof up and the scan/upload delays.

On the VAHAN portal my application is pending document verification as of now. Waiting for the updates. Will keep this thread updated once I receive my new DL.

Let me know if there are any queries. Will be happy to answer to the extend I can.

[sabby_4c]

A question to all who have got NOC for DL - do they send the NOC to the DL address or the address we request to or in person ? I ask because I have changed my address from the DL address and haven't updated the DL yet.

[rex_varghese]

Originally Posted by sabby_4c

A question to all who have got NOC for DL - do they send the NOC to the DL address or the address we request to or in person ? I ask because I have changed my address from the DL address and haven't updated the DL yet.

To the new address, mentioned in your NOC request.

Regards
Rex