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MVA 1988 (Amended 2019)ORIGINALChapter II

Section 11

Licensing Authority

Licensing of Drivers of Motor Vehicles
Fine: N/ACompoundable: N/AEndorsement: No
BARE ACT PROVISION

Legal Text

For the purposes of this Chapter, 'licensing authority' means an authority empowered to grant licences under this Chapter, being — (a) in any area for which a Regional Transport Authority or a State Transport Authority has been constituted, the Regional Transport Authority, or as the case may be, the State Transport Authority; or (b) in any other area, such authority as the State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette appoint.

Simplified Explanation

Section 11 designates the licensing authority — the body authorised to issue, renew, and manage driving licences. In practice, this is the Regional Transport Office (RTO) headed by the Regional Transport Officer (RTO/ARTO) in each district or region. India has over 1,400 RTOs across the country. The authority is state-level — though the Central Government sets the standards, rules, and forms, the actual licensing function is exercised by state transport authorities. Since 2017, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) Sarathi portal has centralised much of the administrative work digitally.

Historical Context

The RTO system was established under the Motor Vehicles Act 1939 and retained in the 1988 Act. The decentralised state-level administration of driving licences created significant variation in standards across states — a problem the 2019 Amendment attempted to address through national digitisation.

Critical Changes

Sarathi portal centralises licence data nationally — any RTO can access licence records from other states.

Online services reduce in-person visits to RTO.

Practical Scenarios

"RTO Mumbai — the licensing authority for driving licences in Mumbai district."
"An applicant in Pune applies at the Pune RTO — the licensing authority with jurisdiction over their area of residence."

Common Queries

The Regional Transport Office (RTO) in each district, functioning as the 'licensing authority' under Section 11, issues driving licences. Applications are now mostly processed through the Sarathi portal (parivahan.gov.in).