[supermax]

Many of us are interested to know if we can drive abroad, with our Indian DLs, and how IDPs work, but there are a fair number of non-resident Indians (NRIs) or persons of Indian Origin (PIO) who might be interested to know if they can get an Indian license issued, on the basis of their international license, without jumping through the hoops including waiting for 30 days with a learner's license and so on. The short answer? Yes, it's possible, and it's very easy. Read on to find out how!

Applying for Indian DL using a foreign DL as the base document

If you have a foreign driver's license, and importantly, you don't have any previous Indian driver's license, you can apply for a brand new Indian DL, and you'll get it issued straight away, without the need for any driving tests or being required to hold a learner's license for 30 days.

If you have a previously expired Indian driving license, or an Indian driving license for any other vehicle class, you can't avail of this facility.

1. Visit the centralized Parivahan sarathi website for DLs here: https://sarathi.parivahan.gov.in/sar...EDeUyRrJIMicOE
2. Select 'Holding foreign DL' as the option.
3. Fill in the details pertaining to your international DL.
4. Fill in your personal details and phone number details. Note that you can only specify an Indian mobile phone number, and you'll need to have the ability to receive OTPs sent to this number to continue with your application.
5. Aadhaar is not a must for this service; I don't have an Aadhaar, and you can authenticate by OTP instead, but you'll have to have a valid Indian sim which can receive the OTP messages for you.
6. I have a European B license (car) and an AM license (moped), but I was told that I could only apply for LMV, as the AM category does not have a counterpart in India. Unless your international license clearly mentions motorcycle, you are not likely to get a MCWG (motorcycle with gear) or MCWoG (motorcycle without gear) license.
7. The payment gateway can be buggy, so it is best avoided altogether. Just fill in all the details, upload scanned copies of all documents and directly visit your local RTO, where you can complete fee payment and provide biometrics.
8. Pay for DL dispatch costs and you should get your DL sent to your Indian address by registered post. Note that you'll have to have an Indian address for the 'Present Address', and you'll need a document such as a voter id, aadhaar card, or passport which can be presented as address proof.

Caveats

1. You can't proceed without an Indian sim which is capable of receiving OTP SMS.
2. You'll need an Indian address, and have a valid document to offer as address proof.
3. Payment once done cannot be refunded under any circumstances, so don't pay online. Visit your local RTO, ensure that they are satisfied with your documentation, supply any additional documents that might be required and only then proceed to pay the fees. I lost the fees paid as I'd included LMV and MCWG and was told that I'd have to cancel and reapply and pay the fees afresh, but only for LMV, as they didn't recognize the European AM license category.
4. The system has a ridiculous requirement that all documents should be under 512 kilobytes! If you have a PDF/JPG that larger in size, it will not work. You'll have to reduce the resolution and rescan.

The positives

1. The system is almost entirely digitized and you can complete almost all of the steps online.
2. Absolutely no need of approaching touts for your work. If you read the instructions properly and upload all of the documents that are needed, the system itself will show you a green 'complete' status; if anything is missing, it is clearly highlighted, so you'll not get any unpleasant surprises at the last minute.
3. No need to take any printouts other than that of the application acknowledgement page, with a case number and a barcode.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Amrik Singh]

Sometimes in '86, I applied for Indian DL at Delhi, based on Qatar DL which was in Arabic. I was required to attach legal translation also. However, it was for LMV only and did not include Motor Cycle. I took a new Learners Licence for the same category, got tested 15 days later and submitted all documents together to obtain DL

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by supermax

[*]I have a European B license (car) and an AM license (moped), but I was told that I could only apply for LMV, as the AM category does not have a counterpart in India. Unless your international license clearly mentions motorcycle, you are not likely to get a MCWG (motorcycle with gear) or MCWoG (motorcycle without gear) license.

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

Sometimes in '86, I applied for Indian DL at Delhi, based on Qatar DL which was in Arabic. I was required to attach legal translation also. However, it was for LMV only and did not include Motor Cycle. I took a new Learners Licence for the same category, got tested 15 days later and submitted all documents together to obtain DL

There goes my short lived hope on seeing this thread to apply for M/C with gear with my Qatari DL.

[Amrik Singh]

Originally Posted by DicKy

There goes my short lived hope on seeing this thread to apply for M/C with gear with my Qatari DL.

That was 1986. However, the rules for 'Class of Vehicle' is still applicable.
Since most of the new drivers in Gulf opt for Automatic Transmission Cars over Manual, you should also consider this, as most of the Cars are with Manual Transmission here in India.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

That was 1986. However, the rules for 'Class of Vehicle' is still applicable.
Since most of the new drivers in Gulf opt for Automatic Transmission Cars over Manual, you should also consider this, as most of the Cars are with Manual Transmission here in India.

Already have an Indian DL since 2010, just that I was forbidden from taking the Motorcycle license then. Got my Qatar DL in a manual transmission car in 2017-18. Took it with an eye on career prospects, but the Qatar blockade and Covid-19 meant it is just a plastic card sitting in my wallet right now.

BTW, a big fan of your Dubai memoirs thread.

[inwester]

Originally Posted by supermax

The system is almost entirely digitized and you can complete almost all of the steps online.

I have a US Driver's license (20+ years, issued by NJ MVC) and I was very excited and tried this multiple times, but I keep getting this error message when I submit the form.

"Your not eligible for these covs:"

For whatever reason I am unable to select / fill two things, 1) * Press Ctrl and hold to select multiple class of vehicles from the bottom left corner 2) permanent address (the checkbox copy to permanent address won't let me select it and it is not letting me type anything either).

My experience generally with Indian government services is that, they are getting better, but the usability and commonsense is severely lacking on many of these forms/processes.

[coolmind]

Sorry for my noob question.
Does having International driving license not sufficient to drive in India? Do we need really separate Indian DL?

[supermax]

Originally Posted by inwester

I have a US Driver's license (20+ years, issued by NJ MVC) and I was very excited and tried this multiple times, but I keep getting this error message when I submit the form.

"Your not eligible for these covs:"

For whatever reason I am unable to select / fill two things, 1) * Press Ctrl and hold to select multiple class of vehicles from the bottom left corner 2) permanent address (the checkbox copy to permanent address won't let me select it and it is not letting me type anything either).

My experience generally with Indian government services is that, they are getting better, but the usability and commonsense is severely lacking on many of these forms/processes.

Oh, I agree completely that the form design is bad in many places. You should not use ctrl on that drop down, though that's the logical thing. If you need multiple classes, you need to select each individual class and then individually hit the >> button to get it to appear on the right hand side. All the best!

[inwester]

Originally Posted by supermax

You should not use ctrl on that drop down, though that's the logical thing. If you need multiple classes, you need to select each individual class

Nothing shows up for me there. It's blank. I put LMV in the box way above and then tried light motor vehicle and also 3, but the bottom box is blank. I also tried different browsers.

What will help for even more digitisation and mass adoption in India is to make things simple for everyone. Most of these forms are designed from the perspective of the creator, who knows everything about the process, whereas the end users like us are clueless and playing a guessing game without proper instructions. A guide on how to fill and what to fill, associated with each government form would be super helpful. A step by step directions. One thing I learned early in my career is that "You are not your audience".

For instance, I paid property taxes in Kerala yesterday online for the first time. The process was a bit convoluted as I didn't know what to do without a guide. By trial and error I finally figured it out. But I had to pay taxes for 30 of them as it's a commercial property (each door # has its own record), and I could only do 1 at a time. Each time I paid I had to authenticate the payment by logging into the bank, waiting for a text and then rinse repeat. The whole process took me a couple of hours, whereas it could've been thought-out properly and done in 5 mins. Good thing is that it worked without going to a local office, bad thing is that it took the same time sitting home.

[tyroneshoelaces]

Originally Posted by inwester

I have a US Driver's license (20+ years, issued by NJ MVC) and I was very excited and tried this multiple times, but I keep getting this error message when I submit the form.

"Your not eligible for these covs:"

For whatever reason I am unable to select / fill two things, 1) * Press Ctrl and hold to select multiple class of vehicles from the bottom left corner 2) permanent address (the checkbox copy to permanent address won't let me select it and it is not letting me type anything either).

My experience generally with Indian government services is that, they are getting better, but the usability and commonsense is severely lacking on many of these forms/processes.

I was able to select the class of vehicles, but I am having the same issue of not being able to copy to permanent address. Were you able to find a way? If not, could someone please let me know how to proceed?

Thanks.

[HarshVShrotriya]

Originally Posted by coolmind

Sorry for my noob question.
Does having International driving license not sufficient to drive in India? Do we need really separate Indian DL?

As per my understanding: IDP (International Driving Permit), which in summary is a translation of your existing non-Indian Driving License, is only valid in India for 1 year from the date of it's issue(or expiry of your current Driving License, whichever is earlier). After which you cannot use the same.

If you want to stay/drive longer, you need the Indian Driving License.

I have an unresolved query though: How about purchasing a new vehicle in India? Can I purchase a new vehicle in India on this International Driving Licence/Permit? Or, is Indian Driving License mandatory?

[tilt]

Originally Posted by HarshVShrotriya

*snip8

I have an unresolved query though: How about purchasing a new vehicle in India? Can I purchase a new vehicle in India on this International Driving Licence/Permit? Or, is Indian Driving License mandatory?

Why would you need a licence to buy a vehicle? You only need one to drive it, not to buy it.

Cheers

[HarshVShrotriya]

Originally Posted by tilt

Why would you need a licence to buy a vehicle? You only need one to drive it, not to buy it.

Cheers

Hey,

Just wanted to cross my t's and dot my i's. I was surfing the online car booking portal (don't remember if it was Kia or Mahindra) where they asked for a DL copy. Left it at that (as I do not currently have an Indian DL).
Thought of checking on this topic as someone else might have been in a similar boat (coming back to India with IDP/L and purchasing a car).
Yes, DL is definitely needed for Driving but, wasn't sure if any documentation (for eg: around insurance) needs it too.

[nandrive]

Originally Posted by HarshVShrotriya

Yes, DL is definitely needed for Driving but, wasn't sure if any documentation (for eg: around insurance) needs it too.

DL is not needed for insurance or anything else. My mom owns a car, she neither drives it nor has a DL.