To drive a motor vehicle in any public place/road in India, an effective and valid Driving License is necessary according to “The Motor Vehicles Act-1988”. Effective and valid Driving License means, a license issued to a person authorizing him/her to drive a vehicle of a particular category, which is still having the date of validity. The driver of the vehicle is required to keep the original copy of the license while driving.

In India the minimum age required for driving is, 16 years for motorcycles of 50cc or less and 18 years for all the other vehicles.

Driving License is issued by the Regional Transport Office (RTO) of Motor Vehicles Inspector's Office after the recipient has passed a driving test and has proved the required age.The legislation of Driving License is done through the 'Rules of the Road Regulation' and the Motor Vehicles Act 1988.

The Driving License in India is segregated as:-

• Motorcycle License,
• Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) license and
• Heavy Motor Vehicle (HMV) License.
  

There are many types of licenses issued by the RTO offices, namely:-
1. Learner Driving License
2. Permanent Driving License
3. Duplicate Driving License
4. International Driving License
5. Motorcyle License or Two-wheeler License
6. Light Motor Vehicle License (LMV)
7. Heavy Motor Vehicle License (HMV)

Learner Driving License:-
Learner Driving License is a temporary license, which is valid up to 6 months from the date of issue. Learners Driving License is issued to learn driving of Motor vehicles. It is issued after passing a theory test on Traffic Rules and Vehicles driving.

Permanent Driving License:-
Persons having Learning License can apply for a Permanent Driving License after 30 days from the date of the Learning License and before the expiry of the Learning License, that is 180 days. Persons applying for Permanent License must be conversant with the vehicle systems, driving, traffic rules & regulations.

Duplicate License:-
In case of loss, theft, or on mutilation, Duplicate License is issued. The documents to be produced are:-

• FIR of the lost license,
• challan clearance report from RTA Office (in case of Commercial licence renewal) and
• an application in Form LLD.
  

The particulars will be verified by the authority from the records. The duplicate license will have the valid period same as the previous license. If the license is lost and expired by more than 6 months it requires permission from Head Quarter of Transport Department.

It is recommended to keep a photocopy of the original license or particulars of license noted in order to make it easier for the issuing authority to locate the particulars from their record.

International Driving License:-
The motor licensing authority also issues International Driving License. The validity of this license is for one year. Person visiting the country is required to collect the license from there within one year period. Apart from address proof and birth certificate, the person has to produce a valid passport and valid visa while applying.
Motor-cycle/two wheeler license:-
Two-wheeler license is issued by the Regional Transport Authority (RTO) to permit driving of only two-wheeler vehicles like bike, scooter and moped. Two wheeler License is of two types:-

• Two wheelers with Gear and
  
• Two wheelers without Gear.
  

Light Motor Vehicle License/Three/Four wheelers:-
Light Motor Vehicle License is issued to drive light vehicles like auto rickshaws, motor car, jeep, taxi, three-wheeler delivery vans, etc.

Heavy Motor Vehicle License:-
Heavy Motor Vehicle License is issued to drive heavy vehicles like trucks, buses, tourist coaches, cranes, goods carriages, etc.

A person with HMV license can drive light vehicles also, but persons with Light Motor Vehicle License are not permitted to drive heavy vehicles.
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