For motorists, a digital copy of the driver’s license, stored in digilocker or otherwise, is sufficient upon inspection by state law enforcement.

A government order issued by the Department of Transportation on Thursday states that no law enforcement officer shall insist on a physical copy thereof during the inspection period in the state.

The state government has also fixed the fee structure for issuing digital driving license. Up to ₹150 will be charged for issuance of new learner’s license, ₹200 for diving license, ₹300 for driving test fee and ₹50 for learner test fee. The printed driving license will be issued on demand, levying an adequate fee for the purpose, the order said.

The amended rule 139 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rule (CMVR) has allowed production of documents such as registration, insurance, fitness and license certificate, driving license, pollution certificate and all other relevant document in electronic form. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has also prescribed a standard operating procedure (SOP) to validate transport-related documents in electronic form through IT or mobile application platforms. Article 4 of the IT Act legally recognizes electronic documents in the same way as original documents.

In Kerala, driving license and registration certificate are currently issued in the form of PVC Pet G card. The Transport Commissioner recently proposed a shift to the electronic form, citing amendment to CMVR Rule 139 and emphasizing the cases of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Assam, which have already adopted the issuance of digital driving licenses by default. The website of the National Informatics Centre, Sarathy will facilitate the downloading and printing of digital driving licenses.