QR code on driving licence to help cops identify fakes

The existing driving licences remain valid, and will be updated when you apply for licence renewal.

The Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department (MMVD) will soon issue new smart driving licences with a quick response (QR) code, which will make it easy for officials to check if the licence is genuine.

The Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department (MMVD) will soon issue new smart driving licences with a quick response (QR) code, which will make it easy for officials to check if the licence is genuine.(Virendra Singh Gosain/HT PHOTO)

The existing driving licences remain valid, and will be updated when you apply for licence renewal.

Once the QR code is scanned, an official will be able to view the driver’s name, residential address, birth date, blood group, validity of the licence and types of vehicles they are authorised to drive.

An MMVD official said the feature will ease the process for traffic police and officers of the Regional Transport Office (RTO) on field .

“The QR codes can be scanned for a driver’s details using any QR code scanner application [from the play store],” said Shekhar Channe, transport commissioner of Maharashtra.

According to an MMVD official, the department is in process of appointing a new service provider, which is likely to be done by year-end.

The service provider will have to start issuing the new licences within three months from the date of awarding the contract.

Last month, the Mumbai traffic police had busted a fake driving licence scam after they stopped a speeding ambulance in Mahim and interrogated the driver. The police recovered several fake driving licences from him.

Meanwhile, the Union government has adopted the common smart card formats for driving licences and vehicle registration certificates.

This was done in a bid to standardise the documents across all states and prepare a centralised digital repository that can also help in checking forgery and duplication.