India proposes 75% learner-test pass mark: tutorial and licence-service changes explained

India has proposed raising the learner-licence assessment pass threshold from 60% to 75% and specifying a safe-driving tutorial lasting at least 30 minutes. The same draft package also changes licence formats, particulars-update procedures and specified fee treatment. These are proposed amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, not an announcement that every applicant must immediately take a new test or every licence holder must replace an existing card.

What the draft would change

• Learner assessment: replace the 60% threshold in the cited provision with 75%.

• Safe-driving tutorial: specify a duration of not less than 30 minutes.

• Licence formats: provide separate Form 7 formats for Indian and foreign nationals when licences are issued or renewed.

• Particulars changes: introduce a proposed Form 2A portal process and a 15-day decision requirement.

• Address updates: deem an undecided address-change application approved after 30 days, under the proposed provision.

For a learner applicant: assessment and tutorial are different requirements

The draft amends the learner-related provision by replacing 60% with 75%. It separately inserts a minimum duration for the safe-driving tutorial. Those two numbers describe different parts of the process: the assessment threshold and the tutorial's duration.

A 30-minute minimum is therefore not a statement that every test itself would last 30 minutes. Similarly, the higher pass threshold should not be described as already effective merely because it appears in a published draft.

The learner provision also contains a proposed substitution of fifteen days for seven days in Rule 11(1). Applicants should distinguish that process-period amendment from the 30-minute tutorial duration and from the separate licence-service decision clocks discussed below.

For an existing holder: issued or renewed card formats

The proposed Form 7 provision concerns licences issued or renewed by a licensing authority and specifies separate formats for Indian and foreign nationals. The inspected clause refers to laminated or PVC-card form and associated format specifications.

This does not establish an immediate nationwide replacement exercise for every card already held. A final notification, its commencement provisions and the applicable service instructions would need to be checked before treating a proposed format change as an action required from an individual holder.

For a particulars update: the 15-day and 30-day clocks

The draft would introduce a portal-based Form 2A application for recording a change in licence particulars, supported by evidence of the correct particulars. It describes authentication and verification arrangements and would require the licensing authority to approve the change or reject it with recorded reasons within 15 days from receipt.

The next qualification is important: where an application for change of address is neither accepted nor rejected within 30 days, it would be deemed approved. That wording should not be expanded into automatic approval of every renewal, duplicate, name correction or other licence-related service.

The two periods also perform different jobs. Fifteen days is the proposed decision requirement for the particulars-change application. Thirty days is the proposed deemed-approval trigger for an undecided address-change case.

The main proposals at a glance

What the draft says about fees

The proposed fee amendment says that no fee would be charged where a service is provided through online Aadhaar authentication. The draft also changes fee-table wording for specified licence-particulars services, including address, mobile-number and email updates.

These proposed provisions should be read with their conditions. They are not evidence that every licence-related service is currently free or that an applicant can ignore a fee instruction in an existing service workflow.

Draft status and the next step

The notification is dated 16 October 2026 and appears in the Gazette issue dated 21 October 2026. It provides for consideration after thirty days from the date copies of the notification are made available to the public, with objections and suggestions considered during that period.

The public-availability wording matters: a precise comment deadline should not be invented by simply counting from the notification date. Nor should the draft's commencement wording be presented as proof that these amendments are already in force. The final notification and implementation instructions remain the documents to check for actual applicability.

FAQs

Has the learner-test pass mark already become 75% because of this draft?

The draft proposes replacing the cited 60% threshold with 75%. Draft publication alone is not confirmation that the proposed amendment is already effective.

Will every licence-detail request be automatically approved after 30 days?

No. The inspected deemed-approval wording specifically concerns an undecided address-change application.

Must every existing holder immediately get a new licence card?

The proposal discusses formats for licences issued or renewed. It does not establish an immediate nationwide replacement requirement for every existing card.

The useful reading of the proposed learner-licence rule changes is to separate the assessment, tutorial, card-format and service-processing provisions. Their numbers and conditions are distinct, and each remains part of a draft package pending finalisation.