Encouraged by the NOIDA RTO's effort to provide an online appointment for driving license related tasks, and the fact that my 20 year old license was due to expire in January, 2014, I decided to give it a try.
I started out by searching google for experiences of other people, and having found none, I decided to document my experience for the benefit of others.
The place to start is http://www.artonoida.com. This website is pretty well made, and provides all the required information. The physical address of the RTO, NOIDA office is shown by this google maps link.
I filled the online appointment form (http://niveshmitra.up.nic.in/Default.aspx), and it gave me an appointment for 3-4:30PM window in the following week. I printed the appointment letter, and downloaded and printed other required forms (Form 9 and Form 1/1A).
At the time of the appointment, I went to the RTO office, and showed my letter. I was told to deposit all the filled forms. Form 1A is a medical certificate needs to be signed and attested by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of NOIDA. I was politely informed that I will find them at the sec 39 district hospital. I could not find any information about the location of CMO, NOIDA, so I just followed the direction and found the office in Sector 39. I have also submitted a marker for this in google maps, but it may take some time to appear publicly.
At the CMO office, I was promptly directed to a lady clerk, who asked me to wait. After having me wait for about 15 minutes, she filled in the form and asked me to get it signed by the lady in the adjoining room (who I am assuming was the CMO or some senior medical officer authorized to attest). The lady officer signed it promptly, and I took the form back to the clerk to get it attested. I was asked to deposit Rs 120, for which no receipt was given to me. I didn't bother to ask, and took my leave. Overall, quite a smooth and hassle free experience.
I went back to RTO office right away, and deposited all the forms. The forms were then sent to a computer operator who was not at the desk. After about 15 minutes, the operator appeared and I was summoned. I was told everything was in order, but the "system" was apparently down, and as soon as it came up I would be dealt with. The staff was fairly amiable, so I waited. After about half an hour, system came up, my photo was taken and I was given a receipt for a payment of Rs 200.
I was able to apply for a license renewal without any agent's involvement in about 1.5 hours. This was much better than I had expected. But, there was one rude surprise in store for me.
I got the license within four days by post, but what I received was a duplicate license which still expired in January, 2014!!! So, I went back and faced the RTO clerk who had helped me last time. He told me that this was due to a technicality that the license can not be renewed more than 30 days before its expiry date. I asked him why I was not told earlier, and he just shrugged it off. I requested him to pull out my application so that I can reuse it when the 30 day window comes up, but he again dismissed it saying it is not possible. This is the problem why most people prefer to go through agents. And I'm sure the staff prefers that as well, since they probably get their cut in the deal as well. I had half a mind to file a complaint with the ARTO for this, but felt it would be futile.
In any case, I will apply again and hopefully I will get the renewed license soon. Hope this description helps others who want to get their driving licenses in the legally correct way.
UPDATE: I re-applied and this time I correctly got my license renewed, spending another 1.5 hours in the process. I have spent much longer to get my license in USA, so no complaints.
I started out by searching google for experiences of other people, and having found none, I decided to document my experience for the benefit of others.
The place to start is http://www.artonoida.com. This website is pretty well made, and provides all the required information. The physical address of the RTO, NOIDA office is shown by this google maps link.
I filled the online appointment form (http://niveshmitra.up.nic.in/Default.aspx), and it gave me an appointment for 3-4:30PM window in the following week. I printed the appointment letter, and downloaded and printed other required forms (Form 9 and Form 1/1A).
At the time of the appointment, I went to the RTO office, and showed my letter. I was told to deposit all the filled forms. Form 1A is a medical certificate needs to be signed and attested by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of NOIDA. I was politely informed that I will find them at the sec 39 district hospital. I could not find any information about the location of CMO, NOIDA, so I just followed the direction and found the office in Sector 39. I have also submitted a marker for this in google maps, but it may take some time to appear publicly.
At the CMO office, I was promptly directed to a lady clerk, who asked me to wait. After having me wait for about 15 minutes, she filled in the form and asked me to get it signed by the lady in the adjoining room (who I am assuming was the CMO or some senior medical officer authorized to attest). The lady officer signed it promptly, and I took the form back to the clerk to get it attested. I was asked to deposit Rs 120, for which no receipt was given to me. I didn't bother to ask, and took my leave. Overall, quite a smooth and hassle free experience.
I went back to RTO office right away, and deposited all the forms. The forms were then sent to a computer operator who was not at the desk. After about 15 minutes, the operator appeared and I was summoned. I was told everything was in order, but the "system" was apparently down, and as soon as it came up I would be dealt with. The staff was fairly amiable, so I waited. After about half an hour, system came up, my photo was taken and I was given a receipt for a payment of Rs 200.
I was able to apply for a license renewal without any agent's involvement in about 1.5 hours. This was much better than I had expected. But, there was one rude surprise in store for me.
I got the license within four days by post, but what I received was a duplicate license which still expired in January, 2014!!! So, I went back and faced the RTO clerk who had helped me last time. He told me that this was due to a technicality that the license can not be renewed more than 30 days before its expiry date. I asked him why I was not told earlier, and he just shrugged it off. I requested him to pull out my application so that I can reuse it when the 30 day window comes up, but he again dismissed it saying it is not possible. This is the problem why most people prefer to go through agents. And I'm sure the staff prefers that as well, since they probably get their cut in the deal as well. I had half a mind to file a complaint with the ARTO for this, but felt it would be futile.
In any case, I will apply again and hopefully I will get the renewed license soon. Hope this description helps others who want to get their driving licenses in the legally correct way.
UPDATE: I re-applied and this time I correctly got my license renewed, spending another 1.5 hours in the process. I have spent much longer to get my license in USA, so no complaints.
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