A message claiming that driving licences could be suspended if the mobile number linked to them is not updated before September 25 is circulating widely on social media. Several reports and posts have also described September 25 or September 26 as the last date for updating mobile numbers on driving licences. However, there is an important distinction between the government’s advice to keep licence details updated and the claim that September 25 is a nationwide deadline.
The official information currently available through the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the Parivahan system does not establish September 25 as a universal deadline after which driving licences with outdated or missing mobile numbers will automatically be suspended. There is no confirmed nationwide rule saying that your driving licence will automatically be cancelled or suspended if you fail to update your mobile number by September 25.
What is the government actually asking people to do?
The government has also made it possible to update a mobile number online in many cases, meaning people do not necessarily have to visit an RTO. They should not be treated as the same announcement. Because two separate issues are being discussed together: the government’s push to update mobile numbers and the alleged September 25 penalty, this appears to have created confusion.
