![\"Applied](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-117485848,imgsize-646059,width-400,height-225,resizemode-72\/applied-online-weeks-later-they-were-still-knocking-on-rto-doors.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nNew Delhi: When Naveen Raj finally walked into a transport office to track his wife’s driving licence renewal application, he was doing the very thing the online status page assured him he won’t have to do: visit an RTO.Raj had little reason to doubt the system. During Covid-19, he had renewed his wife’s licence online and received the renewed document within days. “It took hardly three or four days. We were quite impressed,” he recalled.So when his wife’s licence was due to expire on April 6 this year, the couple once again went online. On March 18, Raj uploaded all the required documents, including a medical fitness certificate, paid the prescribed fee and submitted the renewal application. It cleared scrutiny and moved to the approval stage. Then it stalled.Weeks passed without any update. The licence expired, forcing his wife to stop driving and rely on cabs for daily errands. Despite repeatedly checking the portal, he found no reason behind the delay or whom to contact. “We had applied well before the expiry date. Yet there was no way of knowing what was happening,” Raj said.As the delay stretched beyond a month, he began making inquiries. Friends told him they knew others facing similar problems. Frustrated, Raj eventually visited a regional transport office, only to receive conflicting information about where the file was stuck. They finally received the licence one and a half months later.“The whole purpose of a faceless service is convenience,” Raj said. “But when something gets stuck, where does a person go? Who do you even ask?”Raj’s experience highlights a question some users of Delhi’s faceless transport services are facing: when an application stops moving online, is visiting an RTO inevitable?Introduced in 2021, the faceless system shifted dozens of transport-related services online, including driving licence renewals, duplicate licences, ownership transfers and address changes. Applications are to be processed within seven days, while complaints are to be addressed on priority.According to data furnished by the transport department in response to a query in the assembly, more than 47.4 lakh applications were received under the faceless mode between Feb 2021 and March 2025.Driving licence renewal has emerged as one of the most frequently used services. Yet conversations with applicants, cyber cafe operators, agents and former officials suggest that when applications get delayed, some users still end up making office visits and seeking help from intermediaries.Manish (name changed), who applied for the transfer of ownership of a motorcycle last year, said his application remained stuck for weeks despite the portal indicating that documents were forwarded. “The application status showed that the documents were sent to the office, but nothing moved after that,” he said.After making multiple visits to a transport office and repeated follow-ups, the transfer was eventually completed nearly two and a half months later. “It became a cycle. The office said they hadn’t received the documents. Until they received them, nothing could be corrected or processed,” he said.The uncertainty is something Sushil (name changed), who runs a cyber cafe in Vasant Vihar and regularly assists people with online applications, said he encountered often. “Every day, five or six people come to us for driving licence-related applications. But lately, many return after a month asking why their licence has still not arrived,” he said.Applicants frequently assume that the cyber cafe can provide updates, though its role ends with filing the application. “Beyond that, only the transport department can explain the delay. Even my own uncle has been waiting for more than a month for his licence renewal,” Sushil said.The presence of agents is another reminder that the online transition has not entirely eliminated intermediaries. TOI contacted multiple agents advertising transport-related services. Most claimed they could expedite applications for a fee, often citing ongoing delays in processing. While rates varied depending on the applicant’s urgency, the message remained largely consistent: applications could be processed faster through their assistance.One agent offered to get a licence renewed within a week for Rs 1,100. Another said, “Three days will cost Rs 2,000. If you can wait around 10 days, it will be Rs 800.”Transport officials acknowledged that manpower shortages had contributed to pendency in some cases. However, they maintained that licences continued to be processed and issued regularly.TOI also spoke to several recent applicants. While some reported receiving their licences without difficulty, others said they simply chose to use agents from the outset to avoid repeated follow-ups.The department did not provide detailed figures on current pendency or the number of applications exceeding the prescribed timelines.Former transport department official Anil Chikara, who helped implement Delhi’s faceless transport services, said the system was built to reduce the waiting time, eliminate visits to RTOs and curb the role of touts. “The idea was simple: people should not have to worry about when a licence will arrive, visit an RTO or depend on intermediaries.”Chikara said delays beyond a week undermined the purpose. “Even 15 days should not happen. Services were meant to be delivered within seven to 10 days. In the initial years, driving licences were often sent within three working days, while vehicle-related transactions were usually completed in five days,” he said.“The system was modelled on passport services, with minimal human intervention and instant alerts in case of deficiencies. Delays were taken seriously and closely monitored. If delays are becoming routine, the system needs stronger oversight and adequate manpower,” he added.<\/div>\n