Five traffic violations in a year can now cost you your licence
Since 1 January 2026, committing five or more traffic offences within a one-year period is a formal ground for disqualifying a driving licence. The change is small in wording and large in effect: it applies to ordinary offences most drivers treat as routine, and it does not distinguish between a serious one and a minor one.
In force from
1 Jan 2026
Offences before this date do not count
Trigger
5 offences
Within any one-year period
Legal basis
Rule 21(25)
Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989
Consequence
Disqualification
Licence suspended by the licensing authority
What the rule actually says
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways issued the Central Motor Vehicles (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026 on 21 January 2026. It inserts a new clause into Rule 21 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 — the rule that lists the grounds on which a licensing authority may disqualify a licence holder:
“(25) Commission of five or more offences or contraventions of the provisions of the Act or these rules, in a period of one year commencing on and from the 1st January, 2026.”
Two things follow from the wording. First, the clock starts on 1 January 2026 — nothing you were challaned for before that date counts. Second, the clause covers any “offence or contravention” of the Act or the rules, with no exemption for minor ones.
What counts towards the five
Any contravention of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 or the rules made under it. In practice that includes the everyday challans:
- Overspeeding
- Jumping a red light
- Using a mobile phone while driving
- Driving without a seat belt
- Riding without a helmet
- Driving without a valid PUC certificate
- Driving without valid insurance
- Wrong-side or wrong-lane driving
- Any other contravention of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 or the rules under it
Do not let a challan go unanswered
A challan you neither pay nor contest is treated as accepted — it stays on the record and counts towards the tally exactly like one you paid. If you think a challan is wrong, dispute it through the e-challan system rather than ignoring it. Camera-enforced challans are raised against the vehicle, so if more than one person drives your car, it is worth knowing who was driving when a challan was issued.