Goodbye to licence stickers - Gov’t goes digital with changes to documents

The requirements for motorists to provide physical copies of motor-vehicle registration and fitness certificates to a police constable will soon become a thing of the past.

Under amendments being made to the Road Traffic Act, a driver will not be penalised for not providing documents related to motor-vehicle registration and fitness for inspection.

At the same time, the Government is moving ahead with plans to remove the need for motorists to have licence decals or stickers displayed on the windshield of their vehicle.

Transport minister Daryl Vaz, in piloting a bill in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, said the changes will align Jamaica with global trends. He said that physical decals and paper documents are costly, inefficient, and on the verge of becoming obsolete.

"The removal of the requirement to affix physical licence decals to motor vehicles and physically presenting fitness and registration certificates upon demand to a constable will result in the removal of the penalties associated with the current requirements," Vaz said.

"Consequently, a driver will not be penalised for not providing documents related to motor-vehicle registration and fitness for inspection," the minister said.

He informed that on the matter of the technological changes, the development phase has been completed, and the implementation date is July 21.

Meanwhile, the bill provides for electronic issuance of fitness and registration certificates, delivering on a commitment made by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness in the Budget Debate in March.

When passed into law, a motor-vehicle licence may be granted for a period of 24 months, 20 months or six months, as the case may be, commencing from the first day of the month in which the licence first takes effect.

Earlier this year, Holness announced far-reaching changes to the motor vehicle sector.

Holness announced that the certificate of fitness for new vehicles would be valid for up to five years, reducing the frequency of mandatory inspections. For used vehicles that are 10 years old or less, the certificate of fitness will remain valid for three years. Vehicles older than 10 years will still require an annual renewal.