As of January 25, 2020, the process to obtain a Provisional (Learner) Driver’s Licence will change. Persons wishing to obtain a “Learner’s Licence” will now first have to visit any of the Island Traffic Authority (ITA) Examination Depots to do the multiple choice Road Code Test, as part of the application process.

The new process will apply to all applicants for a Learner’s Licence to drive and/or operate a motor vehicle, including a motorcycle.  

Application forms will be available at all Examination Depots, Tax Offices, or from the website of the Ministry of Transport and Mining at www.mtm.gov.jm and Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) at www.jamaicatax.gov.jm.

The completed application form, along with three identical certified photographs, should be submitted to the ITA Depot of choice where the applicant will be allowed to take the Road Code Test. The test will be conducted without charge to the applicant.

  Where the applicant has passed the Road Code Test, a notation will be made on the form and the information entered into a database shared between the ITA and TAJ. The application form will be returned to the applicant, in a sealed envelope, for him/her to submit it to the Tax Office of his/her choice, for the Provisional Licence to be processed.  

At the Tax Office the form will be vetted and validated before the applicant is directed to a cashier to pay the fee of $1,800 and to be issued the Provisional Driver’s Licence, with the payment receipt affixed.  

Should an applicant fail the Road Code Test, he or she will be advised by the ITA to return on an appointed date to retake the test. Until further notice, resits will be without charge to the applicant.  

Provisional Driver’s Licence acquired before January 25, 2020 will remain valid until the applicable expiration date. However, anyone renewing a Provisional Driver’s Licence thereafter will have to first visit an Examination Depot to sit the Road Code Test.

Applicants who have passed the Road Code Test and have been granted a Provisional Driver’s Licence will not be required to retake the Road Code Test when applying for a renewal due to expiration or replacement due to loss of licence, but will therefore proceed to the TAJ with a completed application form and other required documents.

An applicant for a Provisional Driver’s Licence will only have to visit the ITA Examination Depot if he/she has not yet passed the Road Code Test.

It should be noted that “the last day to obtain a Provisional Driver’s Licence without being required to first pass the Road Code Test is January 24, 2020”. Therefore, although the Portmore Tax Office will be open on Saturday, January 25, 2020, it will not be processing applications for Provisional Driver’s Licence.