Statute Details
- Title: Road Traffic (Driving Instructors and Driving Schools) Rules
- Act Code: RTA1961-R16
- Legislative Type: Subsidiary legislation (sl)
- Authorising Act: Road Traffic Act (Cap. 276), sections 61 and 140
- Revised Edition: Revised Edition 1990 (25th March 1992)
- Status: Current version as at 27 Mar 2026
- Key Definitions (s 2): “driving school licence”, “instruction”, “instructor’s licence”, “licence”, “licensee”, “vehicle”
- Selected Key Provisions: s 3 (application for instructor’s licence); s 5 (application for driving school licence); s 6 (fit and proper); s 8–10 (duration/renewal); s 14–16 (registers and record books); s 23 (driving school to employ licensed instructors); s 32 (offence)
- Primary Regulator in the Rules: Deputy Commissioner of Police
What Is This Legislation About?
The Road Traffic (Driving Instructors and Driving Schools) Rules (“the Rules”) set out the licensing and compliance framework for people and businesses that provide driving instruction in Singapore. In practical terms, the Rules ensure that driving instruction is delivered by appropriately licensed instructors, through properly licensed driving schools, using suitable and insured vehicles, and with proper record-keeping and regulatory oversight.
The Rules operate alongside the Road Traffic Act (Cap. 276). While the Act provides the overarching legal authority for licensing and enforcement, the Rules fill in the operational details: how applications are assessed, what documents must be provided, how licences are issued and renewed, what records must be maintained, and what conduct is prohibited. The Deputy Commissioner of Police is the central administrative authority under the Rules, with powers to make enquiries, require attendance, inspect records, and determine compliance.
For practitioners, the Rules are particularly important because they create concrete, auditable obligations—especially around record books, the use of licensed instructors, and the use/inspection/insurance of instruction vehicles. Breaches can lead to suspension or revocation under the Road Traffic Act framework, and the Rules themselves also contain an offence provision.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Definitions and scope (s 2). The Rules define the key terms that determine who is regulated and what activities are covered. “Instruction” is instruction in the driving of a motor vehicle. “Vehicle” is a motor vehicle used for providing instruction and registered as such under the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) Rules. This matters because compliance is not limited to classroom or theoretical instruction; it is tied to instruction involving motor vehicles used for driving practice.
2. Licensing applications and eligibility (ss 3–6). For an instructor’s licence, the Deputy Commissioner of Police may make enquiries and can require evidence of age, medical fitness (a certificate from a medical practitioner), driving experience and completion of any required course, and two recent passport-sized photographs (s 3(1)). Eligibility is further constrained by experience and age: an applicant must have held a driving licence for at least three years for the same class of vehicle and must have passed the required instructor course (s 3(2)). Importantly, no instructor’s licence is granted to a person aged 75 or above (s 3(3), inserted with effect from 1 January 2017).
For a driving school licence, the Deputy Commissioner of Police may make enquiries and must require specified information and documents (s 5). These include photographs, proof of registration under the Business Registration Act, and (if the applicant is a company) proof of incorporation/registration under the Companies Act. The application must also list the name of every driving instructor employed or engaged by the applicant, particulars of instructors’ licences and vehicles used, and details of persons enrolled to receive instruction (including identity card numbers and provisional driving licence information). This structure indicates that the licensing regime is not purely “business registration” based; it is tied to operational readiness and the identity of instructors and learners.
Both instructor and school licences are subject to a “fit and proper person” test. No licence is granted unless the Deputy Commissioner of Police is satisfied that the applicant is fit and proper (s 6). This is a broad discretionary safeguard and is often the legal fulcrum in disputes about licence refusal, suspension, or revocation.
3. Licence form, duration, renewal, and fees (ss 7–13). The Rules prescribe administrative aspects of licensing. A licence is in such form as the Deputy Commissioner of Police determines (s 7). An instructor’s licence is valid for 6 months or 1 year, or for a shorter period (not less than one month) as the Deputy Commissioner of Police thinks fit, and takes effect on the first day of the month in which it is first granted (s 8). A driving school licence is valid for one year and takes effect on the first day of the month in which it is granted (s 9).
Renewal rules are also specified. A renewed licence takes effect from the later of (i) the day following expiry of the previous licence or (ii) the first day of the month in which it is renewed (s 10(1)). An instructor’s licence that has ceased to be valid for a continuous period of more than one year may not be renewed unless the Deputy Commissioner of Police decides otherwise (s 10(2)). This creates a practical compliance risk for instructors who allow licences to lapse for extended periods.
Fees are set in the Rules: $60 per year or $5 per month for an instructor’s licence (s 12), and $150 per year or part thereof for a driving school licence (s 13). Refunds are tightly limited: no licence fee (or part) is refunded if the licence is suspended or revoked or if the licensee ceases to be an instructor or carry on the driving school business (s 11(1)). A discretionary refund may be available where a licence is granted while another licence is in force (s 11(2)).
4. Registers and record books (ss 14–16). The Rules impose detailed record-keeping obligations, which are central to enforcement. The Deputy Commissioner of Police keeps separate registers of licences issued to driving instructors and driving schools (s 14), containing such particulars as the Deputy Commissioner of Police may determine.
For instructors, a record book must be maintained in ink and must include: the instructor’s name and licence number; the name and provisional driving licence number of every person receiving instruction; the time of commencement and termination of each instruction period; and the index mark and registration number of the vehicle used during instruction (s 15(1)). The instructor must keep the record up to date, have it in possession when acting as an instructor, and produce it for inspection immediately upon request by the Deputy Commissioner of Police or a police officer (s 15(2)).
For driving schools, a record book must similarly be maintained in ink and must include: the index mark and registration number of every vehicle used in the business; the name of every instructor employed/engaged and particulars of the instructor’s licence; the date each instructor joins and leaves; the name, address, and identity card number of every person receiving instruction; the number and date of issue of each person’s provisional driving licence; and the time at which and the (text is truncated in the extract provided, but the structure indicates further time-related entries for instruction sessions). The compliance point is clear: schools must maintain a traceable audit trail linking learners, instructors, and vehicles.
5. Employment of licensed instructors (s 23). One of the most operationally significant provisions in the extract is s 23, which provides that the holder of a driving school licence shall not employ or engage any person to give instruction unless that person is a licensed driving instructor. This is a direct prohibition and is likely to be a frequent enforcement focus—particularly where schools use part-time instructors, contractors, or individuals whose licences have lapsed.
6. Vehicle-related compliance and inspection/insurance (ss 25–27 and related provisions). Although the extract truncates after s 16, the Rules’ table of contents indicates further vehicle compliance provisions: only certain vehicles may be used (s 25), production of the vehicle for inspection (s 26), and insurance (s 27). For practitioners, these provisions typically operate as gating requirements: instruction must be conducted using vehicles that are properly registered for instruction, that meet the Rules’ conditions, and that are insured in a manner acceptable to the regulatory framework. These requirements protect learners and third parties and reduce the risk of unregulated or unsafe instruction arrangements.
7. Enforcement and offences (s 32). The Rules include an offence provision (s 32). While the extract does not reproduce the text of s 32, its presence signals that contraventions of the Rules’ licensing, record-keeping, and operational requirements can attract criminal or quasi-criminal liability, in addition to administrative consequences under the Road Traffic Act (such as suspension or revocation).
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Rules are structured as a sequence of licensing and compliance provisions, beginning with citation and definitions (ss 1–2). They then move through the application process for instructor and school licences (ss 3–5), eligibility and discretion (s 6), and administrative matters such as licence form and duration (ss 7–10). Fees and refunds are addressed next (ss 11–13). The Rules then establish regulatory oversight through registers and record books (ss 14–16). Subsequent provisions cover regulatory powers (attendance requirements), licence validity and enforcement mechanisms (including suspension or revocation), and operational compliance such as display/possession of licences, instructor responsibility for the instruction vehicle, and driving school obligations to employ licensed instructors (ss 17–23). The later provisions focus on instruction fees, vehicle eligibility and inspection, insurance, and administrative processes for extracts and duplicates, before concluding with offences and miscellaneous compliance duties (ss 24–32).
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Rules apply to (i) individuals who provide driving instruction and seek or hold an instructor’s licence, and (ii) businesses that carry on the business of a driving school and seek or hold a driving school licence. The licensing regime is therefore both personal (instructor) and corporate/operational (school).
Practically, the Rules also apply indirectly to learners and to the operational staff of driving schools. For example, driving schools must provide information about enrolled persons in applications and must maintain records linking learners to instructors and vehicles. Moreover, because s 23 prohibits employing unlicensed instructors to give instruction, the Rules affect how schools structure staffing and manage licence renewals and lapses.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
The Rules are important because they create a regulated pathway for driving instruction that is designed to protect road safety and ensure accountability. By requiring medical fitness, driving experience, and completion of an instructor course (s 3), the Rules set minimum competency and fitness standards for instructors. The “fit and proper person” requirement (s 6) provides an additional protective filter against unsuitable applicants.
From an enforcement and litigation perspective, the record-keeping provisions (ss 15–16) are especially significant. They create documentary evidence that can be inspected by police and the Deputy Commissioner of Police. In disputes—such as allegations of improper instruction, use of unlicensed instructors, or failure to comply with vehicle/insurance requirements—these records often become the primary factual basis for administrative action or prosecution.
Finally, the Rules’ operational prohibitions and vehicle compliance requirements (including s 23 and the vehicle-related provisions indicated by ss 25–27) reduce the risk of unregulated instruction and enhance learner and public safety. For practitioners advising driving schools or instructors, the Rules therefore function as a compliance checklist: licence status, staffing, vehicle eligibility, insurance, and contemporaneous record maintenance.
Related Legislation
- Road Traffic Act (Cap. 276) — sections 61 and 140 (authorising provisions)
- Business Registration Act (Cap. 32) — registration requirements referenced in s 5
- Companies Act (Cap. 50) — incorporation/registration requirements referenced in s 5
- Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) Rules (R 5 referenced in s 2 definition of “vehicle”)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Road Traffic (Driving Instructors and Driving Schools) Rules for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.