Citizens who have been deprived of the right to drive in Armenia will be given the opportunity to restore the document once without passing an examination, upon payment of a state fee and a strict one-year probationary period.

The relevant legislative draft was presented by the Minister of Internal Affairs at the government meeting on May 27 Arpine Sargsyan. Under current regulations, the restoration of driving license after the expiration of the period of revocation requires the passing of mandatory examinations, regardless of whether the revocation is for the first time or not. The new model proposes to allow citizens to restore the right to drive by paying a state fee of 50,000 drams within one year after the expiration of the one-year period of deprivation.

This opportunity will be given only once and comes with strict restrictions. After reinstatement, a probationary period is established, during which the driver will be given only 6 penalty points instead of the standard 13. If the driver consumes those 6 points or during that time again commits such a violation that implies deprivation, he will automatically be deprived of the right to drive a vehicle for another year. The minister emphasized that a stricter methodology is emphasized in the new model, because under normal circumstances, when 13 points are consumed, the right is only suspended, not deprived.

In the case of the second and every subsequent deprivation, rehabilitation will be carried out exclusively through examinations. The draft also contains a transitional provision that will allow deprived persons between January 1, 2020 and May 1, 2026 to also benefit from this new rehabilitation procedure.

The norm will apply only to the decisions made by the police within the framework of the administration. It will not apply to forfeitures imposed by courts or foreign competent authorities. In addition, the procedure will not work in the case of recognizing a person as incapable, as well as in the case of suspension of the right to drive based on mental illnesses, use of narcotics or psychotropic substances and other health contraindications.

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