The fee: ₹500, fixed by Rule 9
The fee table in Rule 9 of the RTR Certificate and Licence Rules, 2025 lists one line for this situation: duplicate licence — ₹500. That is the official charge for replacing a lost or damaged licence. Anyone quoting you a larger “processing” amount is quoting their own fee, not DGCA’s.
Where and how to apply
Licence services under the current framework are administered on eGCA — the same portal that handles the practical booking and issued your DGCA licence. The duplicate application is made through the portal’s licence services, and the steps and uploads it asks for are shown there as you go; neither the Rules nor the CAR publish a separate paper form or a walk-in route for it. In outline: log in to eGCA with the account your licence is attached to, open the licence services for your RTR licence, choose the duplicate-licence service, pay the ₹500 fee as the portal directs, and submit what it asks for. If the portal route is unclear for your record — an old account, a licence not showing — contact DGCA rather than paying any intermediary to “fix” it.
Lost, damaged, or just unreadable
The duplicate route is the replacement route for a physical licence problem generally: lost, stolen, damaged or too worn to use. It is not for a licence that has expired or a certificate question — if your doubt is whether an older WPC-era certificate is still valid at all, that is a different question, answered in the WPC validity guide. And if a WPC-era document is the one that is lost, start the same way — on eGCA — and confirm the route with DGCA, since the issuing office has changed since that certificate was printed.
What to keep ready
- Any record you have of the licence itself: a photo or scan, the licence number, its issue and validity dates.
- The eGCA login the licence is attached to, and a government photo ID.
- If the portal asks for a police report or an affidavit at its document step, it will say so there — arrange exactly what it names, nothing speculatively in advance.
Can you operate the radio while you wait?
Here the honest answer is that the Rules do not say, on their face, whether a holder whose licence document is lost may operate aircraft radio while a duplicate is in process. Do not assume either way, and do not take a forum’s word for it: ask DGCA, or your operator’s compliance desk, and follow that answer. The duplicate itself is a records process — your qualification was never in question, only the document.
Once it arrives
Check the duplicate against your records (number, dates, name spelling) the day it reaches you, photograph it, and keep the copy somewhere separate from the licence itself — the cheapest insurance against ever needing this page twice. Your licence’s own validity is untouched by the replacement: a DGCA licence still runs to age 80 (Rule 11(1)), and the full fee and process picture is in the application guide.
Quick answers
What is the fee for a duplicate RTR licence?
₹500 — the duplicate-licence line in the Rule 9 fee table of the RTR Certificate and Licence Rules, 2025.
How do I apply for a duplicate RTR licence?
Through the licence services on eGCA, the portal your licence is administered on: log in, open the duplicate-licence service for your RTR licence, pay the ₹500 fee and submit the documents the portal asks for at that step.
How long does a duplicate licence take?
No official timeline is published in the Rules or the CAR, so any exact number quoted elsewhere is a guess. Apply as soon as the loss is certain, and keep your application record until the duplicate arrives.
Can I fly or operate radio while my duplicate is in process?
The Rules do not state this expressly. Ask DGCA or your operator before operating — do not rely on an assumption either way.
Answer questions on this topic, or run a full radio call out loud.
This guide is general study help written by RTR Exam. It is not an official publication of DGCA or ICAO. Confirm rules, fees, dates and syllabus with DGCA's latest notice.