The Driving Licence Surrender Scheme has formally been launched on Transport Malta's website this morning.
Through this scheme, any youths not older than 30 years old on the date of application may surrender their driving licence for a period of five years and receive €25,000 over those five years, though a grant payment of €5,000 per year.
This new national scheme is open on a first come, first served basis, subject to its total allocated budget of €5 million per year, a Transport Malta spokesperson said. At most, this scheme is therefore open to 1,000 people unless expanded.
Announced last month that this scheme will be launched on New Year's Day of this year, applications for this new scheme were launched this morning, on Tuesday, 6 January 2026.
This incentive is open to all youths not older than 30 who have been residents in Malta for at least seven years and have held their Category B driving licence for at least 12 months prior to the date of application. Applicants cannot qualify for the grant if their driving licence has ever been revoked or is currently suspended, or if they hold any driving licence issued by a non-EU country.
Accepted applicants will receive their first €5,000 instalment upon handing in their driving licence, following grant approval. Subsequent grant payments will then be scheduled in the following four anniversaries of this first instalment.
This five-year national scheme, worth €25 million between 2026-2030, is aimed towards reducing "the number of persons holding and using a driving licence and, consequently, the number of vehicles circulating in the Maltese roads."
During this five-year period, chosen applicants will not be allowed to drive any vehicle in Malta or abroad, even though this measure is ultimately designed to combat traffic congestion in the Maltese islands.
Following the end of this five-year period, applicants will need to request the issuance of a new driving licence, subject to 15 hours' worth of driving tuition at a licensed motoring school.
This scheme is not open to persons entitled to a chauffeur - this includes political office holders and their spouses/partners. It is also not open to individuals who require a valid driving licence in their possession for their work, or for public officials - including diplomats - working in foreign missions, such as embassies or representations, extending also to their spouses/partners.
Accepted applicants wishing to cancel the suspension of their driving licence during these next five years will need to pay Transport Malta "the remaining grant balance before the driving licence can be reinstated." Henceforth, if such a request is made 13 months after their grant has been approved (the starting date), then that person must pay a penalty of €20,000; during the 25th month, i.e., after two years, this goes down to €15,000, then down to €10,000 during the 37th month, and €5,000 to cancel this driving licence suspension with a year left.
Such applicants may be exempt from paying this refund penalty for health reasons, work reasons, or any other deemed justified by Transport Malta's review board.
Any persons found guilty of driving a motor vehicle while receiving incentives not to drive via this new national scheme will be ordered to pay a fine worth €5,000, pay the remaining grant balance, pro rata, from the date of infringement till the termination of their wilful driving licence suspension, and have legal proceedings initiated against them. Such legal proceedings can result in the prolonged suspension of their driving licence.
During the press conference announcing this scheme's launch date, on 18 December 2025, Transport Minister Chris Bonett said that this new incentive forms part of the government's long-term vision to curb car culture, where it plans to create new mobility models that provide people with more choices in how they can travel around the country.
Applications are open until 30 June 2026. Further information on this scheme can be found on Transport Malta's website or on the application forms themselves.