The Highway Authority Office is located at the Ministry of Information, Communication, Transport and Tourism Development (MICTTD Headquarters) in Betio, Tarawa (opposite the Wishing Star)
+686 74026003
Highway Authority
In the absence of an independent national Highway Authority office, the Authority is currently housed in the MICTTD with its functions executed by the Highway Authority Committee closely in line with the Public Highways Protection ACT (1989). The Committee’s membership consists of representatives from Office of the Attorney General, the Kiribati Police Services, Public Utilities Board (PUB), Plant & Vehicle Unit ( PVU), Ministry of Public Works & Utility (MPWU), and Ministry of Internal Affairs ( MIA). The Committee is normally chaired by the Secretary but he has designated this role to the Deputy Secretary at present.
The Committee’s functions basically follow on those stipulated in the ACT that entails protection and management of the public roads so that they are maintained to the standards that guarantee safety to the roads’ users. Under the ACT, the following activities are prohibited doing to the public roads: destruction of the structure of the public roads by way of digging, removing any part of the road including the curbs/bricks at the side-walls, the road signs, and so on; laying refuse of any kind on the roads, and putting anything within the boundaries of the public roads that would cause obstructions and hence, unsafety to the roads’ users. Anyone who gets caught doing any of these illegal activities are subject to imprisonment up to 3 months.
Anyone who would destroy the structure of the roads for any purpose they believe may be right, they should lodge in their application using the standard application form to seek approval of the Highway Authority Committee.
To execute the other functions of the Highway Authority on issuing driving and vehicle licenses, first to apply for a driving license for the first time, the applicant must apply first for the Learner’s permit. In receiving such a permit, the applicant is granted a Provisional Driving License upon production of the following items: birth certificate; police clearance certificate; 1 passport photo; and a $1.50 fee. This provisional driving license is valid for 6 months only and the license holder is not allowed to take on any passenger on board within this whole learning period. After having successfully completed the driving test for 6 months, the applicant can be awarded a permanent Driving License upon production of the following items: certification from the Police that the applicant has successfully completed the driving test; and a $15.00 fee. A driving license is valid for one year only and can be renewed upon production of an expired Driving License to be returned to the police in exchange of the police certification (renewal form) that the license holder is eligible for reissuing a renewed driving license, and a renewal fee of $10.00.
To apply for a vehicle or disc license for the first time, the vehicle owner must produce the following: police certification that the vehicle is safe to use on the public roads (road worthiness); and a fee at various rates according to the vehicle class and their capacity. The vehicle class currently used in Kiribati consists of 5 classes: Class A includes Buses (upto 10 tonnes); Class B includes Light Truck, 4wd Pick Up, Dyna, Land Cruiser; Class C includes Sedan and Station Wagon; Class D includes Motorbikes; and Class E includes Heavy Duty Trucks and Machines (upto 25 tonnes). The vehicle license is valid for one year only and can be renewed by following the same procedure given above but with a lower fee of $10.00 every class at each capacity level. The rates for each vehicle class at each capacity level is accessible on this website.