From tomorrow, drivers who fail to produce a driving licence when requested to by a Garda face a fine of up to €800.
It will also be an offence to fail to submit a licence within 10 days to Garda station when requested to do so.
Signing the measure earlier today, the Minister for Transport, Mr Seamus Brennan said it would help Gardai fully implement the penalty points system, and instill a more responsible attitude in drivers towards driving in general.
While failure to produce a licence will not initially incur penalty points, later in the year, when the full range of offences come into force, failure to produce a licence will result in the loss of one penalty point.