Key Highlights:
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From September 1, 2025, your car number plate becomes your identity—linked directly to your CNIC.
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Number plates will no longer stay with cars; they’ll stay with you, the owner.
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Keep your favorite number for life and transfer it to new vehicles.
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Stronger security: plates tied to CNICs and chassis numbers for transparent ownership.
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Deadline alert: Transfer registrations before August 31, 2025, or risk losing your plate.
Starting September 1, 2025, the Punjab Excise Department will introduce a new system linking car number plates directly to owners’ CNICs. For the first time, number plates will no longer stay with the car; they will belong to you, the owner.
Until now, number plates were tied to the vehicle, meaning they stayed with the car even when sold. But under the new system, plates will be linked directly to the owner’s CNIC (computerised national identity card). The move is designed to enhance vehicle identification, prevent misuse, and bring more transparency for buyers, sellers, and law enforcement.
What’s Changing?
In the old system, a number plate was permanently tied to the car. When you sold the vehicle, the number went with it.
From September 1, your number plate will be officially allotted to you—the owner—and linked directly to your CNIC. Think of it like your mobile number; it’s yours to keep, no matter which car you attach it to.
Why It Matters for Car Owners
Keep Your Favorite Number Forever
If you have a number you love, whether won in an e-auction or simply a sequence you cherish, you can now keep it for life. When you sell your car, you keep the plate. The new buyer gets a new number, while you can transfer your old one to your next vehicle for a small fee.
Enhanced Security and Easy Identification
By linking plates to CNICs and chassis numbers, authorities can instantly identify a vehicle’s true owner. This makes car history harder to obscure and strengthens initiatives like Safe City, improving road safety for everyone.
A Transparent, Lifelong Record
Your number plate becomes part of your permanent identity in the Excise database, making ownership clearer and transactions more transparent.
FAQs: Your Common Questions Answered
Q: I’m buying a used car after September 1. What number will I get?
A: The seller keeps their number. You’ll get a new number from the series, or you can buy a special plate at auction.
Q: How much will it cost to transfer my old number to a new car?
A: The transfer fee will range between Rs. 2,000 and 5,000. Purchasing a fancy number at auction incurs additional costs.
Q: What if I own multiple cars?
A: You can have multiple plates under your CNIC—one for each car. Each will be tied to its chassis number.
Q: I’ve sold my car but haven’t bought a new one. Can I keep my plate?
A: Yes, the Excise Department will hold your number for up to two years. After that, it returns to the system.
The Deadline: August 31, 2025
If you’ve bought a used car but haven’t transferred registration to your name, you must do it before August 31.
From September 1, the number plate will legally remain with the person whose name is on the registration. If that’s still the previous owner, they keep the plate. You’ll be issued a new one instead.
The Bottom Line
This new number plate system is a modern, citizen-friendly reform. It strengthens security, prevents fraud, and finally lets you form a lasting bond with your chosen number.
Mark your calendars for September 1 and get your paperwork in order before August 31. It’s time to make your number truly your own.
Which other countries is this sort of a system implemented in?
If I buy a used car, and the previous number of that car stays with the previous owner. How much would it cost ME to get a new number for that old used car?
You say “keep your favorite numbers”. But the way the system is described, you keep the number regardless if it is your favorite or not. What if a seller wants to sell his old car with the number plate? What then? Can he do that?
What if someone buys a brand new car and uses his old number plate for the new car. Will having his old number plate to put on the new car reduce the amount he would pay to get his new car registered?
This safe city malarkey is not universal in Pakistan where car registration can easily be checked. In smaller cities or village areas, people will have a field day with this! 🤣 Just think; a person buys a car (new or used) and then simply puts his old number plate on it and drives the car around just like that. No need for transfers or registration. The police cannot always stop and check the papers, license and registration for each and every car all the time. Think about it. This “system” has the potential to be misused very badly.
This does not seem like a step which benefits us common folk. I don’t see the benefit or need for such a thing to exist. A common number is just that; a common number. it should just stay with the car. This is just adding a further complication to an already mismanaged, overburdened and confused system.
This seems to be squarely aimed at the rich folk who indulge in all that special number nonsense. They are the ones spending obscene amounts of money on those numbers. This way they get to keep the numbers and don’t have to buy new ones each time they change/sell their cars. 👍 A point alluded to by this very article in the FAQ section where the first two questions/answers themselves mention special numbers and fancy number auctions. 👍
And presenting it all as a “can’t do without”, “we are only thinking of the people”, “grandiose” policy; the level/smell of bull seems strong with this one…
A similar kind of system exists in the UK. But that is an option people can avail in the UK if THEY want. This should also be optional in Pakistan for us common folk and NOT compulsory.