Image: via nepaldrives.com
Smart licence backlog finally cleared
Nepali motorists who have been waiting months or even years for their smart driving licence should now see faster service. According to a recent government announcement, the entire backlog of pending smart licences has been printed, and new licences will be produced within 24 hours of receiving applicant information from the Department of Transport Management (DoTM).
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MoCIT) has been handling the project together with the Security Printing Centre and the DoTM. The announcement says around 2.7 million smart driving licences have been printed under two separate agreements between these agencies. This matches earlier figures from the DoTM, which reported printing nearly 2.6 million licences in two phases to clear most pending applications.
How the 24-hour licence system will work
According to MoCIT, once the DoTM sends applicant data to the Security Printing Centre, the card will be printed and handed back to the department within one day. Earlier government briefings stated that printing of new licences would be completed within 24 hours of receiving the data, with distribution handled by the DoTM through its transport management offices across the country.
Officials have said that: - Smart licence printing is now running at high capacity at the Security Printing Centre. - Printed cards are forwarded to DoTM offices and then distributed to applicants. - The goal is to prevent new backlogs and ensure that people who pass their driving test or renew their licence receive a card quickly.
Some licences with less than one year of validity remaining are still waiting to be printed. According to the DoTM, these will be issued only after the holders renew their licence. So they are not included in the cleared backlog.
What this means for drivers
For Nepali vehicle buyers and existing drivers, the end of the backlog matters because a smart driving licence is required to legally drive and to register or insure vehicles in many cases. In recent years, many motorists were driving with only receipts or temporary documents while waiting for their plastic smart card.
With the new 24-hour printing arrangement: - New licence holders should get their smart card much sooner after passing the test. - Renewal applicants are expected to receive their updated card without long delays. - The government aims to move fully to QR-code based smart licences, making verification easier for enforcement agencies.
Motorists are advised to follow updates from the DoTM and their local transport management office. Actual delivery times will still depend on postal distribution and office workload, even if printing itself is completed within a day.
Reported by the Nepal AutoMart news desk. Prices verified against Nepal AutoMart's own distributor-sourced data.
