Nepali vehicle owners and new drivers will now pay different driving license fees depending on the province, after provincial governments brought their Fiscal Year 2083/84 (2026/27) budgets into effect.
Same license, different fees
The license card itself remains the same nationwide – same size, design, quality and validity period – but the charges are now set by each province’s Economic Act 2083.
Transport offices in all seven provinces continue to provide similar services, but the cost to apply, add vehicle categories and renew licenses now varies by province.
Application fee: three bands across Nepal
Until last fiscal year, the application fee was Rs 500 in all provinces. From 17 July, provinces have moved to three levels, according to the new provincial economic laws:
- Madhesh and Lumbini: Rs 500 application fee (unchanged)
- Sudurpashchim: Rs 750 application fee
- Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Karnali: Rs 1,000 application fee
This means a new applicant in Bagmati now pays double the application fee compared to someone applying in Madhesh or Lumbini.
Category addition: higher costs for bigger vehicles
Fees for adding extra categories to an existing license have also gone up:
- Sudurpashchim: Rs 750 for adding any category (A–J), up 50% from Rs 500
- Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali, Madhesh, Lumbini:
- Categories A–F: Rs 1,000 (previously Rs 500)
- Categories G–J: Rs 2,000 (previously Rs 1,000)
New license and renewal fees by category
Across all provinces, fees for both new licenses and renewals have increased, especially for two-wheelers and heavy vehicles:
- Category A & K (motorcycles, scooters): Rs 3,000 in all provinces (previously Rs 1,500)
- Category B (car/jeep/van), E (tractor), F (minibus/mini truck):
- Most provinces: Rs 4,000
- Madhesh: Rs 5,000
- (previously Rs 2,000 nationwide)
- Heavy vehicles – Category G (truck/bus/lorry), H (road roller/dozer), I (crane/fire engine/loader), J (excavator/backhoe and similar):
- Most provinces: Rs 6,000
- Madhesh: Rs 7,000
- (previously Rs 3,000 nationwide)
- Category C (tempo/auto-rickshaw) & D (power tiller): Rs 4,000 (previously Rs 2,000)
For professional drivers of trucks, buses and construction equipment, this means double or more than double the previous fee when getting or renewing a license.
Why the centre cannot unify fees
The Department of Transport Management acknowledges the growing concern among service users about different fees for the same service. However, officials say the federal government cannot change provincial rates, because Schedule 6 of Nepal’s Constitution gives provinces exclusive authority over vehicle taxes and service charges.
According to the department, all transport-related fees – tax, registration, service charges and penalties – fall under provincial jurisdiction. Provincial governments can still coordinate among themselves if they want to introduce a common fee structure, but any such move must come from the provinces, not from the federal government.
For now, drivers should check the latest rates in their own province before applying, adding categories or renewing their driving license, as fees may be higher than last year and different from those in neighbouring provinces.
Reported by the Nepal AutoMart news desk. Prices verified against Nepal AutoMart's own distributor-sourced data.
