MTMIS Punjab Vehicle Verification 2026: Online Check and SMS 8785

By Daniyal Sheikh | 13 November 2026

Before you pay for a used car or motorcycle in Punjab, check it on MTMIS Punjab — the official vehicle verification system of the Punjab Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department. Open mtmis.excise.punjab.gov.pk, enter the registration number and the registration date from the vehicle papers, solve the captcha, and the official record appears in seconds.

The check is free. It shows the registered owner, engine and chassis numbers, make and model, and whether the token tax is paid. If you have no internet at the point of sale, send the registration number by SMS to 8785 for the basic record.

But the online record is only half the job. MTMIS does not tell you whether the vehicle is stolen or has a police case against it. For that, a Police Khidmat Markaz runs a police-record and forensic check for Rs 500 for a motorcycle and Rs 2,000 for other vehicles, in about 40 minutes.

This guide covers all four checks — MTMIS online, SMS 8785, the police-record verification, and the e-challan check — plus what to do after you buy, and how Sindh, Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa differ.

MTMIS Punjab Vehicle Verification: Key Facts

What the MTMIS result shows — and what it does not show

MTMIS stands for Motor Transport Management Information System. It is the central database of every vehicle registered in Punjab — cars, motorcycles, rickshaws and commercial vehicles — built by the Punjab Information Technology Board for the Excise and Taxation Department.

The result shows the registered owner name, the owner father name and city, the make and model, the engine number, the chassis number, the registration date, the colour, the purchase price, and the token tax payment status. Compare every field with the vehicle in front of you and the papers the seller shows you.

Three things MTMIS does not show. It does not say whether the vehicle is stolen or has a criminal record at any police station. It does not show loans against the vehicle or whether a bank still holds its papers. And it does not show accident history or previous owners — only the current registered owner.

That is why a clean MTMIS result is necessary but not enough. Run the police-record check in Method 3 before you hand over money, especially for a high-value car.

Method 1: Check online on the MTMIS portal

The portal is the most detailed check, and it costs nothing. You need two things from the seller before you start: the registration number exactly as printed on the number plate, and the registration date printed on the registration book or smart card.

Open mtmis.excise.punjab.gov.pk in your browser. You can also reach it from the Excise Department website, excise.punjab.gov.pk, under Services and then Online Verification of Registered Vehicles. Type the address yourself. Never open it from a link forwarded on WhatsApp, because fake verification sites are common.

Click Vehicle Verification in the top menu. The portal also lists four other tools — Application Tracking, Vehicle Service, Vehicle Vanity Verification and Number Plate Info — but Vehicle Verification is the one buyers need.

Type the vehicle number. The portal suggests formats such as LXZ 123, LXZ 0123 and LXZ-07-1111. The year format, such as LXZ-07-1111, matches older Punjab plates that carry a year. If one format returns nothing, try the others before giving up.

Pick the registration date from the calendar. Use the date the vehicle was registered, as shown in its papers — not the date the seller bought it. As of September 2026 the form treats the date as required and will not search without it, which is the step that catches most people out.

Type the picture code, the captcha, and press Search. The record appears in a few seconds. Read it slowly: owner name, engine number, chassis number and token tax status must all match the vehicle and its papers.

If the search returns no record, do not assume the vehicle is fake. First try the number with and without dashes and spaces, and try the other formats the portal suggests. Check that the registration date is the one on the book, not the purchase date. If it still returns nothing, the vehicle may be registered in another province — a Sindh, Islamabad or KP vehicle will not appear on the Punjab system — or its record may be incomplete, in which case visit the district Excise office for a manual check.

One warning about the address. Several older guides give the address as mtmis.punjab.gov.pk. That address did not open when checked in September 2026. The correct portal is mtmis.excise.punjab.gov.pk, linked from the Excise Department own website.

Method 2: Check by SMS to 8785

No internet at the Sunday bazaar or the seller house? The SMS route takes a minute. Open your messaging app, type the full registration number — for example LEA 1234 or LEB-19-1234 — and send it to 8785.

The reply carries the basic record: owner name, make, model, engine and chassis numbers, registration date, colour and token tax status. Standard SMS charges apply. Keep the reply saved, because it is dated proof that you ran the check.

The SMS reply is shorter than the portal result. It works well as a quick first filter at the point of sale. For the complete record with payment details, run the online check in Method 1 as well.

A note on the number, because sources disagree. The 8785 short code is the one launched by PITB and the Punjab Excise Department, and it is the number every current guide agrees on. The Punjab Police verification page also lists 9966 for Punjab vehicles. If 8785 gives no reply, try the Excise helpline on 0800-08786 before using any other number, and never send vehicle details to a number given to you by an agent or a forwarded message.

Method 3: Police-record verification at a Police Khidmat Markaz

This is the check that answers the question MTMIS cannot: is this vehicle stolen, or does it have a record at any police station in Punjab? The Police Khidmat Markaz, or PKM, runs a verification through police records plus a forensic expert report.

Visit any Police Khidmat Markaz in Punjab with the vehicle. You do not have to go to the district where the vehicle is registered. Take the original and a copy of your CNIC, the original vehicle documents, and a copy of the vehicle owner CNIC. If the vehicle is in a bank or company name, take a copy of the NOC. If the vehicle was recovered in a criminal case, take a copy of the TP message with the court-verified SUPARDARI.

The fee is Rs 500 for a motorcycle and Rs 2,000 for other vehicles, paid at the PKM counter. The turnaround is about 40 minutes, and the certificate is handed to you on the spot. These figures come from the official PKM service list on pkm.punjab.gov.pk and were confirmed by independent guides in September and November 2026.

Do this check before you pay, not after. If the police record shows the vehicle is stolen or involved in a case, walk away from the deal and report it at the nearest police station. No discount is worth a vehicle the police can seize.

Method 4: Check pending e-challans before you buy

Unpaid traffic fines follow the vehicle, and in Punjab they are generated automatically by Safe City cameras. Before you buy, check the challan record on the Punjab Safe Cities Authority portal, echallan.psca.gop.pk.

Open the portal and enter the number plate, then your 13-digit CNIC or the chassis number, complete the captcha and search. The result lists every pending challan with the violation, the place, the camera photo and the amount. A signal violation costs Rs 5,000 for a car and Rs 2,000 for a motorcycle under the Punjab Traffic Police schedule.

Pay a challan with the PSID, the Payment Slip Identification, through ePay Punjab, a bank app, a wallet or an ATM. No officer in Punjab is allowed to take the fine on the road. If a challan photo does not match your vehicle, or the plate was misread, the PSCA system has a formal dispute process — appeals typically take 15 to 30 days. A vehicle wrongly placed on the Safe Cities blacklist can also be removed, according to an update from October 2026.

One disagreement to know about. One guide says you can search the PSCA portal by CNIC alone, which would show challans on every vehicle under your name. Another guide, which read the portal screens directly, says the plate is compulsory and the CNIC or chassis number is only the second key. If a CNIC-only search returns nothing, search again by plate number before concluding the vehicle is clear.

The PSCA helpline for the whole of Punjab is (+92)-42-9905-1605(08). Lahore has more than 8,000 Safe City cameras, and the network now covers Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Bahawalpur and Sargodha as well.

What every check costs

The transfer fees in the table are the base Excise fees published on the department own registration page and verified in September 2026. Guides disagree on the total: another 2026 calculator, which bundles the smart card, biometric verification and notary attestation, quotes Rs 910 for a motorcycle, Rs 4,540 up to 1000cc, Rs 9,075 for 1001-1800cc and Rs 18,150 above 1800cc. The smart card alone costs Rs 1,300. Confirm the exact amount at the Excise counter before you pay, and keep the receipt.

After you buy: transfer the vehicle into your name within 30 days

Until the transfer is recorded, the seller remains the legal owner — and every challan, tax demand and police query still points at them. Punjab law, Section 32 of the Provincial Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1965, gives the buyer 30 days to report the transfer to the registering authority where the buyer lives.

Some guides mention a 48-hour transfer rule. That figure belongs to something else: dealer one-window registration, where a new vehicle gets its book and plates within 48 hours. It is not the ownership transfer deadline. For a used-vehicle transfer, the law says 30 days.

Take these documents to the district Excise office: the Transfer of Ownership form signed by the seller, photocopies of the seller and buyer CNICs, photocopies of the witnesses CNICs, the original registration certificate or smart card with token tax paid up to date, Form F, and a sale deed or transfer letter attested by a notary. If the vehicle was financed, take the bank NOC as well.

Both parties complete biometric verification, which is checked against NADRA records. Clear any token tax arrears first, because the transfer is not recorded until the tax is paid. A duplicate registration certificate, if the original book is lost, costs Rs 1,300.

Processing usually takes one to two weeks. You can track the transfer on the MTMIS portal under Application Tracking, using the registration number. Your CNIC must be valid for the transfer — if it has expired, renew your NADRA CNIC online first.

If something looks wrong

Stop the deal if any of these appear. MTMIS shows no record at all after you have tried every number format. The owner name on MTMIS is not the person selling you the vehicle, and they cannot explain why. The engine or chassis number on the vehicle does not match the MTMIS record or the papers. The token tax shows years of arrears the seller will not clear.

If the Police Khidmat Markaz check says the vehicle is stolen or has a police record, do not buy it and do not try to negotiate the price down. Report it at the nearest police station. In Karachi, also call the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee, CPLC, on 1102 with the registration, engine and chassis numbers — CPLC keeps the stolen and snatched vehicle record for the city, and the Sindh Excise portal is linked to its database.

If the vehicle is on the PSCA blacklist because of a wrong challan, use the PSCA dispute process on the e-challan portal instead of paying a fine for a violation your vehicle did not commit. Keep the challan photo and the PSID as your record.

Checking a vehicle in Sindh, Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Vehicle records are provincial. A Karachi car will not appear on MTMIS Punjab, and a Lahore car will not appear on the Sindh portal. Use the portal for the province that issued the registration.

Sindh. Use Online Vehicle Verification on the Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department, Sindh website, excise.gos.pk. Choose Four Wheelers or Two Wheelers first — the search only looks in the category you pick — then enter the registration number exactly as on the plate and complete the security check. The same section offers Vehicle Verification by CNIC: enter a 13-digit CNIC and every vehicle registered on it appears. The check is free and no fee is listed. In Karachi, add a CPLC call on 1102 to rule out a stolen or snatched vehicle. Since a 2026 amendment, a vehicle in Sindh needs valid third-party insurance before registration, transfer or yearly tax.

One disagreement: several guides say you can also check a Sindh vehicle by SMS, sending REG followed by the number to 8147. A recent guide from November 2026 says Sindh currently offers no SMS service. Use the portal as your main route and treat the SMS code as unconfirmed.

Islamabad. Use the Excise and Taxation Department, Islamabad website, islamabadexcise.gov.pk, and open Vehicle Verification or Vehicle Information. Like Punjab, it asks for the registration number and the registration date. The City Islamabad app offers the same services. The Excise office sits in Sector H-9, near the HEC building, open 8am to 1:30pm, Monday to Friday.

The Islamabad SMS code is 8521, but guides disagree on what to send. Some say send the registration number; others say send the chassis number in the format CNO followed by the chassis number. If one format gives no reply, try the other, and confirm the current format on the official Excise website.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This is the least reliable online route. The KP Excise website, kpexcise.gov.pk, lists Vehicle Verification under e-Services, but a live test on 24 October 2026 found the menu item had no link behind it — clicking did nothing. Some guides point instead to kpexcise.gov.pk/mvrecords. Until the department fixes the link, the safe route is to call the Motor Registration Authority in Peshawar on 091-9211671 for private vehicles, or visit the Excise office of the district where the vehicle is registered. Some guides also list 9818 as a KP vehicle SMS code, but the KP Excise site names no SMS service, other guides say KP has no SMS check, and 9818 is also the result SMS of a KP education board — do not rely on it.

Pre-purchase checklist

Run these checks in order, and do not hand over money until all of them pass.

1. Check the number plate, engine number and chassis number on the vehicle itself, and compare them with the registration book or smart card.

2. Run the MTMIS online check with the registration number and registration date, and confirm the owner name, engine and chassis numbers and token tax status.

3. Send the registration number to 8785 and keep the reply as dated proof.

4. Run the Police Khidmat Markaz police-record and forensic check — Rs 500 for a motorcycle, Rs 2,000 for other vehicles, about 40 minutes.

5. Check pending e-challans on echallan.psca.gop.pk and agree in writing who pays them.

6. Ask for the token tax record and confirm there are no arrears. Token tax in Punjab is Rs 20,000 once for vehicles up to 1000cc, 0.3 percent of invoice value per year for 1001-2000cc, and 0.4 percent per year above 2000cc, with a 10 percent rebate if paid by 31 August.

7. If you are buying on finance, work out the monthly instalment first with our loan EMI calculator so the repayment fits your income.

8. Transfer the vehicle into your name within 30 days, with both parties present for biometric verification.

Beware of fake verification websites

Fake MTMIS lookalikes are common, and they exist to harvest CNIC numbers, phone numbers and payments. Only use the official portals listed in this guide, reached from the Excise Department own website. The old address mtmis.punjab.gov.pk no longer opens, and any site using it or a similar spelling is not the official portal.

Never enter your CNIC photo, an OTP or a wallet PIN into a vehicle verification website. The official MTMIS portal asks for a registration number and a date, not your identity documents. The PSCA has warned specifically against third-party challan sites that ask for CNIC images, OTPs or wallet PINs.

Never pay a verification fee to an agent or a middleman. The online and SMS checks are free apart from a standard text charge, and the police-record fee is paid at the PKM counter against a receipt.

FAQs: MTMIS Punjab Vehicle Verification

Is MTMIS Punjab vehicle verification free?

Yes. Checking a vehicle on the official portal, mtmis.excise.punjab.gov.pk, is free, with no login and no CNIC needed. The SMS check to 8785 costs only a standard text message charge. Only the police-record verification at a Police Khidmat Markaz carries a fee: Rs 500 for a motorcycle and Rs 2,000 for other vehicles.

Do I need the registration date to check a vehicle on MTMIS?

Yes. As of September 2026 the portal form treats the registration date as required and will not search without it. Use the date printed on the registration book or smart card — the date the vehicle was registered, not the date the seller bought it.

Can I verify a vehicle by chassis or engine number alone?

Not on the public MTMIS portal, which is built around the registration number. The Islamabad SMS service accepts the chassis number, and the PSCA e-challan portal accepts the chassis number as the second key next to the plate. For the full MTMIS record you need the registration number.

Can I check a vehicle by CNIC in Punjab?

No. Punjab public verification works by registration number only. Sindh is different: the Sindh Excise portal has a Vehicle Verification by CNIC option that lists every vehicle registered on a 13-digit CNIC. Do not enter your CNIC into a third-party site that claims to offer a Punjab CNIC vehicle search.

What does MTMIS not show?

MTMIS shows the registration record — owner, engine and chassis numbers, make and model, registration date and token tax status. It does not show whether the vehicle is stolen, whether it has a police case, whether a bank holds its papers, its accident history, or its previous owners. The Police Khidmat Markaz check covers the police record and forensic side.

What should I do if MTMIS shows no record found?

Try the number with and without dashes and spaces, try the other formats the portal suggests, and check that the registration date is the one on the book. If it still returns nothing, the vehicle may be registered in another province — a Sindh, Islamabad or KP vehicle will not appear on the Punjab system — or its record may be incomplete, in which case visit the district Excise office for a manual check.

How do I check if a vehicle is stolen before buying it?

Run the Police Khidmat Markaz verification, which checks police records across Punjab plus a forensic expert report, for Rs 500 for a motorcycle and Rs 2,000 for other vehicles in about 40 minutes. In Karachi, also call CPLC on 1102 with the registration, engine and chassis numbers. Never buy a vehicle that fails this check.

Can I verify a Sindh, Islamabad or KP vehicle on MTMIS Punjab?

No. Each province keeps its own register. Sindh vehicles are checked on excise.gos.pk, Islamabad vehicles on islamabadexcise.gov.pk or by SMS to 8521, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vehicles through the KP Excise office or the Motor Registration Authority in Peshawar on 091-9211671, because the KP online verification link was not working when last tested.

After the checks, work out the running costs before you commit: check today petrol and diesel prices in Pakistan and confirm the token tax for the vehicle engine size. A Token Tax calculator for Punjab rates is coming to the TimelyUps tools section, so the yearly cost can be worked out before you buy.

Updated 13 November 2026. Fees and procedures were verified against the official PKM service list, the Punjab Excise portal guidance and independent guides checked in September to November 2026. Figures that sources disagree on are flagged in the article — confirm them at the Excise counter before paying.