Check or Track a Driving Licence Online in Punjab and Sindh

Both Punjab and Sindh let you check a driving licence online, free, in about a minute. Punjab also lets you track an application while it is being processed.

The two provinces run separate systems, so the first thing to establish is which one issued the licence you are checking.

Where each province does it

Note Sindh's suffix. It is .gos.pk, not .gov.pk. That single difference sends a lot of people to a dead address, and it is a pattern we keep finding across Pakistani government services.

Punjab now runs through Dastak

DLIMS describes itself as version 2.0 and states that all its services are powered by Dastak, the province's one window for government services, with the line that all online driving licence services are now part of that.

Worth knowing because of a genuine trap. Two provinces run completely different services called Dastak. Punjab's is the document and services platform that DLIMS sits on. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Dastak is an arms licensing portal, and has nothing to do with driving licences.

If you search the name alone you will get both. We set out the difference in the two Dastaks explained.

The practical upside of the Dastak link is that Punjab's licence services now offer the same self service or doorstep options as other departments on that platform.

Verifying somebody else's licence

Verification exists mainly for checking a licence that is not yours, and it is worth doing more often than people do.

The obvious cases: hiring a driver, letting somebody drive your vehicle, employing a delivery rider, or buying a service from a person who says they are licensed. A forged licence looks entirely convincing as a piece of plastic. The check runs against the issuing authority's own record, which is the only thing a forgery cannot survive.

Do it before you hand over the keys rather than after an accident, when the insurance question arrives.

One limitation. Each province checks its own records, so a Punjab licence is verified through Punjab and a Sindh licence through Sindh. Knowing where it was issued is the first step.

Tracking your own application

1. Punjab has a Track Application service on DLIMS, alongside e-License and Verify License.
2. Use the receipt number issued when you applied. Keep it, because it is the only handle you have.
3. DLIMS also publishes a fee structure and a downloads section, which is where the current charges live.
4. If the status has not moved for weeks, that usually means a document query rather than a queue.
5. Sindh's portal is verification focused, so tracking there is a different route.

The same discipline applies as with any tracking number in Pakistan. Copy the reference exactly as printed, with no spaces or dashes added, which is the point that trips people up most often with NADRA tracking too.

What we are not telling you

No fees, no processing times, no test dates and no list of required documents.

Punjab publishes its fee structure on the portal itself, and those figures change. We did not read them at source, so we are not repeating numbers from elsewhere. On something where you turn up at an office with cash, a stale fee is worse than no fee.

We are also not publishing a driving licence helpline number. People search for one, and we could not read a number on either provincial portal. An unverified helpline is precisely the thing we refuse to print, because a number that does not answer wastes the trip it was meant to save.

The numbers we have read off institutions' own pages are collected in our verified helplines directory.

If you are applying rather than checking

Punjab's route starts with a learner permit and moves to a full licence after the waiting period and the test. The province handles the whole path through DLIMS now.

Sindh publishes its processes, categories and traffic signs material on its own portal, and runs a learner's mobile unit facility, which brings the service closer to people rather than requiring a trip to a central office.

Either way, start at the provincial portal rather than an agent. Licence services attract middlemen who charge for form filling you can do yourself, and there is no fast lane worth paying for.

Questions readers are asking

How do I verify a driving licence online in Pakistan?

Through the issuing province's portal. Punjab uses dlims.punjab.gov.pk and Sindh uses dls.gos.pk. Both offer free online verification.

Can I track my driving licence application?

In Punjab yes, through the Track Application service on DLIMS, using the receipt number from your application.

Is the Sindh site .gov.pk?

No. It is dls.gos.pk, with a .gos.pk suffix. Getting that wrong is a common reason people think the service does not exist.

What is Dastak and why is it on the licence site?

Punjab's one window platform for government services, which DLIMS now runs through. Note that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has an unrelated arms licensing service with the same name.

How much does a driving licence cost?

Punjab publishes a fee structure on the DLIMS portal. We are not quoting figures we did not read at source, because fees change and you pay them in person.

Is there a driving licence helpline?

We could not find one published on either provincial portal, so we are not printing a number. Use the portal's own contact route.

Can I verify a Punjab licence on the Sindh site?

No. Each province checks its own records, so verify where the licence was issued.