Which Traffic Violations Lead to a Direct FIR in Punjab

In May 2025 Punjab moved a set of traffic offences out of the challan book. For these, a warden can register an FIR instead of writing you a fine.

That difference matters more than most drivers realise, and it is the reason this page exists.

A challan is a fine. An FIR is not.

People treat the two as different sizes of the same thing. They are not. A challan is an administrative penalty you settle and forget. An FIR starts a criminal case, and it does not go away because you offered to pay something.

If what you actually have is a fine, you are on the wrong page and the right one is checking and paying a Punjab e-challan.

The offences that can bring an FIR

These were the violations named when the measures were announced. They apply to all vehicles, not only motorcycles.

1. Underage driving
2. One wheeling or stunt riding
3. Driving without working headlights
4. Blocking an ambulance or emergency vehicle
5. Using a mobile phone while driving
6. Wrong way driving, including illegal U-turns
7. Parking trolleys or heavy vehicles on main roads
8. Carrying dangerous protruding objects, such as rods or chains
9. Repeated red light violations
10. Overspeeding in school or pedestrian zones

Photo and video evidence is used when registering these, which is worth knowing because it means an offence can be recorded without you being stopped at the roadside.

Read the date on this page

We are being direct about this because it affects how much weight to put on the list above.

These measures were announced in May 2025. We have not been able to re-verify whether the list has been added to, reduced, or quietly dropped in the months since, and announced enforcement measures in Pakistan are sometimes revised without a public notice.

Enforcement also varies by district. What a warden does in Lahore and what happens in a smaller district are not always the same, whatever the policy says.

So treat this as what was announced rather than a guarantee of what will happen to you. If it matters to a decision, confirm with the traffic police for your own district.

We publish no fine amounts on this page. A large increase in penalties was approved alongside these measures, but we did not read a fine schedule at source, and a wrong rupee figure is the most damaging thing we could print here.

What to do if an FIR is registered

The instinct is to find someone to pay. That instinct is wrong here, and acting on it can make things considerably worse.

1. Get the FIR number and the police station name. Without those, nothing else can be done.
2. Request a copy through a Punjab Police Khidmat Markaz, or through the Punjab Police app.
3. Read what offence has actually been recorded. It is not always what you were told at the roadside.
4. Take legal advice before making any statement.
5. Do not attempt to settle it as though it were a fine.

One practical limitation worth knowing in advance. You cannot look up an FIR online in Punjab by CNIC or by vehicle number. There is no public portal for it, and obtaining a copy is a physical or app-based request. Where online FIR checking does exist in Pakistan, and where it does not, is set out in our guide to checking an FIR online.

Why this was done

The stated reasoning was road safety, and the offence list supports that reading. Most of the items are not paperwork failures. They are the things that kill people: underage riders, stunt riding, wrong way driving, blocked ambulances, speeding where children cross.

The logic of moving them out of the challan system is that a fine is a price. If a violation carries a fixed amount, anyone who can afford it can effectively buy the right to keep doing it. A criminal record cannot be paid off the same way.

Whether it has changed behaviour is a separate question, and we have not seen enforcement data that would answer it. We are describing the intent rather than endorsing the result.

If you are buying or selling a vehicle

Two checks are worth running, because both problems follow the vehicle rather than the person.

Unpaid challans stay attached to a car and become the new owner's problem at the transfer counter. You can check any plate before money changes hands, which we cover in the e-challan guide.

Registration and ownership are a separate record again, and the route for every province is in vehicle verification. If a licence is involved, verifying a driving licence is its own process.

Questions readers are asking

Can a traffic warden really register an FIR?

Under the measures announced in May 2025, yes, for certain serious violations rather than for ordinary offences.

Which violations lead to an FIR rather than a challan?

The ten listed above, including underage driving, one wheeling, mobile phone use, wrong way driving and blocking emergency vehicles.

Can I check a traffic FIR online in Punjab?

No. There is no public portal to look up an FIR by CNIC or vehicle number. A copy is requested through a Khidmat Markaz or the Punjab Police app.

Is an FIR worse than a challan?

They are different things. A challan is a fine you settle. An FIR begins a criminal matter and leaves a police record.

How much is the fine for these offences?

We are not publishing amounts, because we did not read a fine schedule at source. Confirm with the traffic police in your district.

Do these rules still apply?

They were announced in May 2025 and we have not re-verified the list since. Enforcement also varies by district, so check locally.

I have a challan, not an FIR. Where do I pay?

Through the PSCA portal or ePay Punjab. The full process, and the fake payment link scam to avoid, is in our e-challan guide.