Vehicle Fitness Certificate in Punjab: Commercial Vehicles Need a VICS Test Every 6 Months
Public service and goods vehicles are tested twice a year at 39 stations. Arrive unloaded, with trailers detached, or the trip is wasted.
Short answer: Every bus, van, truck and other commercial vehicle registered in Punjab needs a fitness certificate from a VICS inspection station every six months. Book on UAN 042-111-678-711 or the VICS website, and bring the registration book, the driver's CNIC and licence, and the fee in cash. The vehicle must arrive empty, with long trailers detached.
The empty vehicle rule is the one that costs operators a working day, so plan the test on a day the vehicle is off the road.
We read the Punjab Transport Department pages at transport.punjab.gov.pk on 10 September 2026 and again on 8 November 2026.
Who needs a fitness certificate
| Point | What the department says |
|---|---|
| Which vehicles | Transport vehicles, public service and goods transport |
| Where | Registered in Punjab and operating in Punjab |
| How often | Every six months for all commercial vehicles |
| Under what law | Punjab Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1965 and Motor Vehicles Rules 1969 |
| Where tested | Vehicle Inspection and Certification System stations |
| How many stations | 39 planned; the department lists stations working in 25 districts |
The department says it signed an agreement with OPUS Inspection, a Swedish firm, for 39 VICS stations on a build, operate and transfer basis. Its own list of working stations is shorter. On 8 November 2026 it named these 25 districts, with two stations in Lahore.
| Region | Districts with a working VICS station |
|---|---|
| Central Punjab | Lahore (2), Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad |
| North | Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Mianwali, Sargodha |
| West and Faisalabad division | Toba Tek Singh, Chiniot, Jhang, Layyah |
| South | Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Vehari, Lodhran, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Pakpattan |
Faisalabad and Multan districts are not on that list, so operators there should ask the UAN which station to use. The regional grouping is ours; the district names are the department's.
Turn up empty or turn around
The department sets conditions the vehicle must meet before it is inspected at all, and they are practical rather than technical.
The vehicle must arrive unoccupied and without cargo. It must be in proper mechanical condition, with no fluid leaks, no loose components and no exposed wiring.
For long vehicles, and the page names tandem or double length carriers specifically, the cargo trailer or trailers should be detached before the vehicle is presented.
Read that as a scheduling problem rather than a paperwork one. A fitness test is not something to slot in between two deliveries. The vehicle has to be free, unloaded and, for a tandem rig, uncoupled.
What to take with you
- The original vehicle registration documentation.
- The driver's CNIC.
- The driver's driving licence.
- The inspection fee, which the department states is paid in cash.
- The appointment details for the station you booked.
Note that the documents required are the driver's, not only the owner's. If the vehicle is being taken in by an employed driver, that driver's own CNIC and licence are what the station asks for.
Check that the driver's licence is current before the trip, using our guide to driving licence verification in every province. An expired licence can be renewed at a counter, as our guide to renewing a Punjab licence at an e-Khidmat Markaz explains; commercial drivers need a medical certificate for that.
How to book
Two routes are published. The inspection system runs a customer service centre on the UAN 042-111-678-711, and it operates an online appointments portal.
Whichever you use, the department says the booking needs your preferred station, the vehicle registration number, the vehicle type and the owner's name.
Have those four ready before you call. A booking attempt that stalls because nobody has the registration number to hand is the most avoidable delay in the process.
Route permits are a separate requirement
People treat fitness and route permits as one errand. They are two, issued by different bodies under the same law.
The department states that a route permit is necessary for every public service and goods vehicle, under the Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1965 and the related rules.
Which office issues it depends on the vehicle. If the vehicle is air conditioned, the permit comes from the Punjab Provincial Transport Authority in Lahore. Otherwise it comes from any District Regional Transport Authority office.
The department also lists other approvals under the same regime, including body building licences, goods forwarding agency licences, and what it calls C and D class stands.
What we could not read, and where it sits
We tried to give you the fees and could not, and it is worth saying exactly why rather than leaving a gap.
The department publishes two fee documents, one for route permits and one titled as an annual increase in inspection fee. Both are scanned notifications rather than text, and the figures did not come out of them by the means available to us.
The inspection operator's own website redirects to a page that loads its content in the browser, so we could not read fees or validity there either. The route permit portal sits behind a login, so the permit types, documents and validity periods published inside it were not reachable without an account.
So this article states no fee and no validity period. Ask the station when you book, or the District Regional Transport Authority for a permit, and get the figure before you travel.
The department's page on fitness certificates also does not set out what happens when a vehicle fails, or the rules for re-inspection. That is a fair question for the station at the time of booking.
Private cars use emission test centres instead
The six month VICS test is for commercial vehicles. For other vehicles, the department publishes a list of licensed private emission test centres, called PVICS, mostly in Lahore, with others in Faisalabad, Multan, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Rahim Yar Khan and Sadiqabad. It also lists one centre whose licence it has suspended, so check the current list before you go.
Keep the other papers current too
A fitness certificate lapses twice a year, on a date nobody reminds you of. Put each vehicle's date in a calendar. Keep token tax current with our guide to paying token tax online, and check fines with our guide to checking an e-challan in every province.
When you buy or sell a commercial vehicle, the Excise office also asks for papers, as our guide on how to transfer vehicle ownership in Punjab explains. On the motorway, a commercial vehicle without an M-Tag can be stopped at the toll plaza: see our guide to the extra motorway toll without an M-Tag. In winter, check our guide to fog and motorway closures in Pakistan before a night run.
Common questions
How often does a commercial vehicle need testing in Punjab?
Every six months, according to the Transport Department.
Which vehicles need a fitness certificate?
Transport vehicles, both public service and goods transport, registered in Punjab and operating in Punjab.
Can I bring the vehicle loaded?
No. It must arrive unoccupied and without cargo, and long tandem or double length carriers should have trailers detached.
What documents does the station want?
Original registration documentation, the driver's CNIC and driving licence, and the inspection fee in cash.
How do I book an inspection?
Through the inspection system's customer service UAN on 042-111-678-711 or its online appointments portal.
Who issues a route permit?
The Punjab Provincial Transport Authority in Lahore for air conditioned vehicles, otherwise any District Regional Transport Authority office.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked 8 November 2026. We read the Punjab Transport Department vehicle fitness certificate page (six month rule, booking, documents, arrival conditions), its VICS page (the 39 station agreement and the working districts), its PVICS licence list and its route permits page on that date. The inspection fee and route permit fee are published only as scanned notices (the inspection fee notice is dated 7 September 2019), so we state no fee. The route permit portal needs a login. Confirm the fee and validity with the station or your District Regional Transport Authority. Nothing here is legal advice.
About the author
Senior Writer, Public Services and Technology
Shahid joined us in 2024 as an author. He is a senior contributor to Pakistan's leading technology websites. He writes detailed articles, mostly covering his expertise in the latest tech, mobiles, apps, gadgets, and step-by-step guides. His ideology is to help people understand the latest trends and explain complex methods through very easy-to-understand guides.
