How to Verify a Car's Registration Online Before You Buy

Five-step check

1. 1
   Note the registration number and city

   Take them from the number plate and the registration book or smart card, not from the ad.

2. 2
   Open the official portal

   Use the portal for the province of registration, not the province you're buying in.

3. 3
   Compare the record

   Owner name, make, model, year, colour, and chassis and engine numbers if they're shown.

4. 4
   Check the physical car

   Find the chassis number stamped on the body and compare it with the record.

5. 5
   Ask about token tax

   Excise Punjab requires token tax to be paid up to date before a transfer.

Official portals by province

How to check vehicle owner details in Pakistan

The provincial portals above show the record tied to a registration number. A matching record proves less than most people think. What you really want is the same person sitting across from you with the original documents and a CNIC whose name matches. No match? You're likely dealing with an open letter or an agent. Insist the transfer happens with the registered owner present.

What to match on the car

Documents for transfer in Punjab

Excise Punjab's list: the transfer order (T.O) form, CNIC copies for the seller and purchaser, CNIC copies for the witnesses, and the original registration certificate with token tax paid up to date. Cars under the "File Return Scheme" also need the original registration file. Transfer fees by engine size are on the same page: Excise Punjab, transfer of ownership (checked October 2026).

Excise Punjab has also announced biometric verification for registration and transfer through the PAK IDENTITY app (announcement (checked October 2026)). The process can change, so look at the Excise website before you head out.

Worked example: a Lahore-registered Corolla sold in Islamabad

Say you're buying a car in Islamabad that carries a Lahore number. Punjab registered it, so you use MTMIS Punjab (checked October 2026). Type in the number. The record shows a white Toyota Corolla and an owner's name. The seller's CNIC has a different name on it. He bought it on an open letter, he says, and never got round to transferring it.

That's fixable, but only before you pay. Ask him to bring the registered owner along, or to finish his own transfer first. Buy on an open letter and the record points to someone you've never met. Every challan, every dispute, every crime involving that car goes back to them, and from them to you. It's an awkward conversation. Have it anyway.

Sindh, Islamabad and Balochistan

We couldn't confirm official online lookups for Sindh, ICT and Balochistan when we checked in October 2026. Their sites either blocked automated checks or wouldn't load. Lots of people search "MTMIS Sindh" or "MTMIS Islamabad", but MTMIS belongs to Punjab. For cars from those areas, verify at the relevant Excise office. Skip the apps and sites that charge to show owner details. They're not official, and some of them harvest your data.

Bike registration check

Bikes work on the same Punjab and KP portals. Put in the number, match the chassis number on the frame and confirm the owner. Buying a bike in Punjab? Our bike transfer guide covers the documents and the PKR 550 fee Excise lists.

Red flags

Before the transfer in Punjab

In short: the T.O form, CNIC copies of seller, buyer and witnesses, and the original registration certificate with token tax paid. The fee by engine size is on Excise Punjab, transfer of ownership (checked October 2026). Excise has also announced biometric verification through the PAK IDENTITY app, so check the current steps on its website before you go.

A clean record only gets you halfway. Run through our used car inspection checklist as well, and read how to buy safely before any money moves. Ready? Browse used cars on QuickSell.

Imported and newly registered cars

A freshly imported car that hasn't been registered yet won't appear on any portal. Sellers sometimes list these as "unregistered" or "on file". If you buy one, the first registration is your job. Ask exactly which customs and registration papers come with the car, and check the process with the Excise office before paying.

Registered in one province, sold in another? Perfectly normal. The record stays with the province that registered it until you re-register, so always check that province's portal. A Lahore-number car parked in Peshawar is checked on MTMIS, not KP Excise.

Checking token tax

Token tax status is printed in the registration book, or shows on the smart card record where the portal displays it. Excise Punjab wants token tax paid up to date before a transfer. If it's pending, either the seller clears it first, or you knock it off the price and pay it at Excise yourself before the transfer.