Driving licence in Punjab, Sindh and KP: fees, the 42-day rule and the test

A Pakistani driving licence costs less than most people expect and takes longer than most people expect. In Punjab a motorcycle licence is Rs 550 and a car licence Rs 900. The delay is never the fee. It is the 42-day learner permit wait, the medical certificate, and the test.

This is the process in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with the fees each province publishes.

Step 1: Get the learner permit first

You cannot apply for a full licence without one, and it has a minimum age.

Punjab. Motorcycle and motorcar: 18 years. LTV, rickshaw, tractor and commercial: 21 years. HTV: 22 years. You need your original CNIC with a copy, a medical certificate from an authorised practitioner, a Rs 60 ticket for each category from the General Post Office or the learner permit office, and a copy of the Highway Code. The permit costs Rs 60 per category and is valid for six months. They are issued daily.

Sindh. The learner licence is Rs 50 for motorcycle, Rs 100 for car, Rs 150 for car plus motorcycle, Rs 100 for MCR or LTV, Rs 150 for LTV plus motorcycle, Rs 100 for HTV and Rs 150 for HTV plus motorcycle. Renewal of a learner is Rs 100 across most categories.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The learner permit is Rs 250, covering motorcycle only, motorcar or jeep, or the two combined. The medical examination is a separate Rs 110.

Step 2: Wait out the 42 days

In Punjab the regular licence application requires your original learner permit held for at least 42 days and still inside its six-month validity. That is the single most common reason an application is turned away at the counter. Six weeks, not one month.

The practical consequence: apply for the learner the day you decide you want a licence, not the week you need one.

Step 3: Assemble the documents

Punjab asks for:

1. Copy of CNIC
2. Three passport-size photographs
3. Medical certificate from an authorised medical practitioner
4. A medical fitness certificate if you are 50 or over
5. Application form A
6. The original learner permit, held at least 42 days and still valid
7. The relevant ticket pasted on the documentation

Sindh charges its supporting items separately: Rs 250 lamination, Rs 65 NADRA verification, Rs 100 medical, Rs 38 TCS delivery inside Karachi or Rs 55 outside.

Step 4: The tests

There is a written or computerised theory test on the Highway Code, and a practical driving test.

Punjab has tightened the sequence. Under new rules the road test must now be taken within 24 hours of passing the e-Sign test, rather than being booked for a later date. If you miss the window, you repeat the e-Sign stage. Plan the two on the same visit and take the vehicle with you.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa charges Rs 250 for the driving test and e-test together.

Step 5: Pay the licence fee

Punjab, all licences valid five years:

Sindh. Permanent licences run from Rs 435 to Rs 2,460 depending on the category and whether you take a three-year or five-year term. A PSV endorsement is Rs 500 and a correction Rs 310.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A new driving licence is a flat Rs 1,000.

Renewal, duplicates and the international permit

Renew on time and you pay less. Sindh charges Rs 310 to Rs 1,660 if you renew within 30 days of expiry and Rs 435 to Rs 2,460 after that. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa charges Rs 1,000 within a month of expiry, Rs 1,500 after a month, and Rs 3,000 once the licence is three years expired. A duplicate in KP is Rs 1,000; in Sindh it is Rs 360.

An international driving permit in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is Rs 5,000. You need a valid domestic licence first, and the permit is a translation of it, not a licence in its own right. It does not let you drive on an expired Pakistani licence.

Five mistakes that cost people a second trip

1. Applying before day 42. The learner permit clock is the binding constraint in Punjab.
2. Letting the learner permit expire. Six months in Punjab. If it lapses you start again and pay again.
3. Booking the road test for another day in Punjab. The 24-hour rule after the e-Sign test is new and it is being enforced.
4. Buying the ticket for the wrong number of categories. In Punjab the Rs 60 learner ticket is per category. Motorcycle and car is two.
5. Turning up at 50 or over without the fitness certificate. It is separate from the ordinary medical certificate.

What it adds up to

A Punjab motorcycle licence, start to finish: Rs 60 learner ticket, a medical certificate, Rs 180 for the STR form and Rs 550 for the licence. Under Rs 1,000 plus the medical, spread over at least six weeks.

A Karachi car licence: Rs 100 learner, Rs 100 medical, Rs 65 NADRA, Rs 250 lamination, Rs 38 delivery, plus the permanent licence fee for your category.

Once you are on the road, the running costs are the bigger number. Petrol is Rs 390.79 a litre and diesel Rs 424.92. Work out what a trip actually costs on our fuel cost calculator, what your car's token tax comes to on the token tax calculator, and what a registration transfer costs on the vehicle transfer fee calculator.

Fees change by notification. The figures above are the ones published by each province's own traffic police as of 18 September 2026. Check the provincial site before you pay.