BISP 8171 check by CNIC: Kafaalat eligibility, Rs 14,500 payment and registration

The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), which many people still search for as the "Ehsaas programme", pays Rs 14,500 a quarter to about 10.2 million families under Benazir Kafaalat. The federal budget for 2026-27 proposes raising that to Rs 18,000 a quarter from January 2027. Checking whether your household qualifies is free: send your CNIC number to 8171 or use the official portal at 8171.bisp.gov.pk.

This guide covers who qualifies, how to check, how to register, how payments are collected, how to complain, and the scams to avoid.

BISP at a glance

The other BISP programmes are Benazir Taleemi Wazaif (school stipends for children of Kafaalat families), Benazir Nashonuma (nutrition support for pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children) and Benazir Hunarmand (skills training).

Who qualifies

BISP does not take applications on the basis of income alone. Every household is scored through a Proxy Means Test (PMT) survey, which gives a score from 0 to 100 based on the household's living conditions and assets. The lower the score, the poorer the household is judged to be.

• Standard cut-off: a PMT score of 32 or below. The BISP Board approved this cut-off at its 52nd meeting on 23 September 2021.
• Families with a person with a disability: 37 or below.
• Transgender persons: the PMT cut-off is relaxed. Anyone whose survey is completed successfully can apply.
• The payment goes to a woman in the household, and is registered against her CNIC.

Households can be ruled out even with a low score if records show they are better off. TechJuice's 2026 guide lists government employees in grade 17 and above, registered tax filers, and families owning significant land, property or vehicles among those excluded. Owning a basic mobile phone does not disqualify you.

How to check eligibility and payment status

By SMS

1. Open a new message on any phone.
2. Type the woman's 13-digit CNIC number with no dashes or spaces.
3. Send it to 8171.
4. Wait for the reply. It will tell you whether the household is eligible, whether a payment is ready, or whether you need to update your survey.

To be safe, use a SIM registered on your own CNIC. If you are not sure which SIMs are on your card, see how to check SIMs registered on your CNIC.

Online

1. Go to 8171.bisp.gov.pk. Check the address ends in .gov.pk.
2. Enter the CNIC number.
3. Type the code shown in the picture (captcha).
4. Submit and read the result on screen.

How to register or update your survey

If the 8171 reply says you are not in the survey, or your survey is old and your circumstances have changed, you need a new PMT survey.

1. Go to your nearest BISP tehsil office. Every tehsil office has a Benazir Registration Centre where the survey is done. The woman of the household should go in person.
2. Take these documents:
   • her original, valid CNIC;
   • CNICs of all adults in the household;
   • B-forms (Child Registration Certificates) of all children under 18;
   • a recent utility bill for the address, if you have one;
   • a death certificate, if a household member has died since the last survey.
3. Answer the survey questions honestly. Wrong information can get the household excluded.
4. Keep the slip you are given.
5. Wait for an SMS from 8171. TechJuice reports the result usually arrives within 10 to 14 days. You can also check yourself by SMS or on the portal.

Make sure every family member's details at NADRA are correct before you go. A missing B-form is one of the most common reasons for delays.

How payments are collected

• Kafaalat is paid quarterly, and payment is released only after biometric (thumbprint) verification.
• BISP's programme page names its partner banks as HBL in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan and Bank Alfalah in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. Payments are collected at partner bank ATMs and agents, and at BISP payment camps.
• Count the money before you leave. You are entitled to the full Rs 14,500. No agent or retailer is allowed to keep a "fee" or a cut.
• If your thumbprint does not verify, ask for help at the tehsil office.

School stipends: Benazir Taleemi Wazaif

Children of active Kafaalat families can get a quarterly education stipend. Girls receive more than boys, and girls who complete primary school get a one-time Rs 3,000 graduation bonus.

• Ages: primary 4 to 12, secondary 8 to 18, higher secondary 13 to 22. Check a child's exact age with our age calculator.
• Attendance: at least 70% of school days in each quarter, from the second quarter onwards.
• To enrol, take the mother's CNIC, the child's B-form and the school or college admission slip, verified by the teacher, to an enrolment camp or tehsil office.

Nutrition support: Benazir Nashonuma

Nashonuma supports pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under two in Kafaalat families. TechJuice reports that nearly 2 million women benefit. Ask at your BISP tehsil office about enrolment.

Complaints and appeals

1. Call the helpline: 0800-26477 (free).
2. Visit your BISP tehsil office and ask for a complaint, appeal or re-verification form.
3. Escalate to the Federal Ombudsman (Wafaqi Mohtasib) at mohtasib.gov.pk if the complaint is not resolved.

Scams to avoid

• BISP never charges a fee for registration, checking status or collecting payment.
• Genuine SMS messages come only from 8171. Messages from ordinary mobile numbers saying you have "won" BISP money, or asking you to call back or share a code, are fraud.
• Only trust 8171.bisp.gov.pk and bisp.gov.pk. Any look-alike website that does not end in .gov.pk is not official, even if it uses BISP's logo. The same trick is used with fake NADRA sites: see how to spot a fake NADRA website.
• Never share your CNIC photo, PIN or an SMS code with anyone who calls you.

Common mistakes

• Sending the CNIC with dashes. Type the 13 digits only.
• Using a man's CNIC. Kafaalat is registered against the woman's CNIC.
• An expired CNIC. Renew it at NADRA before the survey or payment.
• Old survey data. If your household has changed, update the survey at the tehsil office.
• Paying an agent to "register" you. The process is free, and agents cannot change your PMT score.