How to check SIMs registered on your CNIC (668 SMS and cnic.sims.pk)

A SIM registered on your CNIC is your legal responsibility. If someone uses it for fraud, harassment or a scam call, the trail leads to you. Checking takes one SMS or one web form, and blocking a number you do not recognise takes one visit to a franchise.

This guide covers the two official checks, the limit on SIMs per CNIC, how to block unknown numbers, and why "SIM owner details" websites are a trap.

What you can and cannot check

• You can check: how many active SIMs are issued on your own CNIC, broken down by operator (Jazz, Zong, Telenor, Ufone/Onic).
• The official checks do not list the phone numbers themselves, only the count per operator. To find which numbers they are, you visit the operator.
• You cannot officially look up who owns someone else's number. PTA says it does not hold subscriber data at all; that data stays with the licensed operators, and they do not release it to the public.

Method 1: SMS to 668

1. Open the messages app on any Pakistani SIM.
2. Type your 13-digit CNIC number without dashes, for example 3520212345671.
3. Send it to 668.
4. You get a reply with the number of active SIMs on that CNIC for each operator.

Cost: ProPakistani lists the charge as Rs 2 plus tax per SMS.

Method 2: cnic.sims.pk (PTA's SIM Information System)

1. Go to cnic.sims.pk (type it yourself, do not follow a link from an ad or a WhatsApp forward).
2. Enter your CNIC in the CNIC Number field, digits only (the page's own example is 6110123456789). Foreign nationals use the Foreign ID field.
3. Complete the verification step and press Verify or Submit.
4. The page shows the total SIMs registered on your CNIC by operator.

The same page lists a second service: send N 03xx3456789 to 76367 (Rs 2 plus tax) to find out which network a number is currently on, which is useful after number portability.

How many SIMs are allowed on one CNIC

On 9 September 2026 the PTA chairman told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior that a maximum of five SIMs can be registered against one CNIC, and a sixth cannot be issued once the limit is reached.

If your check shows more SIMs than you use, or shows you at the limit when you only own two, treat it as a warning sign and act on the next section.

How to block a SIM you do not recognise

1. Note the operator from your 668 or cnic.sims.pk result.
2. Visit that operator's franchise or customer service centre with your original CNIC. Operators confirm your identity with biometric verification (thumbprint).
3. Ask for a list of numbers issued on your CNIC and point out the ones that are not yours.
4. Ask for those numbers to be blocked or disowned and keep the reference number the staff give you.
5. Run the 668 check again after a day or two to confirm the count has dropped.
6. If the operator does not act, complain to PTA through complaint.pta.gov.pk or the PTA consumer support line 0800-55055 (toll-free, 9am to 9pm, seven days a week as last listed by PTA).

Operator helplines

Helpline calls from your own SIM are usually charged (Zong and Telenor list Rs 2 plus tax). Blocking a number still needs the franchise visit if you are disowning a SIM rather than reporting your own phone lost.

Your own SIM lost or stolen

Jazz says blocking a lost or stolen SIM through *8822# or its 111 helpline is free and immediate. Other operators do the same through their helplines. Block first, then get a replacement SIM on the same number at a franchise with your original CNIC and biometric verification.

Transferring a SIM of a family member who has died

Jazz lists this as free, done in 2 business days (4 for golden numbers), and only for a blood relative on the family registration certificate. Bring:

• Original family registration certificate (FRC) from NADRA
• NOC or affidavit from other family members
• Original CNIC of the deceased (or CNIC cancellation certificate)
• Your original CNIC
• Death certificate from a government body
• The physical SIM

Other operators ask for a similar set; Zong's list also mentions recent call or recharge history and an FIR if the SIM is lost.

Why "SIM owner details" sites are a scam, and illegal

Search for "sim owner details" and you will find dozens of sites and apps promising the name, CNIC and address behind any number. Avoid them:

• They are not official. PTA and the operators do not publish subscriber data. PTA says it does not even hold it.
• The data, when real, is leaked. In September 2025 PTA said it had blocked 1,372 sites, apps and social media pages selling or sharing personal data; Dawn reported location data on sale for Rs 500, call and data records for Rs 2,000 and travel details for Rs 5,000.
• Using it is a crime. Section 16 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 punishes anyone who obtains, sells, possesses, transmits or uses another person's identity information without authorisation with up to three years in jail, a fine of up to Rs 5 million, or both.
• Many simply harvest your data. You type in a number, they collect your details, or push you to pay for "premium" results.

If a number is harassing or defrauding you, report it to the operator and to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) rather than trying to unmask it yourself.

Common mistakes

• Sending the CNIC with dashes to 668. Use digits only.
• Checking only once. Run the check every few months, and after you lose a phone or hand your CNIC copy to anyone.
• Ignoring an extra SIM because "it is probably an old one". An old SIM you no longer use should be disowned.
• Handing over your thumbprint casually. Only give biometrics at an operator's own franchise, never to a street vendor offering a "free SIM".
• Clicking links to "cnic.sims.pk" in forwards. Type the address yourself.

Related

• Registering a phone you bought abroad? See how to register an imported phone with PTA and the PTA mobile tax calculator.
• Using a SIM for the Rs 100 petrol relief? The SIM must be on your own CNIC: how the 9771 relief works.
• Your CNIC is about to expire? Renew it online with NADRA.