More than 1.6 million driving licence cards and vehicle registration number plates are waiting to be issued, officials told the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways and Urban Development, chaired by Minister Bimal Rathnayake.
About 673,000 licence cards are pending because of shortages of printing equipment and blank cards. A further 958,651 number plates are outstanding from applications made between 1 January 2025 and 9 March 2026.
Commissioner General of Motor Traffic Thushara Indunil Fernando said the existing stock of one million cards is expected to run out by January 2027. A contract has been awarded for two million more cards, but the first shipment is due only by the end of March 2027.
Officials plan to seek Cabinet approval to buy another 500,000 cards from the current supplier. Fernando said the card backlog could be cleared by the middle of 2027, and the number plate backlog within seven to eight months if the existing contractor is given the work.
For motorists, this means many will keep waiting for cards and plates. Rathnayake instructed officials to take urgent steps to speed up issuing.
