The printing of about one million National Identity Cards (NICs) has been disrupted by a shortage of plastic cards, and more than 650,000 driving licences remain unprinted, according to reports.
Applicants waiting for identity cards are affected, and the delay has raised concerns about how quickly NICs can be issued.
At the Department of Motor Traffic, the backlog of driving licences is blamed on a shortage of printing cards and printing machines. Many applicants are being given temporary licences while they wait.
Commissioner General of Motor Transport, retired Air Vice Marshal Thushara Fernando, said the department expects to receive several printing machines by mid-November. He said the new machines should double the department’s driving licence printing capacity.
Fernando said the department expects to resume issuing driving licences under normal conditions by around April next year.
Background
The plastic NIC was introduced in 2017 to replace the national identity card that had been used in Sri Lanka for decades. It carries a 12-digit national identity number, and reducing production costs was one of the main reasons given for the change.
Identity cards are issued through the Department for Registration of Persons, while driving licences are issued by the Department of Motor Traffic. Both documents are printed on plastic cards, so a shortage of blank cards or of printing machines slows the whole process.
A temporary licence is a stop-gap document that lets a driver show that a licence has been approved while the plastic card is still waiting to be printed.
What it means
For driving licence applicants, the department’s timeline means that many will continue to receive temporary licences until the new machines arrive and printing capacity improves. According to Fernando, normal issuing is expected only around April next year.
For people waiting for an NIC, the delay matters because the card is the main form of personal identification in Sri Lanka and is needed to access many public services, as well as for dealings with banks and government offices. The reports did not give a date by which the NIC backlog is expected to clear.
Applicants who are waiting for either document may wish to keep any receipt or temporary document they were given and to check with the issuing department about collection.
