Punjab’s transport department is rolling out a real-time tracking system for driving licences, aiming to end the months-long uncertainty that has plagued applicants across the province.
The move follows a surge in complaints regarding delayed deliveries and lost documents. Starting this week, applicants can monitor the status of their licences via a dedicated web portal, shifting away from the opaque, manual processing that defined the system for years.
“The goal is simple: transparency,” said a senior official within the provincial transport ministry. “Applicants shouldn’t have to guess where their document is or why it hasn’t arrived.”
Previously, citizens were left to rely on SMS notifications that frequently failed to arrive or provided outdated information. Now, the tracking mechanism integrates directly with the printing facility, providing updates from the moment the card is printed to the point of dispatch via courier.
The backlog remains a significant challenge. Despite the new tracking features, the department is still clearing a massive pile-up of applications, a direct result of chronic shortages in lamination paper and printing cards that stalled operations for much of last year.
Officials acknowledge that tracking won’t solve the speed of production, but it does force a level of accountability on the delivery chain. If a licence is stuck, the system will now indicate exactly which stage of the process—printing, verification, or courier transit—is causing the hold-up.
For the millions of drivers across Punjab, the update is a welcome—if long overdue—shift toward digital governance. Whether this system can withstand the volume of daily applications without crashing remains the real test for the department’s IT infrastructure.
For now, the portal is live. If you’re waiting on a licence, the department expects you to check your status online before heading to a licensing center.
