Banking News – The Government of Nepal has completed the printing of all pending smart driving licences, ending the long-standing backlog that had left millions of applicants waiting for their licences.

According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Security Printing Centre has successfully completed the printing of 2.7 million smart driving licences under two separate agreements signed with the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.

The ministry announced that all previously pending applications have now been processed, and new smart driving licences will be printed within 24 hours of receiving applicant details from the Department of Transport Management.

According to the ministry, the first agreement, signed on Kartik 12, 2082 (October 2025), resulted in the printing of 1.2 million licences within the stipulated timeframe.

To address the remaining backlog, a second agreement was signed on Baisakh 4, 2083 (April 2026) to print an additional 1.5 million licences. The project was successfully completed on Asar 32, 2083, bringing the total number of printed smart licences to 2.7 million.

The government said the new system eliminates the previous delays, during which applicants often had to wait for years to receive their smart driving licences.

The Security Printing Centre is now printing and handing over between 3,000 and 5,000 licence cards every day based on details received from applicants who have passed the driving test, paid the required fees, or renewed their licences.

Officials said the arrangement will make the licence issuance process significantly faster and more efficient.

The Security Printing Centre is also preparing a long-term plan to coordinate with all seven provincial governments and their respective transport ministries for the printing of driving licences.

In addition, the centre is making preparations to produce other high-security government documents domestically, including citizenship certificates, National Identity Cards, excise duty stickers, postage stamps, and land ownership certificates (Lalpurja).