How to find a bike or car's registration date in Pakistan
4 min read · Facts checked
It is printed on the registration book, or the smart card that replaced it, and that is where the 9771 fuel relief instructions say to take it from. Online lookups mostly cannot help: Punjab's MTMIS and Islamabad's official lookup both ask for the registration date before they show anything, and Sindh's shows a record without the date.
Two things ask for a vehicle's registration date. The Prime Minister's fuel relief scheme wants it in the registration SMS to 9771, and two official lookups, Punjab's MTMIS and Islamabad's, will not show a record without it. The scheme's own site says five wrong messages get a sender blocked for eight hours, so it is worth finding the right date before you send anything.
Where is a vehicle's registration date written?
On the registration certificate: the registration book, or the smart card that replaced it. The fuel relief scheme's instructions say to write the date recorded in the vehicle's registration book.
If you are buying a vehicle, ask the seller for the registration book before anything else. It also carries the chassis number, labelled 'Chassis No.', which is the number to match against the vehicle itself.
How do I write the registration date for the 9771 SMS?
As eight digits: two for the day, two for the month and four for the year, with nothing between them. Put a 0 in front of a single-digit day or month.
| Date in the registration book | In the SMS |
|---|---|
| 2 September 2026 | 02092026 |
| 5 March 2019 | 05032019 |
| 25 December 2015 | 25122015 |
The official site marks 02SEP2026 as wrong: the month is digits, not letters. The date is the last of five parts in the message. The whole 9771 SMS, part by part.
Can I check a bike's registration date online?
No. Two of the official lookups ask for the date before they show anything, and the third shows a record without it. This is what each one wanted when we checked: 4 October 2026 for Punjab and Islamabad, 8 October 2026 for Sindh.
| Register | What its lookup asks for | Will it tell you the date? |
|---|---|---|
| Punjab (MTMIS) | The vehicle number, the registration date and a picture captcha | No. It asks for the date first. |
| Islamabad | The registration number and the registration date | No. It asks for the date first. |
| Sindh | The category, Two Wheelers or Four Wheelers, and the registration number, behind a security check | No. The result has ten registration fields, and none is a date. |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | We could not confirm a working lookup | No |
Motorcycles sit on the same registers as cars, so all of this applies to a bike. In Sindh, choose Two Wheelers. Bike verification in Pakistan.
Punjab's form changed. On 26 August 2026 MTMIS asked for the chassis number alongside the vehicle number. When we checked on 4 October 2026, that field had been replaced by the registration date. Guides that tell you to look a Punjab vehicle up to find its registration date describe a form that no longer exists.
Is the registration date the same as the purchase date?
No. An Islamabad record carries them as two separate fields, and they can differ. When a portal, a form or the 9771 SMS asks for the registration date, give the registration date, not the date the vehicle was bought.
Why do Islamabad's and Punjab's lookups ask for the date?
Both forms mark it as required. Islamabad's register matches on the date as well as the number: get the date wrong and the portal returns nothing at all, which looks exactly the same as a vehicle that does not exist.
What if the registration book is lost?
The department that registered the vehicle holds the date. Islamabad Excise lists a duplicate certificate among its services. For the fuel relief scheme itself, the helpline is 9771, which the official site says is open around the clock.
Common questions
How can I check my bike's registration date online?
Which registration date do I send to 9771?
Can I find a vehicle's registration date without the papers?
What happens if I enter the wrong date on Islamabad's portal?
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VehicleCheckPK is independent and not affiliated with any government department. The excise departments and police forces named here hold the authoritative records; for any legal purpose, confirm with them directly.