KATHMANDU: The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) is set to resume the printing of driving licenses from today (Sunday), nearly two months after its printing system and data servers were severely damaged during the Gen-Z movement protests of September 8 and 9.
In line with the Security Printing Act, 2024, which mandates that all government documents be printed through the Security Printing Center (SPC), the department has now transferred the license printing responsibility to the Center.
Until now, the DoTM had been printing licenses internally using printers purchased nearly eight years before the law came into force. Despite the regulation, it continued its in-house printing due to the existing system. However, the violent protests in late August caused extensive damage, disrupting the department’s core services — including license printing, alcohol consumption testing, digital monitoring, fine collection, and installation of embossed number plates.
According to the department, by the time of the fire incident, around 2.5 million driving licenses were pending for printing. To address this backlog, the DoTM and the Security Printing Center signed an agreement on October 29 to print 1.2 million licenses within six months.
Speaking to Khabarhub, DoTM Information and Technology Director Keshav Khatri said the department is now ready to restart printing operations in phases. “We suffered major damage to our servers during the fire. Now, we have transferred all data back from the Integrated Data Management Center to the department,” Khatri said.
He added that the department’s building is under retrofitting and maintenance, and the servers have been temporarily placed under protective covers due to water leakage. “Once the rain stops, we will reactivate our system. A new personalization software needs to be built to synchronize our data with the Center’s printing machines. Only after that will the Center begin full-scale printing,” Khatri explained.
For urgent cases, however, the department plans to start printing around 500 licenses daily from Sunday, even before the software integration is complete. “For emergency printing, we can manually transfer applicant data using Excel sheets and send it directly to the Center,” Khatri added.
The new licenses to be printed by the Security Printing Center will differ from the department’s earlier chip-based smart cards. The Center’s licenses will use QR code-based technology instead.
According to Khatri, the cost of each card has been set at Rs 195.17 excluding tax, and Rs 220.14 including tax. The expense will be borne by the department.
The Security Printing Center has assured the department that, with its advanced, high-capacity machines, printing delays will not occur this time. “The Center claims it can print as many as 2.5 million licenses in one or two months. However, since our budget covers only 1.2 million cards, the agreement has been signed for that amount only,” K hatri said.
Repairing the department’s existing printers, imported from Italy in 2017, remains highly unlikely. “Those printers had already completed about 85 percent of their operational life. They require servicing from the manufacturer’s European branch, but we lack procedural mechanisms to bring them in. We’ve discussed the issue with stakeholders, and the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has agreed to help arrange technical experts, either voluntarily or on a paid basis,” Khatri said.
Meanwhile, several other services that were paralyzed during the protests — including drink-driving checks, lane discipline enforcement, and traffic monitoring — have gradually resumed since mid-October.
Before the protests, the DoTM had been working with the Traffic Police to link the system so that drivers with unpaid fines could not renew their licenses. Khatri said the department plans to reintroduce this system soon once the servers and software are fully functional.
Despite the damage, Khatri expressed optimism that collaboration with the Security Printing Center will streamline operations and eliminate long-standing inefficiencies in license distribution. “Once the system is back online, citizens will again be able to view their license information through the Nagarik app,” he said.
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