KATHMANDU: Have you been waiting for your smart driving license for months or even years after passing your trial or paying the renewal fee?
While the traffic police accept receipts as proof, the Department of Transport Management has come forward with a new promise: licenses within 24 hours upon request.
According to the Department, if a service recipient submits a request with the revenue-paid voucher, arrangements have now been made to issue the license within 24 hours.
Responding to mounting complaints—especially from those awaiting renewal—the department has started distributing licenses to up to 600 applicants daily within 24 hours of receiving their request, informed Director General Rajiv Pokharel.
“With the aim of delivering government services quickly, we are now issuing licenses within 24 hours if the recipient presents a revenue receipt. There are no problems in this process,” said Pokharel.
He added that all printed licenses from all seven provinces have already been dispatched. However, Bagmati Province, which has the highest demand, still has a backlog of 1.2 million unprinted licenses.
“The government has introduced systems like the Citizen App (Nagarik App) to access documents such as licenses, citizenship, and national identity cards, and has enabled traffic fine payments via the Traffic Violation Recording System (TVRS), so there’s no need to rush,” Pokharel explained.
Interestingly, he noted that even among the 200,000 smart licenses printed after system upgrades, many remain uncollected by the public.
Despite these claims, service recipients continue to express frustration. Binod Ghimire of Melamchi, Sindhupalchowk, found at the department’s premises, shared his experience of using only a voucher for over 18 months after passing his trial.
Upon hearing about the 24-hour issuance initiative, he said, “If that’s true, I’ll go through the process immediately—it would be a big relief for us!”
Another applicant, Parshuram Sapkota, expressed dissatisfaction that drivers are not receiving their licenses on time, adding that issues such as damaged receipts create further challenges.
Under the ‘Digital Nepal’ framework, the government introduced plans to modernize services through smart licenses, national ID cards, and embossed number plates. However, public frustration continues to grow due to delayed implementation and poor service delivery.
Within its five-year strategic plan for road, rail, and transport development, the government had aimed to implement an Intelligent Traffic System (ITS) at 35 intersections in the Kathmandu Valley and convert at least 2.5 million licenses and vehicle registration documents into smart cards.
But now, five years after the plan expired, the government is still struggling to fully implement the smart license system.
In its current fiscal year’s budget, the government has once again emphasized the goal of promoting quality public services and good governance. However, until services are delivered efficiently, the public remains skeptical.
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