Nearly 500,000 vehicle number plates unprinted in Sri Lanka, causing public hardship

Motorists in Sri Lanka are facing significant hardship as the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) has failed to print nearly half a million vehicle number plates. Since the suspension of number plate printing on May 16, 2025, vehicles registered up to March of this year have been affected.

One vehicle owner, who registered their vehicle on May 16, 2025, has been waiting over a year for their number plate, despite paying over 2,000 rupees for it. The current government, the National People's Power (NPP) administration, had announced in June 2025 that the number plate issue would be resolved with a new supplier. They promised to print the backlog of hundreds of thousands of plates as quickly as possible.

However, a contract signed on March 10, 2025, between the Ministry of Transport and South Asian Technologies, only covers the printing of new plates from the date of the agreement. It does not include the backlog of unprinted plates. Transport officials, including the minister and deputy minister, had previously declared the number plate problem resolved, seemingly unaware or unconcerned about the existing backlog.

The DMT has collected over 100 million rupees from vehicle owners for these unprinted plates, a situation described as regrettable given the lack of service. The absence of official plates has led to public inconvenience and confusion. Police are reportedly fining drivers for using non-standard or temporary plates, which are deemed not to meet quality standards. Many drivers accuse police officers of issuing fines without prior notification about the quality issues or instructions to refrain from issuing tickets for non-compliant plates.

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The number plates that were not printed before that agreement were not included in that agreement.