Kathmandu: Provincial governments in Nepal will take full responsibility for printing driving licenses starting July 17, 2025, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Devendra Dahal announced.
During a meeting on Tuesday with transport ministers and secretaries from all seven provinces, Minister Dahal urged them to decide whether to procure machines for printing license cards or purchase the cards directly. He noted that Bagmati and Koshi provinces have already made progress in this direction and called on other provinces to follow suit.
Highlighting the backlog in license production, Dahal emphasized the need to print 2.5 million licenses by mid-October to mid-November. “So far, only 550,000 have been printed, leaving 1.9 million still pending,” he said.
“The responsibility is now yours,” Dahal told provincial officials. “Decide whether to buy machines or purchase cards—it’s your choice. You must determine the best approach to ensure a smooth process. You committed to producing 900,000 licenses but have only delivered 150,000 so far.”
Koshi Province has started issuing temporary licenses, while Bagmati Province has made significant progress, according to Dahal. The Koshi transport minister also stressed the urgency of the situation, warning that failure to manage the license printing process could pose a major financial risk for the Nepal government.
The federal government has urged all provinces to expedite preparations to avoid further delays and ensure an efficient transition to decentralized license printing.