Driving License Services Halted for a Month; Department Working to Resume Operations as Dispute Grows Over New Trial Center

All driving license services across the country—including application registration, fee payments, and written and practical tests—have been on hold for the past month following the Gen Z movement. The disruption has created difficulties for thousands of applicants, especially those who need licenses for employment or foreign travel.

The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) said that printing machines, servers, and other technical systems were damaged during the protests, forcing it to suspend all license-related activities. Director Narhari Tiwari informed that efforts are ongoing to restore the system and that services are expected to restart within 10 to 15 days.

Before the suspension, around 2,500 to 3,000 new online applications were being submitted daily from 43 transport offices nationwide. However, with operations halted, nearly 2 million applicants are now waiting for their license cards. Those who had passed their exams before September 7 but could not complete the payment process have also been unable to receive their licenses.

Delays in license distribution are not new, as some applicants in the past have waited up to six years to get their cards after passing the driving test.

In the meantime, the Transport Management Office in Banepa issued a 15-day notice to establish a new trial center to allow driving schools to conduct tests. The decision, however, faced objections from several driving school associations, who argued that the notice unfairly favored a specific center.

Responding to the dispute, the Bagmati Province Government and the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Transport decided to withdraw and revise the notice. Ministry Secretary Birendra Bharti said that a revised version will be published on Friday, adding that the previous notice had expired earlier due to a lack of applications.

Driving school representatives—including Rupesh Kafle (Kavre), Bishnuraj Khadka (Lalitpur), Rambhai Baniya (Bhaktapur), and Ramesh Khatri (Kathmandu)—issued a joint statement calling for the immediate cancellation of the previous notice. They warned that the Bagmati Province Government would be held accountable if the issue is not addressed fairly.