Printing has commenced on the large backlog of driving licenses that could not be issued earlier due to a shortage of production cards, the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) said.

During the shortage, applicants were issued temporary permits in place of permanent licenses.

According to Commissioner General of Motor Traffic Kamal Amarasinghe, nearly 350,000 pending permanent driving licenses are now being processed. Printing is currently underway at three locations:

  • The main DMT center in Werahera,
  • The Hambantota regional center, and
  • The Anuradhapura regional center.

Amarasinghe said the department expects to issue around 6,000 driving licenses daily, including:

  • 1,500 licenses under the one-day service, and
  • 4,500 licenses under the normal service.

He further stated that the backlog is expected to be completely cleared within the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, the DMT said that one million new driving license cards are scheduled to be imported soon to ensure uninterrupted issuance in the future.