Sri Lanka Police has issued a special notice informing the public about the nationwide transition to digital motor insurance cards.

Following a joint decision by the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (IRCSL), the Insurance Association of Sri Lanka and industry stakeholders, insurance companies began issuing Digital Motor Insurance Cards instead of conventional physical certificates from May 1, 2026.

Meanwhile, the Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board introduced digital insurance cards for vehicles covered under its schemes from July 20, 2026.

The Inspector General of Police has issued instructions to police stations across the country to facilitate the implementation of the new system.

Under the new arrangement, motorists insured through general insurance companies can present a digital insurance card through a mobile application. A printed certificate can also be obtained upon request. Policyholders insured through the Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board can access their insurance details through a QR code or URL sent to their mobile phones, while printed certificates remain available on request.

Authorities emphasized that motorists are still legally required to produce their insurance certificate under Section 104(1) of the Motor Traffic Act. Digital insurance cards are legally recognized under Section 3, Chapter II of the Electronic Transactions Act No. 19 of 2006.

To enable instant verification, authorities have introduced the National Insurance Verification System and the Agricultural Insurance Policy Verification System.

Motorists and police officers can verify insurance coverage free of charge using the following services:

General insurance policies: Dial 1338 via USSD, send an SMS to 1338, or call 1338.

Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board policies: Dial 1918 via USSD, send an SMS to 1918, or call 1918.

Agricultural Board policies can also be verified by scanning the policy QR code or accessing the URL provided via SMS or email.

For the 1338 service, vehicle numbers must be entered using the initial letters or numbers, followed by a hyphen and four digits, without spaces. For example: 311-1234, CC-1234 or CCC-1234. The Sinhala character “ශ්‍රී” should be replaced with SRI, such as 1-SRI-1234.

For the 1918 service, provincial letters and spaces should be omitted, while “ශ්‍රී” should be replaced with a hyphen. Examples include CC-1234, CCC-1234, 123-4567 and 1-1234.

Authorities confirmed that all calls and SMS messages to the short codes 1338 and 1918 are free of charge.

Existing physical insurance certificates issued before May 1 and July 20, 2026, will remain valid until their respective expiry dates. Insurance companies will also continue issuing temporary cover notes during the transition until they are officially phased out.

In the event of an accident or investigation, motorists can obtain a printed copy from their insurer, print the document through the relevant mobile application, or download it by scanning the policy QR code.

Police officers will also be able to verify insurance coverage electronically if a motorist is unable to display the digital card at the scene.