Lost Your Driving Licence in Nepal? The Pratilipi Process, Step by Step

Losing your licence in Nepal is annoying, not serious. There is a defined process, it has a name — pratilipi (प्रतिलिपि), meaning duplicate — and part of it moved online in 2083.

The order matters. Traffic police first, transport office second. People who go straight to the transport office get sent away, because the office needs a recommendation letter from the police before it will issue anything.

The process in four steps

1. Report the loss to the traffic police and get the recommendation letter (सिफारिस).
2. File the duplicate request on your province eDLVRS portal.
3. Pay and book your appointment.
4. Collect the new smart card when it prints.

Step 1: the police recommendation

Report the loss to traffic police. The usual advice is to do it within seven days, so do not sit on it.

Where to go:

• Inside the Kathmandu Valley: the Traffic Police Office at Baggikhana.
• Outside the valley: your district traffic police office.

You can also file online. Nepal Police runs a lost-document system:

ldims.nepalpolice.gov.np

How the online route works:

• Choose the document type you lost — licence, bluebook, or route permit.
• Fill in your name, licence number, address and contact number.
• Upload a photo of your citizenship, and of the licence or passport if you have one.
• Submit. An application ID is generated — save it. You will need it.
• The recommendation is typically available in 72 hours to 7 days.

If you do not know your licence number, look for an old photo of the card, an insurance document, or a vehicle-related paper that lists it. The transport office can also look you up, but having the number makes everything faster.

Step 2: the duplicate request

This is the part that changed. Every province eDLVRS portal now lists this as a single service:

नवीकरण तथा प्रतिलिपि अनुरोध        (renewal and duplicate request)

Renewal and duplicate share one form. So the old advice — that a pratilipi means starting with a full day queuing at the transport office — is out of date.

Use your province's portal:

Bagmati is bagamati, with the extra "a". More about the portals.

Step 3: the office visit

Take the original citizenship certificate, not a photocopy. Take the police recommendation, your online application details, and the payment receipt.

You will not resit the likhit or the trial. A duplicate replaces a licence you already earned — it does not re-test you.

Step 4: collecting it

The replacement is a smart card and is printed in batches like any other. Check the print list before making the trip. How the print check works.

If it was stolen rather than lost

Same process, but report it as a theft. A police report matters more here, because a stolen licence can be misused as identification. Mention specifically that it was taken, not mislaid.

If you find the old one afterwards

It happens more than you would think. The old card is no longer the valid one once a duplicate is issued. Do not carry both — hand the old one in, or destroy it. Carrying two licences with the same number invites a question you do not want at a checkpoint.

Driving in the meantime

Do not. Driving without a licence is the same offence whether you lost it or never had one, and "the duplicate is being processed" is not a defence at a checkpoint.

Ask your transport office whether they issue any interim proof and what it covers. If they do not, wait.

What it costs

A duplicate is not free, and the fee is provincial now like everything else. Budget for:

• The duplicate application fee, set by your province.
• The smart card print charge, reported at NPR 200.
• The police recommendation, and any travel to get it.

Check the exact figure on your province portal before paying, and only ever pay on a gov.np address. More on fees.

How long it takes

Three waits stack up, and knowing them stops the process feeling stalled:

The last one is the same batch system as a first-time licence, so the same rule applies: check the print list before travelling to collect. How the print check works.

Protecting yourself next time

Small habits that make a repeat much less painful:

• Photograph both sides of the card and keep it somewhere you can reach without the card — a cloud drive, not just the phone gallery.
• Write the licence number down somewhere separate. Nearly every step of the duplicate process is faster if you know it.
• Do not carry it when you do not need it. Most licences are lost from a wallet on a night out, not from a vehicle.
• Keep a photo of your citizenship too. The same folder covers most of what a duplicate application asks for.

Common mistakes

• Going to the transport office first. The police recommendation comes first.
• Waiting weeks to report it. Report within about seven days.
• Losing the online application ID. You will need it to follow up.
• Bringing a photocopy of citizenship. They want the original.
• Using the old central website. It no longer loads.
• Driving on a lost licence while the duplicate is processed.

While you are dealing with paperwork

If you are helping someone else who has not taken the exam yet — a sibling, a friend — the free useful thing to pass on is the question bank. The likhit comes from a published DOTM set of about 500 questions, so it is one of the few exams where covering everything is realistic.

I built Yatayat Likhit for that: the full bank with the reason next to each answer, tracking of what you keep missing, timed mocks in the real format, the Nepali road signs, trial checklists, and an Ishihara-style colour-vision test for the medical. Free, offline, Nepali and English, categories A, K and B.

Get it: Yatayat Likhit — free on iPhone and Android. The link opens your own app store.

If you lost the bluebook or route permit too

Wallets and document folders tend to go missing together, so this comes up often.

The Nepal Police lost-document system at ldims.nepalpolice.gov.np handles all three document types, not just licences:

• Driving licence
• Bluebook (vehicle registration certificate)
• Route permit (for commercial vehicles)

You choose the type when you file. If you lost more than one, file for each — the recommendation is per document, and the transport office needs the right one for whichever duplicate you are requesting.

The bluebook duplicate is handled by the transport office in the same way as a licence duplicate, on the vehicle side of your province portal (सवारी दर्ता). Take the vehicle details with you: registration number, engine and chassis numbers if you have them.

One practical note: a bluebook duplicate usually needs the vehicle's tax to be up to date. If tax is outstanding, clear it first or the application stalls.

Reporting it quickly matters

The seven-day guidance is not just bureaucracy. A lost licence carries your name, photo and number, and it is accepted as identification in plenty of places.

Reporting it promptly does two useful things. It starts the clock on your recommendation letter, so the duplicate can move. And it puts on record that the card left your hands on a particular date, which matters if it is ever used by someone else.

File it online at ldims.nepalpolice.gov.np the same day if you can. It takes a few minutes and you can do it before you have decided anything else about the replacement.

Damaged, not lost

If your card still exists but is cracked, worn or unreadable, you want a duplicate too — the same "नवीकरण तथा प्रतिलिपि अनुरोध" service on your province portal.

The difference is that you have the card, so you generally do not need a police recommendation. Take the damaged card with you; handing it in is usually part of being issued the replacement. Ring your office first to confirm what they want, because this is one of the details that varies between them.

Questions people ask

How do I get a duplicate driving licence in Nepal?

Report the loss to traffic police and get the recommendation letter, then file the duplicate request on your province eDLVRS portal under "नवीकरण तथा प्रतिलिपि अनुरोध", pay, and collect the new card when it prints.

Do I have to retake the exam if I lose my licence?

No. A duplicate replaces a licence you already hold. There is no new likhit or trial.

Can I apply for a lost licence online in Nepal?

Partly. The police recommendation can be filed at ldims.nepalpolice.gov.np, and the duplicate request itself is on your province portal. You still visit the office in person.

How long does the police recommendation take?

Typically 72 hours to 7 days after you file it. Keep the application ID you are given.

What if I do not know my licence number?

Look for an old photo of the card or an insurance document that lists it. The transport office can also look you up, but having the number speeds everything up.

Keep reading

• Your province portal — where the duplicate request lives.
• Licence print check — before collecting the replacement.
• Renewal and the grace period — the same form covers both.
• What it all costs — including duplicates.
• The complete licence guide — the whole process.