New vehicle registrations to get priority in number plate printing

Priority will be given to vehicles with new registrations when printing and issuing vehicle number plates, Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) Commissioner General Kamal Amarasinghe said.   

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Amarasinghe said the printing of vehicle number plates officially resumed at the DMT Werahera office on June 8, 2026, after a year-long suspension.   

The delay had resulted in a backlog of nearly one million number plates, with two plates required for each vehicle. The government has signed a five-year agreement worth Rs. 3 billion with South Asian Technologies (Pvt) Ltd. to clear the backlog and ensure the continuous supply of number plates in the future.   

Amarasinghe said the Werahera facility will operate during daytime hours to print plates for newly registered vehicles, while the backlog will be cleared through night shifts.   

“The Werahera branch is currently preparing to print the backlog during the night. Number plates for new registrations will be printed during the day, while additional staff are being arranged for night shifts to handle the pending workload,” he said.   

He said around 150,000 plates remain to be printed and issued since the awarding of the contract, while the contracted company has been tasked with completing the remaining backlog.