E-Challan in Pakistan: Fines, How to Check Them, How to Pay Them

Last verified: July 2026

 

If you drive in Lahore or Islamabad or on any motorway, there’s a good chance a camera has already caught you doing something—speeding, jumping a signal, or riding without a helmet. You won’t always know at the time. You find out later through an SMS, or when you try to renew your registration and it’s blocked.

Want the quick version? Check your e-challan status instantly by vehicle number or CNIC — no need to read the whole guide first.

 

⚠️There’s also a lot of noise online right now about a Punjab fine cut supposedly already in effect. It isn’t. A revised, lower fine structure has been proposed and sent for provincial assembly approval — but as of this writing, it hasn’t been passed or notified. Until that happens, the rates below are what actually applies. This page is checked against the official source and updated when the schedule genuinely changes, not on a fixed schedule just to look fresh.

 

This article tells you exactly what an e-challan is, what the current fines are in Punjab and on the motorway, how to check if you owe anything, and how to pay it.

ℹ️What Is an E-Challan

It’s a traffic fine issued electronically instead of on a paper slip handed to you by a police officer. A camera or ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) system reads your number plate, matches it to your vehicle registration, and logs the violation against your CNIC.

 

ℹ️In Punjab, this isn’t optional or informal — it’s the rule. No traffic officer is allowed to take cash from you on the spot. Fines can only be paid through a bank, a mobile wallet, or an online portal.

🏛️Who Runs the E-Challan System

 

Each of these sets its own fine amounts. A violation that costs you Rs. 2,000 in Lahore isn’t automatically the same amount in Islamabad or on the motorway.

💰Punjab Traffic Fines (Official Schedule)

This is the fine schedule published by Traffic Police Punjab under the Twelfth Schedule of the Motor Vehicles Ordinance, 1965. The amount depends on what you were driving, not just what you did.

 

 

A note on the “reduced fines” reports circulating online: Punjab Traffic Police has drafted a lower fine structure and submitted it for provincial assembly approval, aimed mainly at motorcycles, rickshaws, and smaller vehicles. It has not been passed into law yet. Don’t pay based on a reduced amount you saw elsewhere — the table above is what’s currently notified and enforceable.

 

Two patterns are worth noticing:

 

• The bigger the engine, the bigger the fine. A 2000cc+ car pays 2–4x what a small car pays for the exact same offense.
• Public transport and commercial vehicles get charged the most across almost every category, because they carry passengers or cargo.

🛣️Motorway Police Fines

The motorway (M1 to M9) runs under a separate authority with its own rates, generally higher than city fines.

 

 

Speed limits on the motorway: 120 km/h for cars and light vehicles and 110 km/h for buses and public service vehicles on three-lane sections. Go past 150 km/h, and it’s no longer just a fine—the motorway police register an FIR against you as well.

 

There’s no warning before a motorway challan lands. Cameras run continuously, and the fine goes straight to your vehicle record.

🏙️Islamabad and Sindh: What You Should Know

Islamabad and Sindh both run their own e-challan systems, but neither publishes one clean, unified fine table the way Punjab does. Rates get revised by the local administration and aren’t always consolidated publicly. Rather than quote you a number that might already be outdated, the honest answer is: check the amount on your actual challan against the official ITP or Sindh traffic police portal before you pay. Structurally, the logic is similar to Punjab — cars pay more than bikes, repeat violations cost more — but don’t assume the exact rupee figure carries over from one province to another.

🔍How to Check Your E-Challan Online (Lahore and Rest of Punjab)

The official portal for Punjab, including Lahore, is echallan.psca.gop.pk, run by the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA). This is the same system that covers Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, and other cities under PSCA’s Safe City network—the process doesn’t change from city to city, only the coverage.

 

 

If your challan doesn’t show up but you know you were fined, the most common cause is a formatting mismatch in the vehicle number. Try it without spaces, without a hyphen, and in the exact sequence shown on the plate before assuming there’s no record.

 

For Islamabad, the equivalent portal is run separately by the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) and uses the same logic—vehicle number or CNIC lookup through their Safe City system.

📷How to Check the Photo Evidence on a Challan

Every camera-issued challan on the PSCA system comes with photographic proof — the image captured at the moment of the violation, timestamped and geotagged. Here’s how to see it:

 

 

This photo is what you’d use if you plan to dispute a challan — for example, if the number plate was misread or the vehicle in the photo isn’t actually yours. Save or screenshot the image before raising a dispute, since it’s your primary evidence when you go to a facilitation center.

💳How to Pay

 

Keep the receipt. If your challan status doesn’t update right away after paying, that receipt is your proof.

⚠️What Happens If You Don’t Pay

 

💡If a challan was issued by mistake—wrong plate read, a vehicle you already sold, a camera error—you can dispute it. Take your proof (sale deed, transfer papers, and photos) to the relevant facilitation center and file a review request. It won’t clear itself; you have to raise it.

❓Quick Answers

❓Can a traffic officer take my fine in cash on the road? No, not in Punjab. Payment only goes through banks, wallets, or online portals.

 

❓How do I know if I have a pending challan? Check the official portal using your vehicle number or CNIC. Don’t wait for an SMS — it can be delayed or missed.

 

❓Will an unpaid challan block my license renewal? It can, especially with accumulated penalty points or repeated violations.

 

❓Can I dispute a wrong challan? Yes—visit the traffic police facilitation center with supporting documents.

 

❓Are motorway fines different from city fines? Yes, and generally higher. The 150 km/h cutoff also brings an FIR, not just a fine.

 

Do fine amounts change over time? Yes, Punjab’s schedule has been revised more than once, and motorway rates too. Always check the live official rate, not a figure from an old article.