Guide
I have a car in Pakistan
and I am not there
A vehicle in Pakistan stays in your name until the excise office changes it, and the office wants the owner in person. Cars sold years ago still sit in the seller’s name, with the fines and the risk that brings. This page shows how a transfer is done, and how it is done for you from abroad.
Where this applies This page covers a vehicle registered in Pakistan. The excise office and its rules are provincial. Punjab and the capital have online steps; elsewhere the office is visited in person.
What this is about
A transfer needs the registration book, the sale on stamp paper, the identity of both sides, taxes paid up, and the two of them verified at the office. Until it is done, the vehicle is yours in law: a fine, an accident or a crime with that car comes to your name. That is the reason to finish a sale properly, even one made long ago.
From abroad, the step that stops people is the verification in person. It is done through a power of attorney to someone who attends for you, and the power has to say what it is for. An advocate drafts it so that the office accepts it, and attends with the person who holds it.
What has to be in place
What has to be in place.
The registration book, and taxes and fines on the vehicle paid up.
The sale agreement on stamp paper, with both sides’ identity documents.
A power of attorney for the person who attends the office for you, attested at a Pakistani mission.
Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.
The documents you will be asked for
The papers the excise office asks for.
- The registration book and the number plate details.
- The sale agreement, and the identity cards of buyer and seller.
- Proof that the tax is paid, and the transfer fee.
- The attested power of attorney, if you are not there.
How an advocate helps from where you are
What an advocate does.
- Checks the vehicle’s record for dues, fines and any block before anything is signed.
- Drafts the sale agreement and the power of attorney so that the office accepts them.
- Attends the office with the buyer and the person who holds your power, and sees the transfer entered.
- Traces and closes an old sale that was never transferred, so that the car stops being yours.
What to ask before you agree
- Is there anything on the vehicle’s record: dues, fines, a block?
- What must the power of attorney say for the office to accept it?
- Will you attend the office with the buyer and see the transfer entered?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
More in Papers and signatures
A document has to be attested, notarised or translatedPapers and signatures
I want to send a legal notice, or I have received onePapers and signatures
An agreement that has to be written and registeredPapers and signatures
Also relevant
Words you will meet
- transfer
- The excise office changing the vehicle into the buyer’s name.
- registration book
- The vehicle’s official document.
- token tax
- The yearly tax on a vehicle, which has to be paid before a transfer.
Sources
Official pages read on 11 September 2026. The page says only what these say, and what an advocate does; nothing specific to your case.
Checked
11 September 2026
Pakistan. Sources listed at the end of the page.