How to Verify a Used Car's Papers Before You Pay

A used car is the largest purchase most people make on a classifieds site, and it is the one where the paperwork matters more than the paint. A car with a clean engine and a dirty file is worth far less than the asking price — sometimes nothing at all, if it turns out to be stolen or sitting on years of unpaid token tax that you inherit the moment you buy it.

Every check below is free or costs a phone call. Do them before you hand over money, and do them yourself rather than trusting a screenshot the seller sends you — screenshots are trivially faked.

1. Verify the registration online — free, two minutes

Every province runs a Motor Transport Management Information System (MTMIS) that lets anyone look up a registration number and see the owner's name, engine and chassis numbers, model year, and token tax status. You do not need to own the car to check it.

Run the check on your own phone, in front of the seller. Three things must match exactly: the owner's name against the CNIC of the person actually selling you the car, the chassis and engine numbers against the physical car, and the model year against what the ad claims.

2. Match three numbers on the metal, not just on paper

The portal record and the file can both look perfect while the car in front of you is a different vehicle. Physically locate and compare:

1. Chassis number — usually stamped on the firewall in the engine bay, under the driver's seat, or on the plate at the base of the windscreen. It must match the file and the portal exactly, character for character.

2. Engine number — stamped on the engine block. A mismatch means the engine was swapped; that needs to be recorded with the excise department or the file is inaccurate.

3. Registration number plate — must match the file. A recently repainted or freshly stamped plate on an otherwise old car is worth a question.

Look at the stamping itself. Genuine factory stamping is even in depth and spacing. Numbers that look re-punched, ground down, filled, or sit on a patch of fresh weld are the single clearest sign of a tampered vehicle. Walk away — do not negotiate the price down.

3. Check the token tax dues — you inherit them

Outstanding token tax follows the car, not the previous owner. If the seller has not paid for four years, the arrears become your problem on transfer day, and on an older car that can run into tens of thousands of rupees.

The MTMIS record shows the tax status. If anything is outstanding, either make the seller clear it before transfer, or subtract the exact arrears figure from your offer in writing. "He said he'd pay it later" is not a payment.

4. Check the car is not stolen

A clean excise record does not prove a car is not stolen — a snatched vehicle can still show a valid registration. The Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) maintains a separate stolen and snatched vehicle database, and checking it is free.

Call the CPLC 24/7 helpline on 1102 (or 021-35662222) and give the operator the registration number, engine number and chassis number. They will check all three against the stolen-vehicle database while you are on the line. Details are on the CPLC website.

Do this even if the car is outside Karachi. It costs one phone call and it is the only check that catches a professionally laundered file.

5. Never buy on an "open letter"

An open letter — khula khat — is a signed but blank transfer form, sold with the car so the buyer can "transfer it whenever." Cars change hands three or four times on the same open letter because nobody wants to pay the transfer fee.

It is a bad deal for you specifically, because until the car is registered in your name:

• Every traffic challan, toll violation and criminal case linked to the car goes to the name on the file — and the police come looking for that person, who will point at you.

• You cannot prove ownership if the registered owner later claims the car was never sold.

• You cannot insure it properly, and reselling it means finding another buyer willing to take the same risk, at a discount.

Insist on a proper transfer, with the registered owner present. If the seller refuses, that is your answer.

6. Do the transfer properly

In Punjab the transfer is now largely digital. The buyer generates a PSID and pays the official transfer fee through the ePay Punjab app; only after payment does the biometric step unlock. Both the seller and the buyer then complete facial and fingerprint verification through NADRA's Pak ID app — the seller first, who shares a tracking ID and PIN with the buyer. The biometric slip is then submitted with the original documents at the excise office for the smart card.

Whatever your province, keep these in your own hands on the day you pay:

• Original registration book or smart card

• A copy of the seller's CNIC, matched against the original

• Signed transfer (TO) form, filled in — never blank

• A dated, signed sale receipt naming both parties, the car, and the amount

• Proof that token tax is clear

7. Red flags that should end the deal

• The seller will not let you run the registration check yourself — or only offers a screenshot.

• The name on the file is not the person selling, with no attested authority letter and no owner available.

• Chassis or engine numbers look re-stamped, ground, or welded.

• Pressure to decide today — "another buyer is coming in an hour" is the oldest line in the trade.

• Any request for advance payment before you have seen the car and the file in person.

• A price far below market for the model and year. There is always a reason, and it is usually in the paperwork.

Frequently asked questions

Before you start looking

Do the paperwork checks on every shortlisted car, not just the one you have decided on — that is how you spot which sellers are straight with you. Browse cars and other vehicles on ListQuikk, and if you are also shopping for electronics, our checklist on what to check before buying a used mobile phone follows the same principle: verify first, pay second.