Fact Check: Misleading Claims Suggest Personalized Vehicle Number Plates Are Coming Soon

Social media posts were shared claiming that vehicle owners can obtain number plates displaying the owner’s name. We at Factcrescendo decided to look into the accuracy of this claim.

Social Media Posts:

A post claiming “number plates displaying the owner’s name coming soon” was circulated on social media, including by several mainstream media pages, as seen below.

Facebook | Archived Link

Posts claiming that these number plates will be available from the end of May have also been widely circulating on social media.

FB Post 1| FB Post 2| FB Post 3| FB Post 4| FB Post 5

We then took steps to verify the accuracy of this claim.

Fact Check:

Amid ongoing issues related to the issuance of vehicle number plates by the Department of Motor Traffic, the claim that a new system would be introduced allowing vehicle owners to obtain number plates displaying their names, possibly by the end of May, appeared questionable. To verify this, we checked whether the Department had issued any official announcement regarding such a new method through its official website; however, we did not find any such information.

When we looked into whether this had been reported by mainstream media, we found news reports stating that a proposal related to such a programme had been mentioned at the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance as thus and thus.

Therefore, we looked into the discussion held at the Committee on Public Finance regarding this matter. During the discussion, Committee Chair Harsha de Silva questioned officials from the Department of Motor Traffic about the delay in issuing vehicle number plates. In response, officials stated that due to the lack of a proper supplier, around 413,000 number plates remained pending as of March 31, 2026. They further noted that a new supplier has already begun initial construction work at the Department’s premises in Werahera, and that printed number plates are expected to be issued by the end of May. However, there was no mention that these would include personalised number plates displaying the vehicle owner’s name; it was only stated that regular number plates for vehicles would be issued.

Harsha de Silva referred to the widely discussed case involving businessman Dudley Sirisena’s Rolls Royce and questioned why Sri Lanka cannot adopt a system used in other countries, where number plates include the vehicle owner’s name.

In response, Motor Traffic Department Administrative Commissioner Priyantha Dissanayake said that there are plans to introduce such a system in Sri Lanka. However, she noted that the current system is outdated, which is why it is not yet possible to implement number plates containing owner details. She added that the department intends to move forward with such a project once the system is upgraded.

When asked about the timeframe for implementation, she stated that the system could be introduced within six months after the completion of the upgrade process.

Several media outlets and social media posts have misinterpreted the statement, claiming that the system will be introduced within six months from April. This misunderstanding appears to have arisen due to not properly noting that the implementation depends on the completion of the department’s system upgrade.

In fact, the official explained that the six-month timeframe applies after the system is developed and upgraded. The key point that was not clearly highlighted is when exactly that system development will be completed. That timeline was not specified or discussed, which led to the confusion.

Ministry of Transport

The Transport Ministry’s media unit has stated that the system for issuing number plates with the vehicle owner’s name cannot be implemented in the near future. They explained that it will only be possible after improvements are made to the department’s computer infrastructure, a process that will take some time.

They also noted that, under a new agreement with a private company, the distribution of vehicle number plates is expected to resume at the end of May.

Accordingly, it is clear that while the service is being planned for the future, there is no immediate move to introduce it. The department had also temporarily stopped issuing number plates for around 10 months due to the absence of a printing supplier.

Sri Lanka’s Department of Motor Traffic says that a new supplier for printing vehicle number plates was contracted on March 10. From the date of the agreement, number plates for newly registered vehicles will be issued by this new company. However, the department has not yet made a final decision on who will issue number plates for vehicles registered between May 1, 2025, and the date of the new agreement—whether it will be the new supplier or the previous one. More details regarding this can be found here.

Meanwhile, the police have also issued guidelines on how temporary number plates should be displayed until the official plates are issued in this way.

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Conclusion:

Our investigation shows that posts circulating on social media claiming “personalized number plates with the owner’s name are coming soon” are misleading. The Department of Motor Traffic states that this project will only be implemented after the current system is upgraded. They have also noted that the process will take some time and is not expected to happen in the near future.