ERBIL () - The Kurdistan Region is launching an electronic vehicle registration and annual renewal process as part of a broader standardization and digitization of traffic services, the Director General of the Interior Ministry's Office Dr. Heman Mirani announced at a press conference on Sunday with the new system now active in the freight section of Erbil's Traffic Directorate and set for expansion to all provinces.
Mirani explained that the electronic licensing process had already been introduced for driver's licenses under the supervision of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani before the annual vehicle renewal system was launched in Duhok province as a pilot. Due to the high volume of transactions and traffic in Erbil, the process required additional preparation before it could be rolled out in the capital.
"Preparations are now in the implementation stage in Sulaimani and Halabja provinces and the independent administrations of Zakho, Soran, and Raparin,"Mirani confirmed, adding that the process requires appropriate infrastructure including dedicated buildings, specialized equipment, and electronic systems.
The new annual renewal card is designed to be the same small size as a driver's license and has been built to international safety and quality standards, replacing the previous larger and paper-based renewal documents with a compact, secure, and verifiable card.
On the digital portal, Mirani outlined the key citizen-facing benefit of the new system. "One of the objectives is to activate a digital portal through which citizens will be able to complete some of the processes of issuance, registration, and ownership transfer from home,"he said, moving routine vehicle administration out of government offices and into the hands of citizens through an online platform.
Mirani also addressed the ownership transfer file in particular, confirming that vehicle ownership records will be significantly strengthened going forward to prevent any form of fraud in ownership transfers. He noted that under last year's directive, the ownership transfer period has been extended from 60 to 90 days, and urged any citizen purchasing a vehicle from another person to complete the ownership transfer within the 90-day window to avoid legal complications.
The urgency of that reminder was illustrated by a striking example Mirani provided. A case had previously arisen in which 1,280 vehicles were registered under the name of a single citizen, who subsequently passed away, leaving 80 of those vehicles as part of an inheritance, creating legal complications for hundreds of vehicles simultaneously. The new electronic system and the reinforced ownership transfer requirements are designed to prevent such cases from recurring by ensuring vehicle registration records are accurate, timely, and tied to verified ownership at all times.
