How to Register Your Phone with PTA (DIRBS)
Any phone brought into Pakistan, whether carried in personally or bought online from abroad, needs to be registered with PTA's Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) before its SIM slots will keep working past a short grace period. This guide covers checking your phone's status and registering it.
Check your phone's registration status by dialing *8484# or texting your IMEI to 8484. If it shows unregistered, apply through the DIRBS portal (dirbs.pta.gov.pk), pay the mobile tax based on your phone's declared value, and it activates once the tax is paid and your passport/CNIC details match a SIM used in the device.
Step-by-step: registering a phone
- Find your IMEI numbers. Dial *#06# on the phone itself, or check Settings > About Phone. Dual-SIM phones have two IMEI numbers, both need to be recorded.
- Check current status. Text your IMEI to 8484, or use the DIRBS portal's IMEI check tool, to see whether it is already compliant, blocked, or awaiting registration.
- Create a DIRBS account. Register on dirbs.pta.gov.pk using your CNIC (or passport, for overseas Pakistanis).
- Submit the registration request. Enter the IMEI, phone make and model, and how it entered Pakistan (personal baggage, or purchased locally without prior registration).
- Pay the mobile tax. The system calculates the tax based on the phone's declared value; pay through the listed bank channels or mobile wallets.
- Insert a local SIM and wait for activation. The device typically activates within 24 to 48 hours of confirmed payment, linked to the CNIC used for registration.
Passenger allowance for travelers
Pakistanis returning from abroad get one phone registered free of tax if declared at the airport on arrival, provided it is for personal use and not a batch of devices for resale. A second phone in the same trip is taxable at standard DIRBS rates. Declaring at arrival (rather than registering later through the portal) is the only way to access the free allowance.
What happens if you miss the registration window entirely
If a phone remains unregistered past the grace period and gets blocked from local SIMs, it isn't permanently unusable, registering it through DIRBS and paying the applicable tax at that point typically restores functionality, though you'll have missed any time-limited promotional allowances tied to declaring at arrival. It's genuinely worth registering promptly rather than assuming you can address it whenever convenient, since a blocked phone with no working SIM is a real daily inconvenience in the meantime.
Keep your registration confirmation and tax payment receipt saved somewhere accessible, useful both for your own records and in case you resell the phone later and a buyer wants confirmation it's properly registered.
Registering a phone purchased secondhand within Pakistan
If you've bought a used phone locally and a DIRBS check shows it as unregistered, you can register it under your own CNIC through the standard process, though it's worth asking the seller directly why it wasn't already registered, since this can occasionally indicate the phone entered the country through an unofficial channel. This pairs naturally with our separate guide on Jazz Internet Packages. For a closer look at this from another angle, see our guide on CNIC Renewal Online.
If you manage phones for a small business or multiple family members, keeping a simple record of each device's registration status and IMEI saves considerable time if you ever need to reference this information again.
Frequently asked questions
New IMEIs typically get a 60-day grace period on a local SIM before PTA blocks non-compliant devices from network access. Register before that window closes to avoid a service interruption.
Yes, if the phone shows as unregistered on an IMEI check, you can register it under your own CNIC through the same DIRBS process, though you should confirm with the seller whether tax was ever paid on it to avoid a dispute later.
The device stops accepting any local SIM. It still works for calls over Wi-Fi and apps that don't need a SIM, but you lose normal mobile network service until you complete registration and pay the tax.
Yes, WiFi-dependent functions continue working normally, only cellular service (calls, SMS, mobile data) through a local SIM is affected by PTA blocking, a phone can still be used for WiFi-based messaging and browsing while unregistered.
A properly registered phone is generally more valuable and easier to resell than an unregistered one, since a buyer avoids the registration hassle and tax themselves, registration is worth completing even if you're considering reselling later.
Business or bulk registration processes may differ from individual consumer registration, contact PTA directly for guidance if you're registering multiple devices for a business rather than personal use.