You hear that someone filed a first information report (FIR) against you. Or you filed one yourself and you want to know where the case stands. Or you are about to buy a used car and you want to make sure it has no police record.
Here is how to check an FIR online in Pakistan, province by province, and what you can and cannot see from your phone.
The honest part first: there is no national search box
Pakistan has no website where you type a name or a CNIC and see every FIR in the country. The police keep FIR records controlled, partly to protect privacy. So you cannot look up another person's criminal record by CNIC from home.
What you CAN do is check the status of an FIR you already know about, and request a copy of it. You can also check a vehicle's record before you buy it. Each province runs its own online system, so where you check depends on where the FIR was registered.
What you need before you start
- Your FIR number. The station gives it to you when a case is registered, usually with the year.
- The name of the police station that recorded the FIR.
- Your CNIC for checks that need identity verification.
Keep that FIR number safe. You will need it every time.
Punjab: the most complete online system
Punjab runs an electronic FIR system built by the Punjab Information Technology Board. It is operational in every police station in the province and is linked to Nadra.
The Punjab Police website is the main door. Under its services you will find a Copy of FIR service and a Crime Report service. The same services sit on the Dastak portal, the one window for Punjab government services. You apply online and either collect the document or choose doorstep delivery.
The Punjab Police App does the same work from your phone. Some services ask you to verify your CNIC once through the Nadra PakID app before you can use them.
You can track an application after you file it through the Khidmat Markaz track page.
Sindh: the IGP complaint system and the CRO record
Sindh uses the same electronic FIR system that PITB built for Punjab. For a complaint that seems stuck, the official route is the IGP Complaint Management System. You register a complaint there and track its status.
For your own arrest or court record, Sindh Police runs a record update page where you enter the FIR number, the year, and the police station to update your record.
In Karachi, the Citizens Police Liaison Committee keeps an FIR database updated daily since 1987. It is widely used to check vehicle records before a purchase.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: the PAS complaint portal
KPK Police runs the Police Access Service, or PAS. You can submit an online FIR or complaint on that portal. On submission you get a tracking ID, and you use that ID to follow the case.
The steps are on the KPK Police website: open the Public Services section, click Online FIR, fill the form, and keep the tracking ID shown after you submit.
Islamabad: the Copy of FIR service
Islamabad Police has a dedicated Copy of FIR service on its website. You apply online and the copy is processed by the force. The Smart ICTP app on Google Play and the App Store also carries FIR services.
You can also collect a copy from the Public Facilitation Center at F-6/1 in Islamabad, or from the police station where the FIR was registered.
Balochistan: the station route
Balochistan Police has an official website, but the online FIR services are thinner than in the other provinces. The reliable route there is still the police station itself. By law you are entitled to a copy of your FIR, so ask for it.
Checking a vehicle's record before you buy
Used car buyers in Pakistan get cheated when a stolen or impounded vehicle is sold as clean. The official check is the Vehicle Verification service on the PKM portal. It confirms whether a vehicle is stolen and whether it has any police record. Punjab Police also runs the Anti Vehicle Lifting System for the same purpose.
In Karachi, the CPLC FIR database is the standard check. Ask for the vehicle registration number and the chassis number, and confirm both are clear before you pay.
What you will see, and what you will not
You can see the stage of a case. Was it registered? Is the investigation running? Did the police send the file to court? These are the milestones the digital record shows.
You will not see the investigation file, witness statements, or recovery details. Those are internal police records. And you cannot type someone else's CNIC and pull up their cases. You can check your own record. That is a privacy protection, not a missing feature.
What the law says about your FIR
When you report a cognizable offence, the police must write it down as an FIR. That duty comes from section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898. The officer at the station writes the information you give, reads it back to you, and you sign it.
You get a free copy of the FIR. That copy carries your FIR number, and that number is what you type into the portals above.
One warning. Having a false case registered is an offence under section 182 of the Pakistan Penal Code, with a maximum punishment of six months in prison or a fine or both. An FIR does not mean anyone is guilty. It only means a case is open. Do not file a false one.
Related reading
If you want the basics of the FIR and how it starts, read what an FIR is in Pakistan. For the general steps that work across provinces, read how to check your FIR online in Pakistan. If you already know your FIR number and just want the status, the FIR status check guide is faster. If your FIR is in Punjab, the step by step guide is how to check an FIR online in Punjab. And if you want to check your own CNIC, read how to check for an FIR against your CNIC in Pakistan. More legal guides are on the Lexiber blog, and you can start from the Lexiber home page.
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