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How to Get Your Phone PTA Approved: An In-Depth Guide

23 Jun 2022

Whether you are a foreigner staying in Pakistan for a month or longer, or a local, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) requires all mobile phones to be registered. It’s important to note that the PTA does also allow the registration of one device free of cost— but only if you are coming back to Pakistan from abroad. If you have more than one, you’ll need to pay relevant tax if you plan on using it for more than 60 days. Additionally, if you are an international traveler and you bring a phone to Pakistan, once you insert a local network sim into your phone, you will have to get your phone registered.

 

If you do not get your phone registered with the PTA, it’s highly likely that the PTA will block it within thirty to sixty days. Generally speaking, this has caused a lot of issues for both mobile owners and mobile retailers, as most people are not knowledgeable on how to get their phones registered, or how to register a blocked mobile phone. Therefore, we’re here to help guide you!

 

Firstly, check if your phone is registered! To check the status of your mobile phone’s registration, you need to dial *#06#. In response, the PTA typically sends a message of your phone’s IMEI— the “International Mobile Equipment Identity”. You should then send this IMEI number to 8484 through SMS. Also note that you do need to get both sim slots registered if you are using two, and to make sure that both sim slots’ IMEIs are registered with the PTA. After this short process, you should get a notification informing you of whether or not your phone is registered!

 

If it is registered, good for you! However, if it isn’t, there’s two main methods that the PTA recognizes:

  1. Online registration
  2. Mobile franchises

 

Method 1: Phone Registration through Online Registration

 

To start off the process of getting your phone registered online, you’ll need to make an account on the PTA’s Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System’s (DIRBS) website. After logging in, enter in all the required information— your purpose, user type, CNIC or passport number, etc. Make sure to check and double-check the IMEI number of your phone, because that’s what it’ll be registered against! 

 

After entering in all the details, submit the form and you’ll be led to a new window which will show the COC— Certificate of Compliance to technical standards— details. These details will also include the payable tax against your device, but you will also be notified through SMS and email address, along with a PSID code of 17 digits. You can use this PSID code to pay your duty tax to any ATM or bank, after which you’ll receive a confirmation message stating that you’ve paid the tax. You can also check your phone status by logging into the PTA website, just to double-check if you like! 

 

Worst case scenario, if you do not receive a confirmation message or your device status still says unregistered after paying the tax, you can contact the PTA.

Method 2: Mobile Phone Registration through a Mobile Franchise

 

Almost every mobile franchise will register your mobile phone for you, which makes the process smoother— you need only to visit your nearest mobile franchise and provide them with the following information:

 

  • Mobile Phone
  • IMEI no.
  • CNIC card
  • Passport (if international traveler)
  • Contact Number

 

The relevant franchise’s customer relation officer will, generally, generate a PSID code after receiving all the aforementioned information. After this, you’ll still need to pay for the mobile registration tax fee at a bank, ATM, or through online banking, with the PSID code.

 

We hope you find this in-depth guide on how to get your mobile phone registered with the PTA helpful!

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