Guide6 min read21 views
Updated 31 October 2026 · Written by the Wahanaya.lk team
Report the loss to the police, fill DMT Form CMT65 with your NIC, revenue licence and police report, then submit it at the Narahenpita head office or a district office for motorcycles. It normally takes about a month to get the duplicate.
If your vehicle's CR book (Certificate of Registration) is lost, stolen or destroyed, the first step is a police report, not a trip to the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT). You cannot apply for a duplicate until you have that report in hand, because the DMT will ask for it as part of the application.
The CR book is the legal proof that a vehicle is registered and who it belongs to. Without it, you can't transfer ownership, renew certain documents smoothly, or reassure a buyer that the vehicle is genuinely yours. Losing it is stressful, but the replacement process is well defined — it just takes patience.
You report it at the police station nearest to where you lost it or where you live, and ask for a copy of the entry or report confirming the loss. Do this as soon as you realise the book is missing — don't wait, because you'll need the police document as the first piece of paperwork for the DMT application.
Keep the original police report and make a couple of photocopies. If the CR book was stolen along with other documents or the vehicle's number plates, mention that clearly in your statement, since it can matter later if the vehicle turns up being misused by someone else.
You need the police report, your National Identity Card, the vehicle's valid revenue licence, and the completed Form CMT65. If you have any old photocopy of the lost CR book, bring it too — it speeds up matching the vehicle's details at the counter.
A practical checklist:
If the vehicle is registered under a company name, bring the business registration documents too, since the DMT will want to confirm who is authorised to apply on the company's behalf.
For cars, vans, pickups, three-wheelers and most other vehicles, you apply at the DMT's Narahenpita head office in Colombo. If you own a motorcycle, you also have the option of applying at the DMT's district offices in Gampaha, Hambantota, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura or Jaffna — these district offices don't handle duplicates for other vehicle categories.
If you're not near Colombo and don't own a motorcycle, you'll need to make the trip to Narahenpita, or send someone you trust with a letter of authorisation and all the original documents. Many owners who live outside Colombo or abroad ask a relative to handle this step for them.
Once you submit Form CMT65 with the supporting documents, the DMT reviews your application and, in most cases, the vehicle is inspected before a duplicate is approved. Inspection confirms the engine and chassis numbers match the vehicle's existing record, which protects against fraudulent duplicate requests on stolen vehicles.
After inspection, the officer issues Form CMT75, and this, together with your other paperwork, moves the file toward final approval. There's no same-day service for this — plan for roughly a month between submission and collecting your duplicate CR book, based on what past applicants have reported. Keep the receipt you're given at the counter; you may need it to check on progress or to collect the duplicate later.
Yes, a duplicate CR book is marked to show it's a replacement, not the original. This is normal and doesn't affect the vehicle's legal registration — it simply tells anyone who checks the document later that the first copy was reported lost, stolen or destroyed.
This marking is worth mentioning upfront if you later sell the vehicle, since a careful buyer may ask why the CR book is a duplicate. A short, honest explanation backed by your old police report is usually enough to put their mind at ease.
The same basic process applies, but you won't need a police report if the book still exists and simply torn, water-damaged, or otherwise unreadable. Bring the damaged book itself to the DMT along with your NIC, revenue licence and Form CMT65, and explain that it's damaged rather than lost.
If only parts of the book are damaged and the key details — registration number, owner's name, chassis and engine numbers — are still legible, ask the DMT counter staff whether a duplicate is strictly necessary or whether another remedy applies in your case.
It's best not to try. Most private buyers and all leasing companies want to see the original (or duplicate) CR book before they hand over money, since it's the core proof of ownership for a vehicle sale or lease. Trying to sell without it, or with only a police report as a stand-in, puts off genuine buyers and invites lowball offers from people hoping to exploit the situation.
If you're planning to sell once the duplicate arrives, it's worth browsing /vehicles and checking recent asking prices on /price-check now, so you're ready to list the vehicle the moment you have the new CR book in hand. When you do list it, /post-ad is where you can post the ad, and if you're financing the next vehicle, /leasing has a monthly payment calculator worth checking.
Don't delay the police report, don't submit the DMT application without a photocopy of your supporting documents, and don't assume the district offices can handle a duplicate for a car or van — they're limited to motorcycles. Also avoid agreeing to any "fast-track" duplicate offered outside official DMT channels; the only legitimate route is the one described above, through the police and the DMT.
If anything about your situation is unusual — the vehicle is leased, registered to a company, or the owner has passed away — it's worth asking around first. The /forum on Wahanaya is a good place to ask other Sri Lankan vehicle owners who've been through the same process, before you make the trip to Narahenpita or a district office.
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