How to Renew Your Vehicle Revenue Licence in Sri Lanka

To renew your vehicle revenue licence in Sri Lanka, you need a valid insurance certificate and a valid emission test certificate on file, then you either apply online through your province's eRL portal or visit any connected Divisional Secretariat with your CR book and old licence. Most owners can finish the online version in a few minutes and get a temporary licence by email the same day.

Key facts

• A revenue licence must be renewed every year for every registered motor car, motorcycle, three-wheeler, dual-purpose vehicle and land vehicle.
• You need a valid insurance certificate and a valid emission test (VET) certificate before the system will let you renew, as of October 2026, per the eRevenue Licence Service (web.erl2.gov.lk).
• Western Province uses the eRL 1.0 portal; the other eight provinces use eRL 2.0, per Gazette.lk's coverage of the system.
• A brand-new vehicle's first licence, fully electric vehicles, and agricultural land vehicles are exempt from the emission test requirement.
• You can renew up to two months before your current licence expires with no late surcharge.
• Late renewal adds a surcharge under the Motor Traffic Act that builds up each completed quarter you're overdue, so check the exact amount at a Divisional Secretariat or on the eRL portal as of October 2026.
• If your licence has lapsed for more than two years, you generally can't renew online and need to go to a Divisional Secretariat in person.
• You can renew at any Divisional Secretariat connected to the network, not only the one near your registered address.

What is a revenue licence and why do you need one?

A revenue licence (often called "sahana balapathraya") is the annual permit, similar to road tax, that every registered vehicle in Sri Lanka must carry to be legally driven on public roads. It's issued under the Motor Traffic Act and covers motor cars, motorcycles, three-wheelers, dual-purpose vehicles, and land vehicles. The fee depends on things like engine capacity or unladen weight, fuel type, and vehicle class, and rates are set by Provincial Councils, so they can differ slightly by province and change over time — check the current amount for your exact vehicle on the eRL portal or at your Divisional Secretariat, since the figure shown there is the one that applies when you pay.

If you're about to buy a vehicle, it's worth checking the revenue licence is current before you commit — browse options on /vehicles and compare asking prices on /price-check so you know what's a fair deal once ownership costs like this are factored in.

What documents do you need to renew your revenue licence?

You'll generally need:

• Your Certificate of Registration (CR book), or an extract of it
• Your previous year's revenue licence
• A valid vehicle insurance certificate, matching the vehicle's current details in the insurer's database
• A valid emission test (VET) certificate, unless your vehicle is exempt
• A fitness certificate (VFT), if your vehicle category requires one, such as some commercial or hired vehicles
• A letter or certified copy from your leasing company, if the vehicle is leased and the leasing company holds the original CR book

Whether you renew online or in person, these are the same underlying checks — the online system just pulls most of them automatically from government databases instead of you carrying paper copies.

How do you renew your revenue licence online?

You can renew online through the eRL portal for your province: eRL 1.0 for Western Province, or eRL 2.0 for the other eight provinces, as reported by Gazette.lk. The general steps are:

1. Go to the eRL website for your province and select your preferred language.
2. Log in using your Google or Facebook account, or sign up with your own credentials.
3. Enter your vehicle registration number and the last six digits of your chassis number.
4. The system auto-validates your insurance, emission test, and fitness certificate (where relevant) from the connected databases, and shows the fee due.
5. Confirm your mailing address and mobile number, since you'll need your phone to verify an OTP (one-time password).
6. Pay by debit card, credit card, or a supported QR payment app.
7. Download or receive your temporary licence by email straight after payment.

Your printed, official revenue licence is then delivered by registered post, typically within about a week. Keep the temporary copy in the vehicle in the meantime, since that's your proof of a valid licence until the physical one arrives.

If your insurance or emission test doesn't show as valid in the system, the renewal will fail at step 4 — sort that out first with your insurer or an emission testing centre before trying again.

Can you renew at a Divisional Secretariat instead?

Yes. If you'd rather not do it online, or your case doesn't qualify for online renewal, you can visit any Divisional Secretariat connected to the eRL network with your CR book, previous licence, insurance certificate and emission test certificate. You're not restricted to the Divisional Secretariat tied to your registration address — any linked office can process it. Expect it to take longer than the online route, since you're dealing with counter queues rather than an instant database check.

What if your vehicle is leased?

If your vehicle is still under a lease, the leasing company usually holds your original CR book. You'll typically need a letter or certified copy from them confirming the vehicle and chassis details before the Divisional Secretariat or the online system will process your renewal. If you're not sure what your leasing company needs from you, it's worth checking your lease paperwork or calling them directly — and if you're comparing lease costs on a different vehicle, /leasing has a monthly payment calculator that can help with planning ahead.

How early can you renew, and what happens if you're late?

You can renew up to two months before your current revenue licence expires without any penalty, so there's a reasonable window to get it done ahead of the deadline. If you miss your renewal date, a late surcharge applies under the Motor Traffic Act, building up for each completed quarter you're overdue — the exact amount can change, so confirm the current figure at a Divisional Secretariat or on the eRL portal as of October 2026 before you pay.

If your revenue licence has lapsed for a long stretch — more than two years, based on current eRL guidance — you generally can't complete the renewal online and will need to visit a Divisional Secretariat in person, where staff can work out the accumulated surcharge and process it manually.

What should you watch out for?

• Don't let your insurance or emission test lapse before your revenue licence renewal date — the online system checks both automatically, and a mismatch will block your application.
• Double-check your chassis number and registration number match your CR book exactly before submitting online, since a typo can cause delays.
• If you're selling your vehicle, buyers will usually expect to see a current revenue licence as part of the handover — list your vehicle on /post-ad once your paperwork is in order, and see /safety-tips for other checks worth doing before you hand over a vehicle.
• Keep your temporary licence accessible (printed or on your phone) until the physical copy arrives by post.
• If you're unsure about your specific vehicle category, leased-vehicle paperwork, or a late-renewal surcharge, ask in the /forum — other Sri Lankan vehicle owners who've been through the same process can often point you in the right direction.

Sources

• eRevenue Licence Service (eRL 2.0)
• Online Vehicle Revenue License Renewal - Gazette.lk
• Let's Renew the Revenue Licence - Motorguide.lk
• Revenue Licence & Road Tax in Sri Lanka 2026 - Cardreams.lk
• Divisional Secretariat - Mulatiyana: Vehicle Registrations & Licence Renewals