The Department of Motor Traffic at Narahenpita will restart its online appointment booking facility on Monday, 2 November, allowing the public to reserve time slots in advance rather than queue in person.
The department has decided to bring the online system back into operation from that date, Hiru News reported at 11.08 a.m. Colombo time on Saturday.
What the system covers
Three categories of service are named in the announcement:
- New vehicle registration
- Transfer of vehicle ownership
- Resolution of vehicle-related technical matters
The department is asking the public to book slots through the online system ahead of time for these services.
Why it is being restored
The department says the aim is to provide a more efficient and convenient service to the large number of people who come to its premises each day.
It singles out one problem in particular: members of the public arriving at the department’s premises from early morning and having to wait in long queues to be served. The booking system is being reintroduced to reduce that.
The word used in the announcement is that the facility will be restored to operation — indicating it had been suspended. The filing does not say when the online system went down, why, or how appointments have been handled in the interim.
A date worth stating plainly
Hiru’s English headline on this filing says the facility returns “from tomorrow,” which from a Saturday filing would mean Sunday 1 November. The Sinhala text of the same filing states the date explicitly as November 2 — a Monday. This desk has followed the body text.
Not reported
The filing does not give a booking website address or hotline, does not say whether the restored system covers the department’s other offices or only Narahenpita, and does not state whether walk-in service continues alongside online appointments. No departmental official is quoted by name.
This desk found no other verified newsroom carrying the announcement at the time of writing. Searches returned Department of Motor Traffic appointment stories from earlier years — a recurring headline family on this subject — but nothing matching this filing.