Last updated: 9 October 2026
- First check whether your iPhone even needs registration
- The 60 day rule for travellers
- Passport registration and CNIC registration are different routes
- The three official ways to apply
- PSID, payment and whitelisting, step by step
- Why we removed the old tax tables from this page
- Buying a used iPhone in Pakistan: registration checks that protect you
- Common mistakes that delay iPhone registration
- Frequently asked questions
Bringing an iPhone into Pakistan is only half the job. The phone also has to be registered under the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Device Identification Registration and Blocking System, known as DIRBS, or it will stop working on local mobile networks. This guide explains the current official process, how the tax amount is actually confirmed, and the mistakes that cost iPhone owners extra money.
There is one point readers need to understand before looking for any rate list. The exact duty and tax for your iPhone is determined by the Federal Board of Revenue and is shown to you inside your own DIRBS application when a Payment Slip ID, or PSID, is generated. No website table, including older tables that used to appear on this page, can guarantee the amount for your specific device, because the amount depends on the device and the registration category. That is why this page no longer publishes a static model by model tax table. The official way to know your amount is to start the DIRBS application and read the PSID, or to check the official FBR WeBOC mobile device duty information linked from the FBR mobile devices regularisation page.
First check whether your iPhone even needs registration
Before paying anything, confirm the status of the device. Dial *#06# on the iPhone to see its IMEI numbers. A dual SIM iPhone, including an eSIM model, has more than one IMEI, and every IMEI has to be registered, not just the first one.
You can check the current status of an IMEI through the official PTA Device Verification System at dvs.pta.gov.pk, through the PTA DVS app, or by sending the IMEI by SMS to 8484. Do this before you buy a used iPhone in Pakistan as well. If the status does not say the device is PTA approved, the cost and effort of registration fall on you after the sale, whatever the seller promised.
If the iPhone was bought from an authorised seller in Pakistan as PTA approved stock, it should already be whitelisted. Check anyway. It takes a minute and it is the only way to be sure.
The 60 day rule for travellers
If you brought the iPhone into Pakistan yourself, PTA gives international travellers 60 days from arrival to register the device. The older advice that said 30 days is out of date and should not be followed.
After those 60 days pass, the device can still be registered, but PTA states that registration after the time limit is charged the leviable duty and taxes along with a prescribed fine. Waiting therefore does not save money. It adds a fine on top of the same tax.
Local applicants who did not travel, for example someone who received an iPhone sent from abroad, register under the local applicant category instead of the traveller category. The document you register with changes, so read the next section carefully.
Passport registration and CNIC registration are different routes
PTA registration has two applicant categories, and mixing them up is a common cause of rejected applications.
An international traveller registers within 60 days of arrival using travel credentials: passport number, CNIC or NICOP if applicable, a SIM number issued on that passport or CNIC/NICOP, and the IMEI or IMEIs of the device, all entered through DIRBS.
A local applicant registers using a CNIC, a SIM number issued on that same CNIC, and the device IMEIs through DIRBS.
Two practical consequences follow. First, the SIM you use for the application has to be issued on the same document you are registering with. A SIM issued on a different persons CNIC will not validate cleanly. Second, the category affects how FBR assesses the application, which is one more reason a single published tax figure cannot be promised for every owner of the same iPhone model. Register under the category that matches your real situation. Do not borrow a travellers passport details to chase a lower amount, because the record has to match the person and the SIM when it is validated through FBR and WeBOC.
If you are unsure what is registered in your name, check how many SIMs are registered on your CNIC before you apply.
The three official ways to apply
PTA lists three mechanisms for DIRBS registration, and all three end in the same FBR validation.
The first is the online DIRBS portal at dirbs.pta.gov.pk. Create your application, enter the document, SIM and IMEI details exactly as they appear on your records, and submit.
The second is USSD. Dial *8484# from a mobile phone carrying a local SIM issued on the applicants CNIC or passport, and follow the registration flow.
The third is in person at any mobile service provider service centre or franchise. This is the better route if your documents are unusual, for example a NICOP holder or a traveller whose SIM was issued at the airport, because staff can see the exact validation error instead of you guessing at home.
Whichever route you use, the information is auto processed and validated through FBR and WeBOC. If a detail does not match, the application will not proceed to payment, and the fix is almost always a document or SIM mismatch rather than a problem with the phone itself.
PSID, payment and whitelisting, step by step
Once FBR has validated the application, the system electronically generates a Payment Slip ID. The PSID is valid for 7 days from the date it is generated. Do not generate it and then wait, because an expired PSID means starting the payment step again.
PTAs current registration guidance says the applicant pays the leviable duties and taxes determined by FBR by visiting personally any commercial bank in Pakistan with the PSID. Pay within the validity period and keep the stamped proof of payment. If a website or shop tells you the amount before a PSID exists for your IMEI, treat that figure as an estimate only.
After the payment acknowledgement is received from FBR, DIRBS sends the IMEI or IMEIs to the mobile network operators. PTA states that whitelisting of IMEIs is generally completed within 3 to 4 hours after payment confirmation is received from FBR. In practice, restart the phone after that period and check the IMEI status again before assuming anything has gone wrong. If the status has not updated after a reasonable wait, take the PSID payment proof back to the channel you applied through.
Only after whitelisting is the iPhone fully usable on Pakistani networks for the long term.
Why we removed the old tax tables from this page
Earlier versions of this page listed specific rupee amounts for iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 models on passport and on CNIC. Those tables have been removed for a simple reason: we could not verify each amount against a current official FBR or PTA page at the time of this update, and the two sets of figures on the page no longer agreed with each other.
Publishing a confident tax table that turns out to be wrong is worse than publishing no table, because readers make buying decisions around it. If you need the amount for a specific iPhone today, use the official route: check the FBR mobile devices regularisation page at fbr.gov.pk, follow its mobile device duty information route into WeBOC, and confirm the final amount on the PSID generated for your own IMEI in DIRBS. That number, and only that number, is the one you will actually be charged.
Shops and market sellers can still give you a rough idea of what a model usually costs to register, and that can help you budget. Budgeting is all it should be used for. Compare any dollar based quote with the USD to PKR exchange rate today before you budget.
Buying a used iPhone in Pakistan: registration checks that protect you
Most PTA tax problems in Pakistan do not happen at the airport. They happen in mobile markets, when a buyer pays full price for a phone described as PTA approved and later discovers only one IMEI is approved, or none is.
Before paying, dial *#06#, note every IMEI, and check each one on the PTA verification system. Check with your own SIM in the phone and make a test call. Confirm the model and storage shown by the phone match what you are paying for, because the registration assessment follows the actual device. If the seller will not let you check, walk away. There is no shortage of iPhones for sale, and an unregistered premium phone is an expensive paperweight on local networks once the temporary period ends.
If you are buying a non-PTA iPhone deliberately because it is cheaper, price in the full cost first: the FBR duty and tax on your PSID, the possible fine if the 60 day window has already passed, and the time to complete registration. Only then compare it with the price of an already approved unit.
Common mistakes that delay iPhone registration
The first mistake is registering only one IMEI on a dual SIM iPhone. The phone then works on one slot and fails on the other, and owners often blame the network.
The second is using a SIM issued on someone elses CNIC. The application is validated against FBR records, so the document, the SIM and the applicant have to line up.
The third is letting the PSID expire. Seven days passes quickly, especially around bank holidays.
The fourth is paying a shop the tax amount in cash without receiving a PSID and bank payment proof in your own application. If the money never reaches FBR, the IMEI is never whitelisted, and you have no official record to follow up with.
The fifth is waiting past 60 days in the hope the tax will fall. PTA is explicit that late registration carries duty, taxes and a prescribed fine, so the bill goes up, not down.
Frequently asked questions
International travellers have 60 days from arrival in Pakistan to register through DIRBS. After that, registration is still possible but duty, taxes and a prescribed fine apply.
The exact FBR duty and tax is confirmed in your DIRBS application when a PSID is generated for your IMEI. The FBR mobile devices regularisation page also links to the official WeBOC mobile device duty information. Website tables are estimates only.
A PSID is valid for 7 days from the date it is generated. Pay at a commercial bank within that period and keep the proof of payment.
PTA states whitelisting is generally completed within 3 to 4 hours after payment confirmation is received from FBR. Restart the phone and recheck the IMEI status after that period.
Yes. Every IMEI of the device, physical SIM and eSIM, has to be registered and whitelisted for the phone to work fully on Pakistani networks.
The application is validated through FBR and WeBOC against the applicant document and the SIM issued on it. Use a SIM issued on the same CNIC, NICOP or passport you are registering with to avoid rejection.
For everyday costs, see our latest prices in Pakistan coverage.
Sources checked for this update on 9 October 2026: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Registration, pta.gov.pk; Federal Board of Revenue, Mobile Devices Regularization (DIRBS), fbr.gov.pk.
