Check the SIMs on Your Own CNIC or Number
Pick a tab and press the button to see the official PTA check for your own CNIC, or for the SIM in your phone. Nothing you type leaves this page, and this site does not look up other people's numbers.
Before you accept or keep using a SIM, check whose name it is registered in: put it in your phone and send MNP to 667. If the reply shows someone else’s name, that person is legally responsible for the SIM, and the safe fix is to transfer ownership to the actual user at an operator franchise, with biometric verification.
Last checked: October 2026
This page is about SIM ownership: making sure the SIM you use is in your name, and changing the owner when it is not. If you only want the steps for the official checks, see our how to check SIM owner details tutorial. For an overview of every check, start at the SIM owner details hub.
Why the owner name on a SIM matters
In December 2025 PTA warned that every SIM must be registered in the name of its actual user. The registered owner is held responsible for calls, messages and data used on that SIM, and violations can lead to penalties or disconnection. With about 196 million SIMs in use in Pakistan, PTA and the operators are checking registrations more closely.
In practice, this means two risks:
- If you use a SIM in someone else’s name, it can be blocked, and you have no rights over it. The owner can have it removed from their CNIC or replaced without you.
- If someone else uses a SIM in your name, any fraud, harassment or crime done with it traces back to your CNIC first.
Check the owner before you accept a SIM
Run the 667 check whenever a SIM comes to you from someone else:
- A used SIM bought from a friend or seller, or a “fancy” number
- A SIM a relative passes on to you
- A SIM issued by your employer or office
- A SIM that has been in your house for years and nobody remembers who bought it
How: insert the SIM, open your SMS app, type MNP and send it to 667 from that SIM. On a dual-SIM phone, make sure that SIM is the one sending. The reply shows the registered owner’s name, a partly hidden CNIC and the activation date. A small SMS charge may apply. Our 667 guide explains the reply and common errors.
Do not pay for a used SIM until the 667 reply shows the seller’s name and the seller agrees to transfer it to you in person at a franchise.
Also check what is on your own CNIC
Ownership works both ways. Send your 13-digit CNIC (no dashes) to 668 for a count of active SIMs by operator (about Rs 2 plus tax), or check the total free at cnic.sims.pk. If you once bought a SIM for a family member or employee, it still counts against your limit of 5 voice and 3 data-only SIMs. See how to check every SIM registered on your CNIC.
How to transfer SIM ownership
A transfer (also called changing the SIM owner name) moves the SIM from the current owner’s CNIC to the new user’s CNIC. The number stays the same. Exact steps and any fee are set by each operator, so confirm with your operator first, but the process generally works like this:
- Confirm the current owner with 667 from the SIM.
- Check the new owner has room. The new owner must be under the limit of 5 voice SIMs or 3 data-only SIMs. Check with 668 or cnic.sims.pk.
- Both people go to a franchise or customer service centre of that operator, together, with their original valid CNICs.
- Both give fingerprints. Ownership transfers require biometric verification against NADRA records.
- After the transfer, send MNP to 667 again. The reply should now show the new owner’s name.
Photocopies, photos of a CNIC, or a letter from the owner are not a substitute for biometric verification. A seller who offers to “transfer it later” or online is a warning sign.
If the CNIC has expired
Renew it with NADRA before going to the franchise. PTA reported 244,357 SIMs on cancelled or expired CNICs blocked between January and July 2026.
A deceased relative’s SIM
Many families keep using a late parent’s SIM because the number is linked to bank alerts or contacts. This is now a real risk. PTA reported that 903,230 SIMs registered to deceased persons’ CNICs were disconnected between January and July 2026.
If you want to keep the number, an heir should get the SIM transferred to their own name. Operators may ask for supporting documents in these cases, so contact the operator’s customer care from that SIM (Jazz 111, Zong 310, Ufone 333, Telenor 345) or visit a franchise and ask what they need. The heir will need their own original CNIC and biometric verification.
Employer and company SIMs
Office SIMs are often registered to the company or to one manager’s CNIC. Send MNP to 667 to see whose name your work SIM is in. If it is in a colleague’s or manager’s personal name, raise it with your employer: that person carries responsibility for your use. When you leave a job, return the SIM or arrange a transfer instead of keeping a SIM registered to someone else. If you are the person whose CNIC was used for staff SIMs, check your count with 668 and remove or transfer SIMs you no longer control.
If 667 shows a name you do not know
- Check the sending SIM. On a dual-SIM phone, the reply may be for your other SIM.
- If you bought it used: contact the seller and arrange a transfer at a franchise. If they cannot be reached, ask the operator about your options. Stop relying on that SIM for banking or important accounts.
- If you bought it new in your own name: this should not happen. Visit the operator’s franchise with your original CNIC. If not fixed, get a complaint number and escalate to PTA online or on 0800-55055.
- If someone else is using a SIM on your CNIC: ask the operator to remove it. PTA’s FAQ says a CNIC holder’s disown request is treated as a request to remove the SIM from their CNIC, after biometric verification. Our guide to deactivating an extra SIM covers this.
If you believe your CNIC was used to register SIMs without your consent, keep screenshots of the 668 or portal result and contact the NCCIA cyber crime helpline 1799. Under PECA 2016 Section 16, unauthorised use of someone’s identity information can lead to up to 3 years in prison, a fine of up to Rs 5 million, or both.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the owner name on a SIM without the current owner?
Generally no. A transfer needs the current owner’s biometric verification. Where the owner has died, the heir route through the operator applies.
Does a transfer change my number or network?
No. The number stays the same. Changing network is a separate process (Mobile Number Portability), which also needs biometric verification.
Can I find the owner of a SIM I do not have?
No. 667 only works from the SIM itself. There is no public service that shows another person’s name from a number.
Sources: PTA public notice on SIM registration (December 2025), PTA consumer FAQs on disowning SIMs, PTA SIM Information System (cnic.sims.pk), and PTA enforcement figures reported in August 2026. This site is independent and not linked to PTA, NADRA or any operator.