One-Year Lock · New SIMs
The 365-Day SIM Rule: No Disown or Transfer for a Year
Since PTA’s advisory of 24 May 2026, a newly activated SIM cannot be disowned or transferred for a full 365 days from its activation date. The clock runs per SIM, from the date shown on the cnic.sims.pk portal. The wider toolkit sits at Check SIM Owner Details Pakistan.
Key takeaways
- The 365-day lock: a new SIM cannot be disowned or transferred for one year from its activation date.
- Effective from PTA’s advisory dated 24 May 2026; the amendment traces to gazette letter L-7646 of 11 May 2026.
- The activation date visible on cnic.sims.pk starts each SIM’s own clock.
- You can still block a lost or stolen SIM and report fraud to NCCIA on 1799 inside the year.
- Never buy a pre-activated SIM — you inherit a line you cannot offload for months.
Scope note: this rule governs SIMs on your own CNIC. Checking or acting on lines tied to someone else’s identity is a separate matter, drawn precisely on our legality page.
On this page
What the 365-day rule actually says
The rule is narrow and specific. A SIM activated today cannot be disowned, and it cannot be transferred to another person, until 365 days pass. That window counts from the activation date, not the purchase date and not any national start date. Each SIM carries its own clock. A line you activated in March clears in March next year; one from last week runs almost the full stretch.
The date that matters sits on the cnic.sims.pk portal beside every number in your name, and the portal guide shows where to read it. Until the year elapses, the disowning counter and the ownership-transfer counter will not process that number. Nothing else about the line changes.
The paper trail: gazette to Geo Fact Check
Rumour moves faster than regulation, so the paper trail matters. The change began with a gazette letter numbered L-7646, dated 11 May 2026, amending the subscriber antecedents regulations. PTA issued its public advisory on 24 May 2026. National press echoed it the next day, on 25 May. When the claim went viral and readers doubted it, Geo Fact Check ran the numbers and published a verdict of True on 4 June 2026, quoting a PTA director general on the record.
| Date | Source | What it established |
|---|---|---|
| 11 May 2026 | Gazette letter L-7646 | Amended the subscriber antecedents regulations |
| 24 May 2026 | PTA advisory | Announced the 365-day disown and transfer lock |
| 25 May 2026 | National press | Coverage confirmed the advisory |
| 4 June 2026 | Geo Fact Check | Verdict True, quoting the PTA director general |
Four independent points, one conclusion. The 365-day lock is real, official and current, not a WhatsApp forward. Our PTA news feed keeps the dated trail, and the full sequence sits on the rules timeline.
Why PTA locked new SIMs for a year
The logic is anti-fraud, and it targets a specific trick. Fraudsters issue SIMs on borrowed or stolen identities, then churn them fast, moving each line on before the real owner notices. That short disowning window let those SIMs change hands within weeks, laundering the trail. A 365-day freeze breaks that speed. The freeze anchors a SIM to one name for a full year, long enough for checks, complaints and enforcement to catch up.
Its logic drives the wider tightening of 2026, from the midnight new-SIM sales ban to the seven-day NADRA wait covered on our waiting-period page. The same instinct sits behind the cap of eight SIMs per CNIC. Friction is the point. Slow SIMs are harder to abuse.
What you can still do inside the year
A year-long lock sounds absolute, yet it does not trap you. The freeze applies to disowning and transferring, and to nothing else. If your phone is lost or stolen, you can still block that SIM through your operator and stop anyone using it. A line you never authorised on your own count can still be reported. Fraud complaints go to the NCCIA on 1799 or through complaint.nccia.gov.pk, and that route stays open regardless of any SIM’s age.
You can still run 668 to audit your numbers, read the portal, and disown older SIMs that already cleared their year. Verifying a line through your network’s BVS code works throughout too. The block and disown guide separates what the lock touches from what it leaves alone.
Check activation dates, skip pre-activated SIMs
The rule turns one habit into a costly mistake: buying a pre-activated SIM. Some sellers push a number already switched on, promising instant service with no biometric queue. Skip it. That SIM was activated in someone’s name on a date you did not choose, and until its own 365 days pass, nobody can transfer it cleanly into yours. You inherit a line you cannot offload and cannot fully control.
Buy new SIMs only across a franchise counter, on your own thumb impression. To see the activation date on every number you already hold, open cnic.sims.pk, sign in, and read the column beside each SIM; the same record answers our how-many-SIMs check. Know the date, and you know the exact day each line becomes free to move.
The 60-day and 5 June myths, corrected
Two wrong versions of this rule still circulate, and both cause real errors. The first shrinks the lock to 60 days. A figure like that floats around group chats, yet the 24 May advisory sets the window at a full 365 days, and no official notice since has shortened it. The second invents a single national start date, usually 5 June, as though every SIM in Pakistan locked together on one morning. It does not work that way.
The clock is per SIM and runs from each line’s own activation date, so two numbers bought a month apart clear a month apart. Treat any dated claim you cannot trace to PTA as suspect; our myth fact-check holds the running list of these forwards and what the record actually says.
Roman Urdu mein
24 May 2026 ki PTA advisory ke baad, nayi activate hui SIM ko 365 din tak na disown kiya ja sakta hai, na kisi doosre ke naam transfer. Ye 365 din har SIM ki apni activation date se ginte hain, jo cnic.sims.pk portal par nazar aati hai. Wajah anti-fraud hai: jaali SIMs ko tezi se aage bechne wala silsila rokna. Iss saal ke andar bhi aap apni gumshuda SIM block karwa sakte hain, aur fraud ki shikayat NCCIA ke 1799 par de sakte hain. Sabaq yaad rakhein: pehle se activate SIM kabhi na khareedein. Warna aik saal tak woh line aapke qabu se bahar rehti hai. Aur ye afwah ke rule sirf 60 din ka hai ya 5 June se shuru hua, ghalat hai; asal window poore 365 din ki hai.
Frequently asked questions
Does the 365-day rule mean my new SIM stops working for a year?
No, not at all. Your SIM works normally from day one, with calls, data and OTPs intact. The lock touches only two actions: disowning the line and transferring it to another person. For 365 days from activation you simply cannot hand that number off, yet everyday use stays untouched throughout the year.
How do I find my SIM’s activation date?
Open the free portal at cnic.sims.pk, sign in with your CNIC, and read the activation date shown beside each number registered to you. That date starts the 365-day clock. Add a year to it and you have the first day the line becomes eligible for disowning or transfer.
Is the lock really 365 days, or is it 60 days like people say?
It is 365 days. The 60-day figure circulating on group chats misreads the 24 May 2026 advisory, which sets a full one-year window. Geo Fact Check verified the year-long lock as True on 4 June 2026. Trust the dated advisory over any forwarded number, and cross-check our myth page.
Can I still block my SIM if it is lost within that year?
Yes. Blocking a lost or stolen SIM is a different action from disowning it, and the 365-day freeze does not touch it. Contact your operator, block the line, and protect your accounts straight away. You can also report any fraud to the NCCIA on 1799, whatever the SIM’s age.
Why did PTA extend the lock to a full year?
The extension attacks SIM fraud at its speed. Criminals issue SIMs on stolen identities and move them on within weeks, so a one-year anchor stops that rapid churn. The change traces to gazette letter L-7646 of 11 May 2026 and the 24 May advisory, part of a broader 2026 tightening.
I bought a pre-activated SIM. Can I transfer it to my name now?
Not until its own year ends. A pre-activated SIM carries an activation date set in someone else’s name, and the transfer counter will refuse the change until 365 days pass from that date. This is exactly why pre-activated SIMs are a trap. Always buy new across a franchise counter on your own biometrics.
Written and reviewed by Muhammad Hamza, founder and editor of CnicSimInfo. The 365-day lock traces to PTA’s advisory of 24 May 2026 and gazette letter L-7646 of 11 May 2026, with Geo Fact Check confirming it True on 4 June 2026. Last reviewed: 13 July 2026. See our editorial standards.