Traffic fines to follow cars across the Kurdistan Region boundary

ERBIL — Cars with Kurdistan Region plates will be fined for traffic violations recorded anywhere in federal Iraq, and violations by federally registered cars inside the Region will be passed to federal traffic authorities, the KRG Interior Ministry said.

“Any vehicle carrying plates from the Kurdistan Region governorates that records a violation in any Iraqi governorate will be fined, and vice versa,” said Hemin Mirani, director general of the ministry’s central office, describing “very high coordination” with federal traffic departments in Baghdad and the governorates. He did not say when the cross-recording would start or how fines would be collected on the other side of the boundary.

Electronic processing began on Sunday at the cargo vehicle section of the Erbil Traffic Directorate, covering ownership transfers, annual registration renewals and driving licences, with fees unchanged. “The process will be very fast,” Mirani said, adding that it would be extended to other directorates and branches. Part of each transaction can be done through an online portal, though fines must still be paid in person until electronic payment is introduced. The Region “will not allow any vehicle to move on the Region’s streets if it does not meet safety and security requirements,” he said.

The two traffic systems have been converging for several years. Baghdad and Erbil agreed in 2023 to standardise number plates, replacing governorate names with numerical codes in a common format, and Iraq’s General Traffic Directorate said in 2024 that it was working to unify vehicle registration and driving licences nationwide. Both have moved licensing and violation notices online.