Every Official Method, One Page
CNIC SIM Check — How Many SIMs Are on Your CNIC (2026)
The fastest CNIC SIM check takes under a minute: SMS your 13-digit CNIC, without dashes, to 668 (about Rs 2 including tax), or enter it free at cnic.sims.pk. Either way you get a count of every SIM registered against your CNIC, split by operator, straight from PTA’s SVMS registry. Both checks work only on your own CNIC; the law closes every other door.
Written and reviewed by Muhammad Hayan — Pakistan telecom & digital-identity specialist (PTA policy, PECA 2016, NADRA biometric). Methods re-tested on live SIMs. Last reviewed: 8 July 2026 · Editorial standards · LinkedIn
A cnic sim check answers one question the registry keeps for you: which SIMs does Pakistan think are yours? This hub walks through both official methods step by step, shows you how to read the result. After that come the two follow-ups, a count at the limit and a SIM you never bought.
On this page
The fastest legal check
Two official channels read the registry, and choosing between them takes one question: do you have internet? With a browser, use cnic.sims.pk, because it is free and shows more. With only SMS, 668 does the job for about Rs 2. There is no third legal channel. No app or “database” does what these two do.
| Channel | Cost | Works from | Shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMS to 668 | About Rs 2 incl. tax | Any Pakistani SIM | SIM count per operator |
| cnic.sims.pk | Free | Any browser, worldwide | Count per operator, voice/data split |
Whichever cnic sim check you pick, screenshot the result with today’s date visible. That habit turns every future franchise visit and every check sim by cnic dispute into a two-minute conversation instead of an argument.
Method 1 — SMS your CNIC to 668
- Open your SMS app and start a new message to 668.
- Type your 13-digit CNIC with no dashes and no spaces, nothing else.
- Send it. The service costs about Rs 2 including tax, so keep a few rupees of balance.
- The reply lands within a minute or two, listing your SIM count for Jazz, Zong, Telenor, Ufone, SCO and ONIC.
- Screenshot the reply. It is your dated record of the 668 sim check.
Common failure points are simpler than people expect: dashes in the CNIC, a space before the digits, or an empty balance. Fix those and the 668 cnic sim check is close to unbreakable; it runs on the same SVMS registry PTA itself uses, which is what makes the reply authoritative rather than indicative.
Method 2 — the cnic.sims.pk portal
- Open cnic.sims.pk in any browser, on any network, in any country.
- Enter your 13-digit CNIC (NICOP and POC numbers work identically).
- Complete the CAPTCHA and submit.
- Read your per-operator table, including the voice/data split, free of charge.
The portal’s cnic sim check is also the only public view that shows the split behind your count, which matters as soon as you compare it against the limit below. Overseas users get a dedicated section further down; for them the portal is not just the better option but effectively the only one.
Reading your result
Each entry is a SIM card owner details record; a typical cnic sim check reply reads like a scoreboard: Jazz 2, Zong 1, Telenor 0, Ufone 1, SCO 0, ONIC 0. Add them up; that total is what the state believes sits on your identity, and it covers every SIM biometrically activated against your CNIC, prepaid or postpaid, physical or eSIM.
Three details trip people up. Ported numbers count against the operator they are on today, not the prefix they carry. A dead SIM you stopped using years ago still counts until it is disowned or recycled. And family members’ SIMs bought on your CNIC are, in the registry’s eyes, simply yours. That carries everything it implies when something goes wrong.
If the total matches what is in your drawer, you are done for the month. If it does not, the sims on cnic gap has exactly one safe explanation path, and it starts six steps down this page.
The 5 voice + 3 data limit
The sim limit per cnic is eight: five voice SIMs plus three data SIMs, combined across all operators, a cap that traces to the Supreme Court’s ruling of 5 November 2015. It is enforced at activation, so the ninth SIM simply refuses to go live at the franchise.
Two viral claims deserve a flat correction here. The limit was never “reduced to 6”, and “25 SIMs, five per network” misreads the rule, because the cap is combined, not per operator. Foreigners on passports get two SIMs; corporate connections run on a company NTN outside the personal cap. Our how-many-SIMs guide covers what each count means in practice, including the over-the-cap cases that predate enforcement.
Found an unknown SIM? Six steps
An unfamiliar SIM in your count is either an old paperwork leftover or someone using your identity, and you should treat it as the second until proven otherwise. The sequence:
- Screenshot the evidence, the 668 reply or portal table, with the date visible.
- Identify the operator the extra SIM sits on; the count already tells you.
- Visit that operator’s franchise with your original CNIC, in person.
- Say “SIM disowning”, complete the fingerprint verification, and pay at most Rs 200 (the fee is capped there for SIMs held under six months, and waived where fraud is involved, per PTA’s notice effective 1 January 2024).
- Keep the written reference slip. It is your proof the request exists if anything surfaces later.
- Re-run the cnic sim check after 24 to 48 hours, and if the SIM smells like fraud rather than clerical error, file with NCCIA at 1799 or complaint.nccia.gov.pk the same day.
One rule changed in 2026, and it changes your urgency. Since PTA’s advisory of 24 May 2026, a newly activated SIM cannot be disowned or transferred for 365 days from activation. Fraud cases still move through the complaint route. But the clean monthly check that catches a ghost SIM early is now worth far more than the one that finds it a year late. The legal backdrop, including the section that punishes whoever issued that SIM, is on our PECA 2016 page.
Overseas and NICOP holders
Living abroad removes the SMS option and nothing else. The portal accepts NICOP and POC numbers exactly as it accepts CNICs, works from any country, and costs nothing, which makes an overseas cnic sim check genuinely easier than a domestic one. No Pakistani SIM is required to run it.
Two overseas-specific notes. First, PTA’s SIM retention facility, announced 19 January 2026, lets overseas Pakistanis keep prepaid numbers alive through their operator with periodic activity, so your number surviving the stay is now a solved problem. Second, unattended SIMs of relatives who have passed away are a known fraud route; if you manage family affairs from abroad, put the portal check on your monthly list too.
CNIC par SIM check — Roman-Urdu mein
CNIC par SIM check karne ke sirf 2 official tareeqay hain. Pehla: apna 13-hindsa CNIC bina dash ke 668 par SMS karein, taqreeban Rs 2 mein har operator ka count aa jata hai. Doosra: cnic.sims.pk kholein, CNIC likhein, CAPTCHA karein, bilkul free result. Agar koi anjaan SIM nikle to us operator ki franchise par asli CNIC ke sath ja kar “SIM disowning” kahein aur reference slip zaroor lein. Fraud lagne par usi din 1799 par NCCIA ko report karein. Har mahine aik dafa check karna sab se sasta hifazati qadam hai.
Count ka matlab aur 8-SIM limit ki tafseel is guide mein hai.
FAQs
How can I do a CNIC SIM check for free?
Use cnic.sims.pk in any browser: enter your 13-digit CNIC, pass the CAPTCHA, and the per-operator table is free. The SMS route via 668 costs about Rs 2 including tax.
What does 668 show exactly?
A count of SIMs registered on your CNIC for each operator: Jazz, Zong, Telenor, Ufone, SCO and ONIC. It never shows names, full numbers or anyone else’s record.
Can I check which SIMs are on someone else’s CNIC?
No. Both official channels answer only for the CNIC’s own holder. Obtaining another person’s identity information is an offence under Section 16 of PECA 2016; the full picture is on our legality page.
668 is not replying. What should I try?
Re-check the format (13 digits, no dashes, no spaces), confirm you have at least a few rupees of balance, then retry once. If SMS keeps failing, the portal reads the same registry and works immediately.
How often should I run the check?
Monthly, and once after any big rule change or data-leak headline. Under a minute and about Rs 2 per month buys a dated evidence trail that settles disputes before they start.
Does an eSIM appear in the count?
Yes. An eSIM is biometrically activated against your CNIC like any physical SIM, counts toward the 8-SIM cap, and shows up in both 668 and portal results.