If you have ever paid someone to queue at a JPJ office for you, that arrangement is about to change. On 12 October 2026, at a press conference in Arau after inspecting the newly upgraded JPJ Perlis counters, JPJ director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli announced that only registered and approved intermediaries will be allowed to act for customers at JPJ counters from January 2027. The statement was reported the same day by Berita Harian, Bernama (via The Star), Utusan Sarawak and paultan.org, and this explainer is built on those reports. JPJ's own portal had not yet published the registration page when we checked on 22 October.

What JPJ announced

  • From 1 January 2027, only individuals or company representatives who are registered as perantara berdaftar and approved by JPJ may carry out transactions on behalf of customers at all JPJ offices and branches nationwide.
  • Registration opens on 1 November 2026, online, through a platform JPJ will provide. Berita Harian quotes the director-general saying registration is free of charge. Other reports simply do not mention a fee.
  • Each approved application gets an official digital ID carrying a serial number, valid for two years, subject to JPJ's terms.
  • November and December are a grace period. Unregistered runners can still deal at counters. From January, a company representative or private agent who fails to show a valid digital ID will not be allowed to transact at all.

The director-general said the rule follows complaints about intermediaries who took customers' money, and a recent case of vehicle ownership-transfer fraud in Perak. Because every transaction will be tied to a registered ID, JPJ says it can record, track and trace any transaction if something goes wrong.

The part motorists should read twice

Registration is not an endorsement. JPJ was explicit that approval does not mean it has any tie, cooperation or business relationship with an intermediary, and it is not a guarantee of their service. JPJ will not be responsible for losses, fraud, extra charges or disputes arising from your private dealings with a runner.

In practice that means a registered runner is traceable, not insured. If a runner overcharges you or disappears with your money, JPJ can identify who handled the transaction, but recovering money is still a matter between you and that person (a police report, or a claim at the Tribunal for Consumer Claims for a service dispute).

Why this is happening now

The runner rule lands in the middle of a month in which JPJ has been pulling transactions back to its own channels.

  • 5 October 2026: JPJ suspended My E.G. Sdn Bhd and Zetrix AI Bhd as its collection agents. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said they had failed to remit RM314 million collected between 19 May and 30 September. Road tax, licence renewals and JPJ summonses can no longer be paid through MyEG, and no reinstatement had been announced in the reports we found up to 22 October.
  • The same day, Loke said about 20% of users still rely on third-party agents, that the MyJPJ app would get new features the following month, and that the long-term aim is for most people to deal with JPJ directly. He also noted that 85 driving institutes now run the computerised KPP01 theory test themselves.
  • Earlier, on 25 May 2026, JPJ briefly switched off every online ownership-transfer channel after complaints that cars had been transferred without the owner's knowledge. Service was restored within hours (we covered it in our car ownership transfer guide).

Read together, the direction is clear: fewer people standing between you and JPJ, and a record of who they are when someone does.

What you can do without a runner

Most of what people pay runners for can now be done from a phone. JPJ names the MyJPJ app, the JPJ Public Portal and its counters as the official channels.

  • Road tax and driving licence renewal: MyJPJ, the JPJ Public Portal, a JPJ counter or kiosk, or a post office. Our renewal guide has the fee tables and the insurance and PUSPAKOM conditions that must be met first.
  • Checking and paying JPJ summonses: MyJPJ, the Public Portal, counters, kiosks and mobile counters.
  • Private car ownership transfer: the seller declares and the buyer confirms on mySIKAP, each with their own credentials, after a PUSPAKOM inspection where required. MyJPJ now signs in with MyDigital ID, so set that up first.

If you still use a runner after 1 January

There are good reasons to: you are housebound, you run a fleet, or the transaction needs a counter. A few habits protect you.

  1. Ask to see the digital ID and note its serial number before handing over any document. From 1 January, a runner without one cannot be served anyway.
  2. Never share your MyJPJ or MyDigital ID login. The two-party design of an ownership transfer only protects you if each party signs in themselves.
  3. Ask for the split between the government fee and the runner's service charge, in writing. JPJ's fee is published; the runner's charge is not regulated.
  4. Keep the receipt in your name, and check the result in MyJPJ afterwards (road tax status, licence expiry, or the vehicle's owner record).

What has not been published yet

As of 22 October 2026, JPJ had not published the registration platform's address, the eligibility criteria, the documents an applicant needs, or any penalty for an unregistered runner caught at a counter. The reports also do not say how JPJ will treat a family member who goes to the counter on your behalf. We will update this page when the platform opens on 1 November.

*Cover image: JPJ's Bangi branch office, photographed in 2014. Photo: jtx1000 dotnet, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.*