PM Laptop Scheme 2026: 5 lakh free Chromebooks, who qualifies and how to apply

After you apply for PM Laptop Scheme

Waiting time for PM Laptop Scheme

There is no fixed waiting time. Chromebooks are being given out on merit over two years from the 25 October 2026 launch, so keep your reference slip until your school or board contacts you.

PM Laptop Scheme problems and fixes

Problem	What to do
Record not found	Follow the steps under Record not found: try your roll or registration number, then contact your board.
Upload rejected	Use the size tips under Documents to bring each file under 300 KB.
Wrong name or marks on the portal	Ask your board to correct its record before you submit.

PM Laptop Scheme helplines and contacts

• Missing or wrong recordYour education board
• Attestation and school questionsYour school head
• Complaints about the federal schemePakistan Citizen Portal app

What is the PM Laptop Scheme (Chromebook scheme)?

It is a federal program run by the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, with the application portal managed by the Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC) under the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training. A Chromebook is a simple laptop that runs Google’s ChromeOS and is made mainly for online learning, writing assignments and research.

According to Radio Pakistan’s report of the launch ceremony on 25 October 2026, the Prime Minister distributed the first Chromebooks and internet devices to students and said the government aims to hand out 500,000 Chromebooks within two years, selected on merit with no discrimination by family income or type of institution. The chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme said 500,000 students will also get a high-speed internet connection, and that each connection can serve up to five people. The Tokyo Technology Care Foundation signed an agreement to support students of schools and religious seminaries. An earlier federal press release on 12 December 2025 had mentioned 0.7 million devices, so the October launch figure of 5 lakh is the one to rely on now. New to Chromebooks? Read what a Chromebook is and how it differs from a laptop.

PM Laptop Scheme eligibility criteria: who can apply from Punjab?

The IBCC portal states the rule for Punjab boards in one sentence:

“For the Boards of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, only the top-performing students of Grade 9 (SSC-I) from Government/Public Schools, based on the Annual Examinations 2026, will be considered.”

In plain words, a Punjab student can apply only if all three of these are true. The portal does not let you skip any of them, because it fills your name, school and marks automatically from your board’s list:

• You took the Class 9 (SSC-I) Annual Examination 2026 with a Punjab board.
• You study at a government or public school (the launch also named madrassas).
• Your board placed you on its top performers list and sent that list to IBCC.

The board menu on the portal includes all nine Punjab boards, so you do not need to travel anywhere or visit another province’s site. Select the board where you sat the 2026 Class 9 exam, even if you have since moved to another district.

Who cannot apply

Three groups of students are left out by the rule on the official portal. First, students of private schools, because the portal says only government and public school students are eligible. Second, Punjab board students who are only in Class 10, or who did not sit the 2026 Class 9 annual exam, because the wider Class 9 and Class 10 rule applies only to AJK, Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan boards. Third, students whose names are not on the board’s list, because the portal cannot add anyone by hand.

If your school is affiliated with the Federal Board (for example, some cantonment and garrison schools in Punjab), choose FBISE Islamabad as your board on the portal, because your roll number and result come from FBISE.

What marks do you need?

The IBCC portal does not publish a marks cutoff, and neither did the launch report. The portal only says “top-performing” students, and each board decides who goes on its list based on its own 2026 Class 9 results. Because boards differ in size and in how they mark, a fixed number that works for one board would not work for another.

You may see a specific marks figure shared on social media or in a WhatsApp group. Treat it with care: it did not come from the IBCC portal, and it may be from another province’s board or from an older scheme. The only reliable test is to search for your own record on the portal. If your record appears, your board has listed you, whatever your exact marks are. If it does not appear, no marks figure on a blog will change that, and the right step is to contact your board.

Requirements and documents, and how to keep each under 300 KB

The portal asks for four files. Each must be 300 KB or smaller and clearly readable. Prepare them before you start, because the upload step comes after the portal has already loaded your record.

Most phone photos are 2 to 5 MB, far above the limit. Take each photo in daylight on a flat table and crop it to just the paper. For documents, a free scanner app (for example the scan option in Google Drive) saves a one-page PDF that is usually well under 300 KB. For your own photo, save it as JPG and check the size in your phone’s file details before uploading. The portal does not say who must attest the copies, so ask your school head which officer should sign them.

Record not found? What to do

The portal compares what you type with the list your board sent to IBCC, so a “not found” message usually means a mismatch or that you are not on the list. Work through these checks in order before you contact anyone:

1. Try again with your roll number instead of your B-Form number.
2. Try your registration number.
3. Check that your date of birth matches your board record exactly, including the year.
4. If it still fails, contact your board. The portal itself says IBCC can only use what the board sends.

If your board confirms you are on its top performers list but the portal still cannot find you, ask the board to check the list it sent to IBCC. Keep a screenshot of the error and the date and time you tried. Do not pay anyone who offers to “fix” your record online.

Last date and distribution

When we checked on 27 October 2026, the IBCC portal showed no last date. Rely only on the IBCC portal for the last date, not on dates quoted by unofficial websites, and apply early.

On distribution, the Prime Minister handed the first Chromebooks to students at the launch on 25 October 2026, and the government plans to complete the full rollout of 5 lakh devices over two years. No province-wise or board-wise delivery schedule had been published on an official site when we checked. After you apply, keep your reference slip safe; it is your proof if your school or board asks.

PM Laptop Scheme vs HEC laptop scheme vs CM Punjab laptop scheme

Three different laptop programs are often mixed up in search results and WhatsApp messages. They have different owners, different students and different portals, so applying on the wrong one simply fails. The Chromebook scheme on this page is for top Class 9 school students. The HEC Prime Minister’s Youth Laptop Scheme on laptop.pmyp.gov.pk is for university students, and its portal says registrations for the current phase have closed. The CM Punjab Laptop Program is run by the Punjab Higher Education Department for BS, MBBS, BDS, DVM and nursing students, and its Phase II applications closed on 20 April 2026.

What we saw when we opened the portal

We opened the portal on a laptop and on a phone on 27 October 2026 and went through every screen up to the application form. We did not submit a form, because only listed students should apply, and we never enter made-up data on a government portal. A few things will save you time:

• The submit button first reads “Checking your browser…”. This is a security check that runs for a few seconds. Wait for it to finish before tapping.
• The date of birth year list runs from 1995 to 2016.
• A notice at the top is only for Sindh students, whose registration opens after their results. Punjab students can ignore it.
• The page says one application per student, and that false information cancels the Chromebook and may lead to further action.

How to recognise the official PM Laptop Scheme portal

Every time a laptop scheme is announced, copycat pages and WhatsApp forms appear within days. Some collect CNIC numbers to sell, some ask for a small “processing fee”, and some simply show advertising. The real portal is easy to recognise if you check three things before typing anything.

• The real address ends in ibcc.edu.pk. Pages on .com, .pk blogs, Google Forms or WhatsApp links are not the portal.
• The real portal does not ask for a fee, a JazzCash or Easypaisa payment, a bank card or an OTP from your phone.
• No one can add your name to the board list for money. The list comes only from your board.

If you receive a suspicious message, do not forward it. Tell your school head, and if money was taken, report it to the cybercrime wing of the police.