The CM Punjab Laptop Scheme is the Punjab Government’s free laptop programme for merit students, run by the Higher Education Department (HED) through the portal cmlaptophed.punjab.gov.pk. The current machines are serious ones: 13th generation Core i7 laptops, more than 100,000 of them in the latest programme. Phase II applications have closed (the last date was 20 April 2026), a grievance window ran in June 2026, and students are now in the verification stage, with no distribution date officially announced yet. This page gives the confirmed criteria from the official portal, the exact current status, and what to do while you wait. The separate federal programme is our PM Laptop Scheme guide.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scheme | CM Punjab Laptop Scheme (Higher Education Department, Punjab) |
| Laptop | Core i7, 13th generation |
| Portal | cmlaptophed.punjab.gov.pk |
| Phase II status | Applications closed 20 April 2026; grievances heard 2 to 6 June 2026; verification stage; distribution date not yet announced |
| Who | Punjab domicile students newly admitted to BS and professional programmes at public and listed institutions |
| Marks in Intermediate | BS 65%, Nursing 65%, DVM 75%, Medical and Dental 80% |
| Rule | No student who already received a government laptop can receive another |
CM Punjab Laptop Scheme Eligibility (Phase II Criteria)
- Punjab domicile from any district. If your domicile was applied for but not yet issued, the portal accepted the application receiving slip in Phase II.
- Admission in 2025 to the 1st or 2nd semester of a BS programme at a public sector university or college, a federal chartered university, or a private university on the portal’s approved list. Students of private colleges were not eligible.
- Minimum Intermediate marks by programme: 65% for BS, 65% for Nursing, 75% for DVM, and 80% for Medical and Dental.
- You are a regular, enrolled student, and you have not received a laptop under any earlier government scheme, federal or provincial.
These were the official Phase II conditions published on the portal. Criteria have shifted slightly between phases, so a future round may set different marks or semesters; the portal’s own eligibility page for the open round is always the deciding document.
What Is the Status Right Now?
Closed to new applications. The official portal states that application submission is closed for Phase II: the window ended on 20 April 2026, complaints and corrections were heard from 2 to 6 June 2026, and applicants are being verified, including biometric verification through NADRA, before distribution. As of the latest official information, no distribution date and no Phase III have been announced. Any website announcing fresh registration dates for this scheme today is not quoting the Higher Education Department.
How Application and Selection Worked
- Students applied fully online at cmlaptophed.punjab.gov.pk during the open window. Paper applications were not accepted.
- Institutions and the department verified enrolment, domicile and Intermediate marks against board and NADRA records, including biometric verification.
- A grievance window let students correct errors in their data before final lists.
- Final merit is drawn within each institution from verified applicants who meet the marks threshold.
- Selected students receive their laptops through their institutions when distribution begins.
Because verification is record-based, the most common causes of rejection are mundane: a domicile district that does not match the CNIC, marks entered differently from the board record, or enrolment in an institution outside the approved list. If your application was rejected, use your institution’s focal person to find which record failed, since that same record will matter in any future round.
CM Punjab Laptop or PM Laptop: Which Covers You?
- CM Punjab Laptop Scheme (this page): Punjab domicile required; newly admitted BS and professional students; provincial programme run by HED Punjab.
- PM Laptop Scheme: federal, HEC-run; students at public universities across Pakistan; judged on CGPA and university marks.
A Punjab student can be eligible for both programmes in principle, but can only ever receive one government laptop: receiving one closes the other.
CM Punjab Laptop Scheme: FAQs
No. Phase II applications closed on 20 April 2026 and a grievance window ran from 2 to 6 June 2026. Verification is under way and no new round or Phase III has been officially announced.
A 13th generation Core i7 laptop, the specification confirmed for the current programme phases.
In Phase II, minimum Intermediate marks were 65% for BS, 65% for Nursing, 75% for DVM, and 80% for Medical and Dental students, alongside Punjab domicile and admission to an approved institution.
No distribution date has been officially announced yet. Applicants are in the verification stage, including NADRA biometric verification. Watch the official portal cmlaptophed.punjab.gov.pk, not social media posts.
In Phase II, students of private universities on the portal’s approved list could apply, but students of private colleges could not. The approved list is published on the portal for each round.
No. Anyone who has already received a laptop under any government scheme, federal or provincial, is not eligible again.
While you wait, keep your own record straight. Check the official portal for any new notice, keep your domicile, CNIC, admission slip and Intermediate result in one place, and stay in touch with your institution’s focal person so a small correction does not become a missed deadline. Do not pay anyone who promises a laptop or early distribution, and do not share your portal login or CNIC copies in social media groups. When a new round or a distribution notice is published, the portal and your institution will be the sources that matter, and the same verified records will decide whether your name appears on the next list. Keep checking only official channels, and save a copy of any notice you rely on, so you can show your institution exactly what changed and when it was published.
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Last updated: November 4, 2026.