The ownership titles of 25,600 vehicles were transferred at Ministry of Public Works and Transport departments in the capital and provinces between May and August.

But ministry spokesman Heang Sotheayuth said car owners who have yet to complete the proper forms should rush to do so to meet the deadline.

Sotheayuth said on Tuesday the ministry will provide the service until September 30 – the deadline.

However, he didn’t know yet whether the deadline will be pushed back further if the ownership of many vehicles have yet to be legally transferred.

“I call on citizens who have not yet transferred ownership of their vehicles to transfer them, especially people who have just bought or sold vehicles.

“We gave the ultimatum of late September to those who found no original owners of vehicles,” he said.

Vann Raneth, a resident of Chbar Ampov district, transferred ownership of a car he purchased from a friend in July. He said transferring the ownership was easy and gave him peace of mind and confidence.

He said no matter where he drives it, he is not worried about inquiries by traffic police because the title states clearly the car belongs to him. It also makes it is easier if he decides to sell it.

“If we didn’t transfer the ownership, the car belongs to the original owner. If we need to sell the car, we have to look for the original owner to prove it does belong to us,” he said.

The public works ministry issued a notice on July 2 stating it had observed an increasing number of citizens participating in the programme.

The ministry has also decided to transfer the ownership of cars whose original owners cannot be found.