Electronic National Identity Card Project (e-NIC)

The Electronic National Identity Card Project (e-NIC) was established in 2012 with the intention of verifying personnel identity accurately and efficiently using modern technological methodology for the National Identity card issued by the Department for Registration of Persons.

The ultimate goal of the project is to collect the biodata, biometric data, family information, andInter national Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) certified photographs of every Sri Lankan citizen over the age of 15, and establish a National Register of Persons by re-registering the citizens and issuing Electronic National Identity Cards (e-NIC) with Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) numbers to every registered citizen, thereby establishing a service platform and mechanism for exchanging information required for the confirmation, verification, and certification of personal identity for government and non-government institutions.

The project has already provided the citizens with the following facilities to make it easier for them to obtain National ID cards:

Establishing 335 departmental ID card units in all the Divisional Secretariats with the necessary human, technical, and physical resources, enabling to obtain all the services related to obtaining the national identity cards at the regional level.
Establishment of departmental provincial offices in the North, East, South, North-West, and Central provinces to decentralize departmental services to the provincial level.
Establishment of the Department for Registration of Persons in Battaramulla, Suhurupaya Building, in 2016, with high technical facilities to provide a comprehensive service.
Connecting regional offices and provincial offices with the head office through VPN technology to provide prompt and efficient service to the public.
Registration of 2341 studios all over the island in the department and installing the related software in the studios for receiving personal photographs online to the head office in accordance with ICAO international standards.
Issuance of a polycarbonate smart card with ICAO photo laser-printed in Sinhala, Tamil, and English trilingual starting from October 27, 2017 to replace the old card where personal details were handwritten, photo pasted, and laminated
In addition to the head office, the Galle provincial office also offers one-day service facilities to the public.

Mandatory requirement of an electronic national identity card

In the near future, in a digitalized economy, the electronic national identity card will be the primary document for verifying personnel information in providing all public services such as public welfare, banking, driving licenses, passports, pensions, the employees' provident fund, insurance, employment opportunities, etc.