South African identity card

The South African smart identity card – known as a Smart ID Card – replaces the old green bar-coded identity book. Both are identity documents that serve as proof of a person's identity. This proof includes a person's photograph, their full name, their date of birth, their place of birth, and their unique identity number. The identity card securely stores the biometrics (face and fingerprint) information of the individual. The card also has space to securely store additional info, such as evidence of votes cast in local and national elections, as a means to prevent voter fraud.

Identity documents are issued to South African citizens or permanent residence permit holders who are 16 years or older. People, including spouses and children, who are working for the South African government or one of its statutory bodies outside of South Africa also qualify to receive a South African identity document.

The smart ID card was introduced in 2013. All South African citizens in South Africa can apply for the smart ID card. For identity document-purposes, the old green ID book will be phased out.

Identity documents are issued by South Africa's National Department of Home Affairs.

Despite South Africa having twelve official languages, the identity card is printed in English only.

Applications for a Smart ID cost R140.

How South Africans can apply for a Smart ID Card
Only South African citizens born in South Africa may apply for the Smart ID card. They can apply for a smart ID card in two ways: they can either apply at their local home affairs, or they can apply online at the Home Affairs e-Channel website. The website provides a step-by-step guide on how to apply.

People in South Africa who need help with applying for their smart ID card can call the Department of Home Affairs contact centre on +27 800 601 190.

Physical appearance
There are two types of Smart ID Card; card Type A for regular length names and card Type B for longer length names. Both contain the following information:

Front side

 * Surname
 * Names
 * Sex
 * Nationality
 * Identity Number
 * Date of birth
 * Country of birth
 * South African citizenship status (citizen or permanent resident)
 * Primary image on front of card
 * Signature
 * RSA flag

Reverse side

 * Card number
 * Secondary image
 * Code 39 barcode
 * PDF417 barcode

Identity Number
Each South African ID number is a 13 digit number defined as, which deciphers as follows:

Barcode Data
The back of the card contains two barcodes:

Code 39
The one-dimensional Code 39 barcode contains:
 * Identity number

PDF417
The two-dimensional PDF417 barcode contains:
 * Surname
 * Names
 * Sex
 * Nationality
 * Identity Number
 * Day of Birth
 * Country of Birth
 * Status
 * Date of Issue
 * A 5-digit security number, appearing with the text 'RSA' in the multiple-layer image on the back of the card
 * A 9-digit card number appearing on the back of the card
 * The sequence 1234567890 repeated to fill up the available space in the PDF417 barcode.