The

South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...

smart

identity card An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any documentation, document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID c ...

– 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 A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known, ...

, their

date of birth A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many reli ...

, their

place of birth The place of birth (POB) or birthplace is the place where a person was born. This place is often used in legal documents, together with name and date of birth, to uniquely identify a person. Practice regarding whether this place should be a cou ...

, and their unique identity number. The

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 Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

. 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 An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. Despite South Africa having twelve official languages, the identity card is printed in English only. Applications for a Smart ID cost .

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 South African nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of South Africa. The primary law governing nationality requirements is the South African Citizenship Act, 1995, which came into force on 6 October 1995. Any p ...

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 YYMMDD SSSS CAZ, which deciphers as follows:

Barcode Data

The back of the card contains two barcodes:

Code 39

The one-dimensional

Code 39 Code 39 (also known as Alpha39, Code 3 of 9, Code 3/9, Type 39, USS Code 39, or USD-3) is a variable length, discrete barcode symbology. The Code 39 specification defines 43 characters, consisting of uppercase letters (A through Z), numeric digi ...

barcode contains: * Identity number

PDF417

The two-dimensional

PDF417 PDF417 is a stacked linear barcode format used in a variety of applications such as transport, identification cards, and inventory management. "PDF" stands for Portable Data File. The "417" signifies that each pattern in the code consists of 4 ...

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.

References

Department of Home Affairs, Know your new Smart ID Card

Department of Home Affairs, Identity documents
{{DEFAULTSORT:South African Identity Card Government of South Africa National identity cards by country Immigration to South Africa