The Republic of Turkey Identity Card ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Kimlik Kartı) is compulsory for all Turkish citizens from birth. The Turkish police are allowed to ask any person to show ID, and refusing to comply may lead to a fine. It can be used as a

travel document A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the be ...

to enter

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a '' de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Rec ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

(planned),

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

(since 2011),

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...

(since 2019),

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

(since 2017, if arriving directly from Turkey),

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

(since 1 April 2021, if arriving directly from Turkey), and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

(since 2022) instead of a passport.

History

Identity cards, theoretically obligatory for all citizens, male and female, existed already in the late

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. They were known in Turkish as ''nüfus tezkeresi''. To the Slavic subjects of the Ottoman state they were known colloquially as ''nofuz'' ( bg, нофуз).

ID cards (1927-1991)

Turkey issued ID cards (Turkish: ''Nüfus Hüviyet Cüzdanı'') with the 1927 census in Ottoman Arabic letters. With Turkey's change to Latin script, ID cards were changed to Latin in 1928. Surnames were added after 1934, with the

Surname Law Surname law can refer to any law regulating the use of surnames. Canada From 1941 to 1978, the Government of Canada issued disc numbers to identify Inuit in their records. In the mid-1960s Project Surname began, and, headed by Abe Okpik, Inuit ...

. Newer ID cards were issued in 1976, however old cards were still valid until 1991.

ID cards (issued 1976-2017, still valid)

Turkey issued ID cards (Turkish: ''Nüfus Cüzdanı'') for all citizens beginning in 1976. The cards are 7x9 cm in size and have gender specific color (Orange/red for females, blue for males). Starting from 1999, cards were issued with a Turkish Identification Number. Cards have an embossed stamp for security. Starting in 2017, this type of ID cards stopped being issued.

New identity cards (2017-current)

The Turkish

Ministry of the Interior 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" * Ministr ...

issued an EU-like identity card (Turkish: ''Kimlik Kartı'') for all Turkish citizens. New identity cards are biometric like passports. Since 21 September 2020, they can be used as a

driving licence A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a publi ...

. In the future they will be used as a bank card and bus ticket. Starting from 2 January 2017, these new ID cards were issued throughout Turkey. Unlike previous cards, which were valid for life, new cards are only valid for 10 years. They are in

ID-1 ID-1 or ID1 may refer to:RECN7701159Q8 * ID-1 format, the standard "credit card" size for identification cards defined by ISO/IEC 7810 * A gene ( inhibitor of DNA binding-1) which controls cancer metastasis * Idaho's 1st congressional district ...

(credit card) size, smaller than the previous cards. The cards are gender-neutral for all citizens. Cards are bilingual, both in Turkish and English.

E-signature An electronic signature, or e-signature, is data that is logically associated with other data and which is used by the signatory to sign the associated data. This type of signature has the same legal standing as a handwritten signature as long as ...

s can be installed into the card's chip. The cards have PIN codes for authorization. During the application for new cards, fingerprints for all fingers and palm vein prints are collected and associated with the person. New cards require biometric photos (for ages 15 and up) and have an individual’s signature. The new cards also omit several pieces of information found on previous cards, such as; marital status, religion, blood type, place of issue, previous surname (for females), hometown (State, District, Village) and register numbers (volume, family and line numbers).

Machine Readable Zone

There is a machine-readable zone on the back of the 2017 card. It consists of 3 rows each containing 30 characters. The format is compliant with ICAO Document 9303 Part 5. Checksum calculation is the same algorithm used in Machine-readable passports. Multiply each digit by its weight. Weight of a digit depends on its position. The weight sequence is 7, 3, 1 and it repeats. The remainder of the sum of all values divided by 10 gives the check digit.

Notes

{{identity cards

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...