National Registration Identity Card
Encyclopedia
The National Registration Identity Card (abbreviation
: NRIC, or colloquially IC; ; Tamil
: அடையாள அட்டை) is the identity document
in use in Singapore
. It is compulsory for all Singaporean citizens and permanent residents who are fifteen years of age and older to have their NRICs.
Bearers have to carry the card at all times or show their cards to police officers conducting regular screening while on patrol, for instance. Failure to show any form of identification, however, may allow the police to detain suspicious individuals until relevant identification could be produced subsequently either in person or by proxy. The NRIC is also a required document for some government procedures, in commercial transactions such as the opening of a bank account, or to gain entry to premises by surrendering or exchanging for an entry pass. Failure to produce the card may result in denied access to these premises or attainment of goods and services.
The National Registration Act of 1965 (last amendment in 2001) legislates the issuance and usage of NRICs. Section 7 indicates that all registered persons of the national registry are to be issued with the identity card.
s for citizens, and are automatically transferred to the NRIC at age 15 and above.
Also indicated on the front side of the card, are the holder's name, race, date of birth, sex, country of birth, and a colour photograph. On the back of the card is the NRIC number and its bar code, a fingerprint
, issue date of the card, and the holder's current residential address
. The nationality of permanent residents is indicated on the card as well; this field is absent for citizens. NRIC holders can choose to add in their ethnic names below their name in English (in Chinese characters). For Chinese characters, whether they will be in simplified or traditional script will depend on the name on the holder's birth certificate. Any change to the information on the card has to be reported to the authorities, or it could be considered an invalid identification card.
Until 29 September 2002, the NRIC indicated its holder's blood group. This information was subsequently removed due to the widespread availability of quick blood group tests that are conducted during medical emergencies.
Since 2008, Singapore started issuing a card, termed a "Visit Pass", similar in design with the NRIC to long-term pass holders (such as foreigners studying or working in Singapore), replacing the formerly issued laminated green cards. The Visit Pass is green in colour, uses the term "Foreign Identification Number" (FIN) instead of the NRIC number, as well as showing the nationality of the pass holder. The card includes a date of expiry, conditional on the card holder holding a valid passport
.
#0000000@ where:
#
0000000
@
The algorithm to calculate the checksum of the NRIC is not publicly available; as of 1999, the Ministry of Home Affairs
only sold the algorithm to Singapore-based organizations demonstrating a "legitimate need" for it. That said, the checksum algorithms for the NRIC (S- and T-series) and the FIN have been easily reverse-engineered, such as described by Ngiam.
simply by scanning the NRIC number, in the form of a barcode
at self-service kiosks, without further authentication. This has led to complaints of the possibility of fraud and identity theft
. Therefore, now when NRIC numbers are publicly displayed, only the last three digits and the letters are displayed. (The first three digits are not displayed as they easily give away a person's age.)
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
: NRIC, or colloquially IC; ; Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
: அடையாள அட்டை) is the identity document
Identity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
in use in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. It is compulsory for all Singaporean citizens and permanent residents who are fifteen years of age and older to have their NRICs.
Bearers have to carry the card at all times or show their cards to police officers conducting regular screening while on patrol, for instance. Failure to show any form of identification, however, may allow the police to detain suspicious individuals until relevant identification could be produced subsequently either in person or by proxy. The NRIC is also a required document for some government procedures, in commercial transactions such as the opening of a bank account, or to gain entry to premises by surrendering or exchanging for an entry pass. Failure to produce the card may result in denied access to these premises or attainment of goods and services.
The National Registration Act of 1965 (last amendment in 2001) legislates the issuance and usage of NRICs. Section 7 indicates that all registered persons of the national registry are to be issued with the identity card.
Type and design
The NRIC comes in two main colour schemes, namely pink for citizens and blue for permanent residents (PR). Each card is identified by an NRIC number ("Identity Card Number"), which is a unique set of nine alpha-numerics given to each citizen or PR at birth registration or successful attainment of permanent residence status. These numbers are similar to that on birth certificateBirth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuing registration of that birth...
s for citizens, and are automatically transferred to the NRIC at age 15 and above.
Also indicated on the front side of the card, are the holder's name, race, date of birth, sex, country of birth, and a colour photograph. On the back of the card is the NRIC number and its bar code, a fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
, issue date of the card, and the holder's current residential address
Address (geography)
An address is a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used for describing the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along with other identifiers such as house or...
. The nationality of permanent residents is indicated on the card as well; this field is absent for citizens. NRIC holders can choose to add in their ethnic names below their name in English (in Chinese characters). For Chinese characters, whether they will be in simplified or traditional script will depend on the name on the holder's birth certificate. Any change to the information on the card has to be reported to the authorities, or it could be considered an invalid identification card.
Until 29 September 2002, the NRIC indicated its holder's blood group. This information was subsequently removed due to the widespread availability of quick blood group tests that are conducted during medical emergencies.
Since 2008, Singapore started issuing a card, termed a "Visit Pass", similar in design with the NRIC to long-term pass holders (such as foreigners studying or working in Singapore), replacing the formerly issued laminated green cards. The Visit Pass is green in colour, uses the term "Foreign Identification Number" (FIN) instead of the NRIC number, as well as showing the nationality of the pass holder. The card includes a date of expiry, conditional on the card holder holding a valid passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
.
Structure of the NRIC number/FIN
The structure of the NRIC number/FIN is#0000000@ where:
#
- This is a letter that can be "S", "F", "T" or "G" depending on the status of the holder.
- For Singapore citizens and permanent residents, this is the century prefix.
- The NRIC number for citizens and permanent residents born before the year 2000 is assigned the letter "S". "S" is the 19th letter in the English alphabet, denoting that the person was born in the 20th century (1900-1999). It was commonly believed before 2000 that the "S" stands for Singapore, especially since the letter "F" was used for foreigners. It is unknown, however, if that was ever the intended meaning.
- Singapore citizens and permanent residents born in 2000 and beyond are assigned the letter "T". "T" is the 20th letter in the English alphabet, denoting the person was born in the 21st century (2000-2099).
- Foreigners holding employment or student passes issued before 2000 are assigned the letter "F".
- Foreigners holding employment or student passes issued in and after 2000 are assigned the letter "G".
0000000
- This is a 7 digit serial number assigned to the document holder
- For Singapore citizens and permanent residents born in 1968 and after, their NRIC number will start with their year of birth e.g. 71xxxxx#. For those born in 1967 and earlier, the NRIC number does not relate to year of birth, and commonly begins with 0 or 1. Non-native Singaporeans who were born before 1965 are assigned the heading numbers 2 or 3 upon conversion of permanent residency (PR) or citizenship.
@
- This is the checksumChecksumA checksum or hash sum is a fixed-size datum computed from an arbitrary block of digital data for the purpose of detecting accidental errors that may have been introduced during its transmission or storage. The integrity of the data can be checked at any later time by recomputing the checksum and...
letter calculated based on # and 0000000.
The algorithm to calculate the checksum of the NRIC is not publicly available; as of 1999, the Ministry of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs (Singapore)
The Ministry of Home Affairs is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for public safety, civil defence and immigration. It is also known as the Home Team. It is headed by the Minister for Home Affairs....
only sold the algorithm to Singapore-based organizations demonstrating a "legitimate need" for it. That said, the checksum algorithms for the NRIC (S- and T-series) and the FIN have been easily reverse-engineered, such as described by Ngiam.
Privacy issues
For long, the NRIC number has used by both government and commercial organizations as an unambiguous and "tidy" identifier for Singaporeans. Full NRIC numbers have been listed to identify winners of lucky draws. It is possible to borrow books from the National Library BoardNational Library Board
The National Library Board is a statutory board of the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore...
simply by scanning the NRIC number, in the form of a barcode
Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
at self-service kiosks, without further authentication. This has led to complaints of the possibility of fraud and identity theft
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
. Therefore, now when NRIC numbers are publicly displayed, only the last three digits and the letters are displayed. (The first three digits are not displayed as they easily give away a person's age.)