Everything You Need to Know About the Mass National ID Renewal on May 27: Requirements, Process, and Key Details

Kampala, Uganda — The Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced that the long-awaited mass enrollment and renewal of National Identity Cards (IDs) will officially begin on May 27, 2025.

Speaking at a press briefing last week on Monday, State Minister for Internal Affairs, Gen. David Muhoozi, confirmed that the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) will conduct the nationwide exercise across all 146 administrative districts.

“Beginning May 27, NIRA will mobilize and deploy teams at the parish level in every district,” Gen. Muhoozi stated.

Pilot Phase Underway

Ahead of the mass rollout, NIRA has already launched a pilot phase of the exercise, which will run until May 26, 2025. This phase allows the Electoral Commission time to complete the national voter display exercise.

“The pilot phase began with renewing IDs for members of the NIRA Board of Directors and top management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” the Minister noted.

Renewal and New Registration Targets

According to Gen. Muhoozi, the mass enrollment aims to renew 15.8 million national IDs—many of which have expired or are set to expire by June 2025. Additionally, NIRA plans to register 17.2 million Ugandans who are not currently in the national register.

To support the exercise, NIRA has procured:

• 5,665 biometric registration kits (delivered in January 2025)
• Two card printing machines with a combined daily capacity of 100,000 laser-engraved IDs

NIRA also contracted Tahaluf Al Emarat Technical Solutions to build a new National Security Information System, which supports:

• Online pre-registration of biographic data
• Iris capture as an added biometric feature

Requirements for Renewal

Ugandans seeking to renew their national ID must present:

• The original or a photocopy of their expired ID, or
• A valid police report in case of a lost or stolen ID

“The new card will retain all previous biographic details, including the National Identification Number (NIN),” said Gen. Muhoozi.

Changes to personal information—such as names, date of birth, or parentage—will not be part of the standard renewal process. Applicants must separately request a change of particulars or correction of information service.

Registration of Children Under 18

For new registrations involving children under 18:

• A photocopy of one parent’s national ID is required.
• If the parents’ IDs are unavailable, documents from one of the four grandparents, or an ID from a blood relative directly descended from any of the grandparents, will be accepted.

Resources Fully Provided

NIRA Executive Director, Rosemary Kisembo, affirmed that the government has provided all necessary resources, including funding, to ensure the smooth implementation of the exercise.

“You’ll be allowed to register a new place of residence. But if you want to change your name or any information related to parentage, date of birth, or spouse, you must apply through the change of particulars service,” she explained.