National Database and Registration Authority

National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) was established on 10 March 2000 under the Government of President Pervez Musharraf. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan launched the Personal Identity System (PIS) program to register, manage and issue national identification cards to all the citizens of Pakistan and Muslim refugees settling in Pakistan. NADRA is an autonomous body to operate independently with the mandate to replace the old directorate general of Registration with a computerised system of registering 150 million citizens, NADRA launched the Multi-Biometric National Identity Card project developed in conformance with international security documentation issuance practices in the year 2000. The program replaced the paper based Personal Identity System of Pakistan that had been in use since 1973. To date, over 96 million citizens in Pakistan and abroad have utilised the system and its allied services to receive tamper-resistant ISO standard Identification Documents. The organization flourished in the time period of former Chairman Mr. Ali Arshad Hakeem. == Computerised National Identity Card ==

The Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) is a computerised national identity card issued by NADRA to Pakistani citizens. The CNIC was introduced in 2000 and, by 2025, over 225 million CNICs had been issued. The CNIC is issued first at the age of 18. • Opening and operating bank accounts == Features ==

A unique 13-digit number is assigned at birth when the parents complete the child's birth registration form (Form RG-2, commonly known as B-Form or Child Registration Certificate (CRC)), and then a National Identity Card (NIC) with the same number is issued at the age of 18. Until 2001, NIC numbers were 11 digits long. In 2001-2002, the authority started issuing 13-digit NIC numbers along with their new Biometric ID cards. The first 5 digits are based on the applicant's locality, the next 7 are random numbers, and the last digit is a check digit, an even number for females and odd number for males. The old manual NIC numbers are invalid as of 1 January 2004. The ID card has the following information on it: Legal Name, Gender (male, female, or transgender), Father's name (Husband's name for married females), Identification Mark, Date of Birth, National Identity Card Number, Family Tree ID Number, Current Address, Permanent Address, Date of Issue, Date of Expiry, Signature, Photo, and Fingerprint (Thumbprint) NADRA also records the applicant's religion, but this is not noted on the CNIC itself. NADRA has registered over 90% of women in Pakistan, and NADRA has started issuing ultra modern SCNIC (Smart Computerised National Identity Card) too having information both in English and Urdu languages. ==CNIC Number Structure and Significance==

The Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC), a crucial document issued by Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), serves as a verifiable proof of citizenship. Intriguingly, the CNIC is not just a random string of numbers; each of the 13 digits plays a unique role in providing information about the cardholder. 1620157599947 Family Tree and Gender Identification The middle part of the CNIC number, separated by hyphens as in ‘3450286920801 ’, spans seven digits and functions as a family number, effectively creating a link in the citizen’s family tree. The concluding part of the CNIC, a , denotes the gender of the cardholder. Odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) are assigned to men, whereas even numbers (2, 4, 6, 8) are reserved for women. By integrating these components, NADRA’s automated system meticulously generates a unique CNIC number for every Pakistani citizen, ensuring precision and security in citizen identification.311049347798 ==Smart Card==

NADRA introduced the Smart National Identity Card (SNIC), Pakistan's first national electronic identity card, in October 2012. Pakistan's SNIC contains a data chip and 36 security features. The SNIC complies with ICAO standard 9303 and ISO standard 7816-4. The SNIC can be used for both offline and online identification, voting, pension disbursement, social and financial inclusion programmes and other services. NADRA aims to replace all 89.5 million CNICs with SNICs by 2020. Tracking Smart National Identity Card In order to track a NADRA Smart Card, the tracking ID consisting of 12 digits is sent to 8400. For example, the tracking ID is 108231064935, and the message is sent to 8400, you will get the message "Your request against tracking id 108231064935 is with printing facility and expected delivery 2 working days". Application for National Identity Card One can obtain his/her National Identity Card by either visiting the nearby NADRA office or by applying online. This online feature is really helpful. Especially, those Pakistanis who are expats can take advantage of this facility, being offered by NADRA.Online Application Succession Certificate and Letter of Administration As of June 22, 2021, NADRA has started issuance of succession certificate/letter of administration in Karachi, Sindh. == Pak Identity ==

NADRA has started its service of online application for the NICOP, POC and CRC. Online data is collected e.g. fingerprints, thumb impressions and signatures. Online fee is submitted through debit or credit card. == Mega Registration Centers ==

Karachi As of 2024, there are 23 registration centers and 3 mega registration centres in Karachi. NADRA's fully functional centers located in Karachi viz, Mega Safoora Chowrangi, Malir, VIP NRC RHO, Karachi Senior Citizen, Orangi Town, Landhi, Gulshan-e-Hadid, Landhi, Soldier Bazar, Lyari, Saoodabad, Awami Markaz Sharea Faisal and Shah Faisal Colony, DHA's Nisar Shaheed Park, Executive Clifton, Executive Shahra-e-Quaideen, Executive Sadar Passport Office, Executive KCCI, Mega North Nazimabad, Mega DHA Karachi, Mega Siemens Chowrangi and Ibrahim Haidree. ==Achievements==

• Top 50 e-Passport Technology Suppliers for 9 consecutive years in ID World Magazine, for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. • "Outstanding Achievement Award" at CARDEX Middle East in Cairo, Egypt in May, 2007. • The Merit Exporter Award by Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) in 2006. • NADRA's Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Usman Y. Mobin was awarded the "ID Talent Award" in November 2007 at the ID World International Congress held in Milan, Italy. He was recently awarded Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in 2009 for his services rendered to the State. • Successfully achieved Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) from Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Carnegie Mellon, USA. • NADRA Quality Management and CNIC Production departments are also ISO 9001:2000 Certified. • Deputy Chairman NADRA, Tariq Malik was awarded ID Outstanding Achievement Award on 3 November 2009, in Milan at an exclusive ceremony during the eighth ID WORLD International Congress, the Global Summit on Automatic Identification. • NADRA also tracks cases of fake identities through its system. When spotted and identified as fake identities, NADRA takes action by blocking those national identity cards. • By 2012, NADRA had cleaned up ''Pakistan's Voters List'' by removing approximately 37 Million "fake" voters from this list and adding more than 36 million new adults to the list. ==See also==