Digital versions of Oman’s national ID, driver’s license get legal recognition

The digital versions of the national ID card and driver’s license issued by the Omani government now have equal legal status as physical cards.

The announcement comes from the Royal Oman Police (ROP) which has informed the public that the digital copies of these identification documents can be accessed directly from its website, Gulf News reports.

Head of digital ID at ROP, First Lieutenant Salem bin Saeed Al Farsi, is quoted as saying that with the new measure, citizens don’t necessarily have to move around with the physical copies of these credentials.

He said the digital versions can be presented to government services or to police patrol agents.

Oman’s biometric national ID cards were used for voter verification during parliamentary elections in 2023 with a platform developed by Tech5 and its partner uqudo. .

This development in Oman comes as its Middle East neighbors, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan, have each announced progress in the adoption of their digital government services.

Government service digitalization races ahead in UAE, Jordan

Recently, during a meeting in Dubai, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) and Dubai Digital Authority disclosed that about 11 million people now use the UAE digital government platform which offers more than 15,000 services.

According to a Gulf News report, these services are from more than 350 public and private sector entities. Through the digital government platform, over 2.6 billion digital transactions have been completed and over 17 million documents shared with a high rate of user-satisfaction.

The digital government platform allows for single a sign-on, offers digital wallet and digital signature features, as well as AI-based biometric identity verification and authentication services.

The UAE says the digital ID and digital government systems align with the objectives of the ‘We are the UAE 2031 vision’ which intends to simplify access to services and improve life through effective digital public infrastructure.

“The success of the Digital ID reflects the collective effort of government entities working as one team,” TDRA Director General, Majed Sultan Al Mesmar, is quoted as saying.

The Director General of Dubai Digital, Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, also remarked that “with 11 million users, the Digital ID has become a trusted enabler of seamless and integrated digital experiences.”

Similarly, Jordan’s government says 1,728 government services, or 72 percent of the total, have been digitalized. More than 500 of them are available through the Sanad app, which is secured with iris biometrics technology from IrisGuard.

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship is aiming to make all services available digitally by the end of 2026.

The government says it has issued 1.8 million digital IDs, and those users have completed 3.7 million transactions with a 98 percent satisfaction rate. An “e-participation portal,” known as “Tawasul,” has also been introduced to improve transparency and accountability.

Article Topics

digital government  |  digital ID  |  identity document  |  mDL (mobile driver's license)  |  Oman  |  TECH5  |  uqudo