Laos national digital ID issuance begins in October

Laos will begin issuing national digital ID cards across the country next month, replacing its paper-based system and providing citizens with official proof of identity from birth through old age.

Kaenchanh Phommachack, Director of the Department of Census Management and Grassroots Development, said the new digital ID card will not only store key biographic and biometric data but also bolster governance, streamline digital government services, and lay the groundwork for a digital economy.

Beyond domestic identification, the digital ID card is designed for both domestic and international travel and promises to cut administrative time and costs. The new Laos digital ID card is designed to international standards and features a durable polycarbonate body with an embedded chip for biometric data, QR code, and barcode.

Issuance is structured in two phases by age group. The first phase covers children, from birth to age six and then ages six to fifteen. The second phase begins at age fifteen, with the initial card valid for ten years and subsequent renewals lasting twenty years each. Citizens aged sixty and above receive a lifetime card with no expiration.

Applications can be made at central, provincial, capital, and district offices or pre-registered via the LaeID mobile app. A processing fee of LAK 30,000 ($1.38) applies, though officials have yet to announce the final card production cost, reports The Laotian Times.

The Southeast Asian state officially launched its digital identity project in July 2024 during high-level talks between Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith and then-Vietnamese President To Lam, coinciding with Laos’s ASEAN Chairmanship. At those meetings, the Lao government also committed to building a digital citizen identification and management scheme, with a centralized citizen database to facilitate digital governance.

In May, the government announced it would establish a digital ID infrastructure to manage citizens’ personal data securely as part of its public services modernization drive. The Ministry of Technology and Communications had completed 37 digital government systems as of this past February as it seeks to spur socio-economic development with open source technology and digital public infrastructure (DPI).

In July 2025, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone ordered full nationwide integration, setting the stage for this October’s rollout.

Laos is getting support from Vietnam and Japan in the building of the digital ID management system. Vietnamese officials and experts have provided strategic advice while Japan is providing government funding and technical advice from companies like NEC, Ryobi Systems and J&C.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  government services  |  identity document  |  identity management  |  LaeID  |  Laos  |  Laos digital ID card  |  national ID  |  QR code