Mozambique approves new national ID framework to speed card issuance

Mozambique has reported an increase in the number of national ID cards issued in the first half of this year, compared to the figures obtained over the same period last year. This comes as the country’s cabinet recently approved a new legal framework to guide card issuance in the country.

According to the National Directorate of Civil Identification (DNIC), 856,101 national ID cards were issued between January and June, 125,574 more than the number issued within the same window in 2025, Club of Mozambique reports.

The DNIC spokesperson, Gilda Lameque, is quoted as saying that one of the reasons for the higher number of issuance this year is the deployment of nearly 1,800 mobile registration units which were vital in the enrollment of an additional 86,900 people, as well as the opening of two new ID service centers in the capital Maputo.

The ID authority also reported a rise in the number of online pre-enrolments, progress in issuance of cards to citizens living abroad through consular services, and an increase in the number of cards issued for free. This is an incentive for first-time card applicants.

The legal framework, approved by the cabinet in June, is intended to strengthen Mozambique’s identity system, streamline ID issuance and improve access for vulnerable populations, government spokesperson Ussene Isse said.

Isse said the new ID regulations introduce a new dispensation for how biometric data of Mozambicans is collected, stored and managed for the purpose of issuing the national identity card.

The reforms are part of Mozambique’s broader digital transformation agenda. The country has tapped Ethiopia’s expertise in digital public infrastructure (DPI), established a dedicated agency to lead the country’s digital transformation, and recently tendered a mobile ID and digital signature infrastructure project.

Mozambique’s reforms align with the growing trend of countries updating regulatory and governance frameworks to better manage digital identity and DPI systems. Nigeria recently enacted a new regulatory framework to strengthen is digital public infrastructure foundation, handing the ID authority more powers to oversee trusted identity expansion across the country.

Papua New Guinea is also setting up the necessary regulatory and governance frameworks, including for verifiable credentials, as the Oceania nation aims to leverage digital identity to drive its national digital transformation.

Article Topics

Africa  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  identity governance  |  Mozambique  |  national ID  |  regulation