ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority has introduced a temporary facility allowing first-time applicants to obtain Computerised National Identity Cards even if they don’t have a local government-issued computerised birth certificate — a document that has long kept many citizens, particularly women and people in underserved districts, outside the national identity system.
The facility will remain available until December 31, 2026, but NADRA has made it clear this is not a blanket relaxation. Applicants will still have to pass strict verification checks, including confirmation through NADRA’s existing family records and biometric verification of already registered immediate family members.
The move is aimed at closing what NADRA describes as the country’s remaining adult registration gap. Pakistan has already registered around 98.3 percent of its adult population, but a residual gap of nearly 1.7 percent remains. That may sound small on paper, but in real life it means a large number of people still struggle to access basic civic and economic rights because they lack formal identity documents. The gap is reportedly more visible among women and in districts where civil registration systems remain weak.
Under the new framework, NADRA will allow CNIC issuance without a birth certificate only where identity can be established through existing records. For married women aged 18 or above, applicants must provide a valid local government Nikah Nama, the CNIC or NICOP of either parent, the CNIC or NICOP of the husband, and biometric verification of one parent as well as the husband.
For unmarried women aged 18 or above, the husband-related condition will not apply. However, NADRA will still require the CNIC or NICOP of either parent and biometric verification of one parent. For male applicants above 24, issuance will be allowed only if either parent holds a valid CNIC or NICOP, at least one sibling also has a valid CNIC or NICOP, and one parent completes biometric verification.
There is also a narrow exemption for difficult cases. Where both parents, or the husband in the case of a married woman, are deceased but their records exist in NADRA’s database, an authorised officer may allow exemption from biometric verification after record-based linkage and satisfactory checks.
NADRA says non-smart CNICs under the normal category will be issued free of cost through this facility. The authority has also warned applicants to be careful at the time of registration because once details such as parentage, date of birth and place of birth are entered into the National Identity System, they will be treated as permanent and non-changeable.
The decision follows a detailed review of registration data from the past decade, carried out with input from institutions including the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the Election Commission of Pakistan, the National Commission on the Status of Women and other stakeholders. According to reports, the review examined demographic patterns, district-level gaps and gender disparities before the new facilitation mechanism was approved.
For many applicants, the biggest barrier has not been citizenship itself, but paperwork. In several rural and low-income areas, births are either not registered on time or recorded through informal documents that later fail to meet CNIC requirements. Without a CNIC, citizens can face hurdles in opening bank accounts, getting formal work, receiving welfare payments, voting, applying for passports or completing property-related matters.
The latest policy, then, is both a facilitation step and a test of NADRA’s verification capacity. It lowers one major documentary hurdle, but keeps family linkage and biometric checks at the centre of the process. Eligible applicants have been advised to visit their nearest NADRA Registration Centre before the deadline expires.
