The Iranian identity card is the primary identity document in Iran. Every citizen age of 15 and above, whether resident or not, needs to apply for such a card, which bears their unique national identity number, given name, surname, birth date, and postal code. The current version of this card is called the national smart card (Persian: کارت هوشمند ملّی) and is the successor of the national card (Persian: کارت ملّی). This card is intended to reduce the need for the more valuable Iranian identity booklet, which is issued at birth.

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Persian. (July 2023) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 305 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Persian Wikipedia article at [[:fa:کارت هوشمند ملی]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|fa|کارت هوشمند ملی}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Quick Facts Issued by, Eligibility ...

Iranian national identity card
An example of Iranian NID card
Issued by	Iran
Eligibility	15 years of age
Expiration	7 years from date of issuance (At least until 2027-03-20)
Website	https://www.ncr.ir/idcard/

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The National Organization For Civil Registration began issuing national smart cards in 2015. At the time, the application was voluntary. As with other smart cards, the national card features a smart chip and an RFID.^[1][2] The Iranian authorities initially advertised this card as a means of secure participation in elections that guarantees voting integrity.

On the back of the card it says it is legally required to notify Civil Registration of address changes.^[3]

In the near future,^[when?] identity booklets will be replaced by these cards.^[4] It will also replace Iranian banks' debit cards in August 2023.^[5]

The photo in ID is a black and white laserprinted image, and is often subject of criticism for being soulless and unlifelike.^[6] The camera person may also often be an unskilled government post office worker.^[7]

The material required for development was unavailable. After the United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action during the Trump presidency and US sanctions against Iran, the shortage halted the program halfway, causing the replacement national scheme to be a failure. Only 10 million cards were issued seven years later, and as of 2023 59 million persons out of the Iranian population of nearly 88 million have Iranian identity cards.^[8][9]

Iranian citizens preregister on national identity card website and receive a tracking code. They must then visit the departmental office and fill in a registration form. An SMS message is then sent from the government service department office, and the card is activated and received.^[10]

• Iranian passport
• Identity documents in Iran