National identity card ( Sri Lanka ) - wikipedia National identity card ( Sri Lanka ) National Identity Card Date first issued 14 September 1972 ( first ID card ) 28 February 2014 ( fully printed and bilingual ID cards ) 1 January 2016 ( ID cards with 12 - digit NIC number ) 1 September 2017 ( with Holder 's ICAO standard digital picture ) 27 October 2017 ( new Smart ID card ) Issued by Sri Lanka Valid in Sri Lanka Type of document Identity card Purpose Identification Eligibility requirements Sri Lankan citizenship, 16 years of age or above Expiration N / A The National Identity Card ( abbreviation : NIC ) is the identity document in use in Sri Lanka. It is compulsory for all Sri Lankan citizens who are sixteen years of age and older to have their NICs. NICs are issued from the Department for Registration of Persons. The Registration of Persons Act No. 32 of 1968 as amended by Act Nos 28 and 37 of 1971 and Act No. 11 of 1981 legislates the issuance and usage of NICs. The original intention was to issue a book form identity card very much like the driving license of the 1970s because of the need to accommodate the 2 `` x2 '' size photos which were the norm at the time. This resulted in limited use of the ID. For example, fishermen could not use it as the book would get wet. It was necessary to make it easy to carry and waterproof while standing up to rough handling. Mr. T.B. Ekanayake, the first Commissioner of Registration of Persons, contacted Dr. D.B. Nihalsingha, the Director of the Goverenmnet Film Unit, and handed over the responsibility for the design of an easy to carry card. Mr. Gaspe Ratnayake, the artist of the GFU, designed the card, which is the same design even today. For the first time 35mm still film was proposed by Dr. Nihalsingha and the aid of the GDR was sought. The GDR donated 5000 35mm Practika cameras along with 400 foot rolls of 35mm cine film and spare cassettes to load the film. These were issued to studios around the country with instructions as to how to pose the photo. 35mm still photography became the norm with this step and the 2 `` x2 '' Roleflex photos receded. It is compulsory for a bearer to hold the card at all times ( apart from the NIC, a driving license, Sri Lankan passport or temporary identification document can be used ) and show the cards to police officers conducting regular screening while on patrol, check points for instance. The police may detain suspicious individuals who fail to show any form of legal identification until relevant identification can be produced in person or by proxy. The NIC is also a required document for some government procedures, for commercial transactions such as the opening of a bank account, and for entry to high - security government or private premises by surrendering or exchanging for an entry pass. Failure to produce the card may result in denied access to these premises or denial of goods and services. Most notably it is required to apply for a passport ( over 16 ), driving licence ( over 18 ) and to vote ( over 18 ). Contents 1 NIC number 1.1 New NIC number 1.2 Old NIC number 2 Markings 3 Alternate identity cards 4 eNIC 5 See also 6 External links NIC number The NIC number is used for unique person identification, similar to the social security number in the US. New NIC number From 1st January 2016, each new NIC has a unique 12 digit number. The first four digits of the number are the holder 's year of birth ( e.g. : 1990xxxxxxxx for someone born in 1990 ). The next three digits contain the number of days in the year of the person 's birth. For females, 500 is added to the number of days. The next four digits are serial number. The last digit is the check digit. Old NIC number NICs issued before 1st January 2016, each NIC has a unique 9 digit number, in the format 000000000A ( where 0 is a digit and A is a letter ). The first two digits of the number are the holder 's year of birth ( e.g. : 91xxxxxxxx for someone born in 1991 ). The next three letters contain the number of days in the year of the person 's birth. For females, 500 is added to the number of days. The next three digits are serial number. The next digit is the check digit. Conversion of Old NIC number to New NIC number Birth by year Birth day of the year Serial number Check digit Special letter Old NIC number 64 104 275 7 V New NIC number 1964 104 0275 7 - Markings At the top centre of the card the word `` Sri Lanka '' is printed in the Sinhalese and Tamil languages. The purple number on the right of the Sri Lankan emblem represents the Province from which the application was made. The numbers range from 1 - 9. The numbering convention is as follows : 1. Western Province 2. Central Province 3. Southern Province 4. Northern Province 5. Eastern Province 6. North Western Province 7. North Central Province 8. Province of Uva 9. Province of Sabaragahmuwa Alternate identity cards The Department of Post has been issuing an identity card since the 1940s with a validity of five years. This may be gained in lieu of an NIC if the latter is unable to be issued. This is commonly used by students who have not reached sixteen or by adults who need identity document sooner than an NIC could be issued or to a person an NIC can not be issued to. In certain cases, a driving licence may be used. Enic Sri Lanka is in the process of developing a Smart Card based RFID NIC card which will replace the obsolete ' laminated type ' cards by storing the holders information on a chip that can be read by banks, offices etc. thereby reducing the need to have documentation of these informations physically by storing in the cloud. See also Sri Lankan passport Driving licence in Sri Lanka External links Department for Registration of Persons Postal ID National identity cards Africa Egypt Ghana Mozambique South Africa Asia Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bangladesh China Hong Kong Macau Cyprus Georgian India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Kazakhstan Kuwait South Korea Lebanon Malaysia Pakistan Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore United Arab Emirates Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Turkey Europe European Economic Area & Schengen Area Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Estonia Finland France Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands ( BES ) Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Other Europe Albania Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia and Herzegovina Georgia Kazakhstan Kosovo Macedonia Moldova Monaco Montenegro Russia Serbia Turkey Ukraine North America Costa Rica Dominican Republic United States South America Argentina Brazil British Overseas Territories. Open border with Schengen Area. Russia is a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. The vast majority of its population ( 80 % ) lives in European Russia, therefore Russia as a whole is included as a European country here. Turkey is a transcontinental country in the Middle East and Southeast Europe. Has a small part of its territory ( 3 % ) in Southeast Europe called Turkish Thrace. Azerbaijan ( Nagorno - Karabakh ) and Georgia ( Abkhazia ; South Ossetia ) are transcontinental countries. Both have a small part of their territories in the European part of the Caucasus. Kazakhstan is a transcontinental country. Has a small part of its territories located west of the Urals in Eastern Europe. Armenia and Cyprus ( Northern Cyprus ) are entirely in Southwest Asia but having socio - political connections with Europe. Egypt is a transcontinental country in North Africa and the Middle East. Has a small part of its territory in the Middle East called Sinai Peninsula. Partially recognized. Biometric identity cards ( ) are indicated in italics. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_identity_card_(Sri_Lanka)&oldid=807395410 '' Categories : Sri Lankan law Government of Sri Lanka National identity cards by country Talk Contents About Wikipedia தமிழ் Edit links This page was last edited on 27 October 2017, at 17 : 43. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did the issuing of the national identity card began in sri lanka
Answer: 14 September 1972