page_title: Identity document
section_title: Portugal
hierarchical_section_title: Identity document / National policies / Europe / European Economic Area / Portugal
caption_attribution_description: English: Portuguese citizen card.
context_page_description: An identity document is any document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card, or passport card. Some countries issue formal identity documents, as national identification cards which may be compulsory or non-compulsory, while others may require identity verification using regional identification or informal documents. When the identity document incorporates a person's photograph, it may be called photo ID.
  In the absence of a formal identity document, a driver's license may be accepted in many countries for identity verification. Some countries do not accept driver's licenses for identification, often because in those countries they do not expire as documents and can be old or easily forged. Most countries accept passports as a form of identification.
  Some countries require all people to have an identity document available at any time. Many countries require all foreigners to have a passport or occasionally a national identity card from their home country available at any time if they do not have a residence permit in the country.
context_section_description: All Portuguese citizens are required by law to obtain an Identity Card as they turn 6 years of age. They are not required to carry with them always but are obligated to present them to the lawful authorities if requested.
  The old format of the cards (yellow laminated paper document) featured a portrait of the bearer, their fingerprint, and the name of parent(s), among other information.
  They are currently being replaced by grey plastic cards with a chip, called Cartão de Cidadão (Citizen's Card), which now incorporate NIF (Tax Number), Cartão de Utente (Health Card) and Social Security, all of which are protected by a PIN obtained when the card is issued.
  The new Citizen's Card is technologically more advanced than the former Identity Card and has the following characteristics:
  From the physical point of view the Citizen's Card will have a 'smart card' format and will replace the existing Identity Card, taxpayer card, Social Security card, voter's card and National Health Service user's card.
  From the visual point of view the front of the card will display the holder's photograph and basic personal details. The back will list the numbers under which the holder is registered with the different bodies whose cards the Citizen's Card combines and replaces. The back will also contain an optical reader and the chip.
  From the electronic point of view the card will have a contact chip, with digital certificates (for electronic authentication and signature purposes). The chip may also hold the same information as the physical card itself, together with other data such as the holder's address.
caption: Front of a Portuguese national ID card
exif: {}