The nationwide identity verification and photo registration exercise for Rwanda’s new digital ID system began in Huye, Gisagara and Nyanza Districts in Southern Province. The launch was led by the National Identification Agency (NIDA) and provincial officials, including Alice Kayitesi, Governor of Southern Province.
On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, thousands of citizens turned up at the registration centres, where field officers verified personal information and took updated photos for the current national ID (e-Ndangamuntu) as part of the transition to the forthcoming Single Digital ID. The exercise is scheduled to continue until November 23.
Why this matters
Governor Kayitesi emphasised that the e-Ndangamuntu and its successor digital ID are key tools for promoting good governance, strengthening trust between citizens and government, accelerating national strategies such as the National Strategy for Transformation II (NST2), and supporting the country’s long-term vision (Vision 2050).
She added that once every citizen possesses the digital ID, service delivery will become faster and fairer, fraud will be reduced, and sectors such as health, education and development programmes will benefit from a single, reliable identity system.
Registration requirements and logistics
During the verification exercise residents are required to bring:
- their current national ID card;
- their parents’ ID numbers (if available);
- for married people, the spouse’s ID number;
- a personal identification number;
- and for those who do not yet have a national ID, their application number.
A total of 1,144 field officers have been deployed in the pilot phase across the three districts. These teams are supported by dedicated registration centres equipped with biometric kits and digital systems for instant verification. Mobile units and multilingual service desks will help reach remote and marginalised communities.
Roll-out and technical details
According to NIDA, all Rwandans including newborns and children under five will receive the digital ID within the next three years. This is a significant improvement over traditional ID systems that often exclude young children.
The new system will serve as a single verified identity for all citizens, simplifying access to essential services such as banking, SIM-card registration, health insurance and government programmes.
Financially, the government has allocated Rwf 12.2 billion (about US $8.5 million) in the 2025/2026 fiscal year to support implementation. The full project cost is estimated at USD $38 million–US $70 million (depending on source) and is supported by the World Bank, which has already contributed more than USD $48 million to the programme.
The digital ID system will be issued in three formats: a physical smart-card, a digital version (accessible online or via mobile) and a lifelong unique authentication number. Biometric data, facial photo, fingerprints, iris scans is being collected to ensure strong identity assurance, deduplication and secure authentication for online and offline services.
New context and added details
The digital ID programme is part of the broader Rwanda Digital Acceleration Project (RDAP), which spans multiple sectors including broadband access, e-services, digital literacy and device affordability. One component of RDAP allocates about US $39 million to upgrading national ID and civil-registration infrastructure.
The registration process includes a pre-enrolment phase during which citizens can verify and correct existing personal information before full biometric capture, the Ministry of ICT & Innovation has emphasized that users will have control over how and when their identity data is shared.
The biometric authentication system being procured is “multimodal” (face, fingerprint, iris) and modular to support integration with both public and private sector services; tenders for these systems were launched earlier in 2025.
For children under five years old, only a photograph is required during registration, while full biometric data will be captured for those aged five and above.
What this means for Rwandans
With this roll-out:
Service delivery across government and private sectors is expected to become more efficient and integrated.
Fraud and duplication in beneficiary databases (for social protection, education, banking) should be significantly reduced thanks to biometric de-duplication.
Identity-linked services such as mobile SIM registration, bank account opening and digital health/insurance access will be streamlined.
Citizens will gain stronger control over their identity data (who can access it, and when).
The physical ID system will eventually be phased out as the digital version becomes primary.
What to do now
If you live in the Southern Province (Huye, Gisagara, Nyanza) and haven’t yet attended registration, now is the time. Bring all the required documents listed above, and be prepared for photo capture and verification. If you are elsewhere in Rwanda, stay alert for the registration exercise coming to your district.
Brenna AKARABO
RADIOTV10
