Did you know that from as early as 15 years of age, persons can apply for a National Identification Card?
- Appointments are NO longer required
- NO application form is required
- There is NO cost (for the first issue)
For Nationals of Trinidad and Tobago (by BIRTH) you require the following to apply for your national identification card:
- An original Birth Certificate from the Registrar General’s Department and a copy
- Accompanying Affidavit and copy (if name does not appear or correspond with that on the Birth Certificate
- For minors applying for a national identifiction card, you should also submit copies of any document, which provides the name in which the child is established, for e.g. a school ID badge, a school report card or a letter from the school stating the name the child is known by.
- A Marriage Certificate and copy (if married woman wishes to adopt her husband’s surname)
- A Deed Poll (if names being used differ from those on the Birth Certificate)
For Nationals (Other than by Birth)
- An original Birth Certificate and copy
- Valid Trinidad and Tobago passport or Certificate or other documentation from the Immigration Division of the Ministry of National Security attesting to citizenship
For Non-Nationals
- An original Birth Certificate and copy
- Valid Passport
- Appropriate documentation from the Immigration Division of the Ministry of National Security attesting to residential status in Trinidad and Tobago
All minors seeking to be registered are required present certain documentation in addition to their computerised Birth Cetificate. The accepted additional documents include:
- A school identification badge;
- A school report card;
- A letter from the school identifying the name the minor is established in at the institution, in other words, any document, which provides the name in which the child is established should be presented at the time of registration.
At present there are approximately 1.143 million electors registered with the EBC, each of whom has qualified to own a National Identification (ID) Card produced by the staff of the Commission.
In terms of the provision of services to the national community, the Elections and Boundaries Commission is one of the major service providers in Trinidad and Tobago. At present there are approximately 1.143 million electors registered with the EBC, each of whom has qualified to own a National Identification (ID) Card produced by the staff of the Commission. From this client base, an average of three hundred thousand (300,000) persons visit the Commission’s Eighteen Registration Areas and Sub Offices annually to seek various services.
The ID card is the most sought-after product and preferred form of national identification for a number of service providers in both the public and private sectors. It is one of several products produced from the Commission’s registration system.
As of June 1, 2023, persons will NO LONGER NEED AN APPOINTMENT to conduct any transaction at any EBC office.
The procedure used in the processing of the application and the production of the I.D. Card is significantly different from that used in respect of some other national documents; e.g. Driver’s Permit and Passport. While the issuance of a Driver’s Permit is normally a same-day transaction and the Passport is reportedly issued within a specific number of working days following an application, the issue of an Identification Card to a first-time applicant will take somewhat longer.
This is due, in part, to the fact that:
- all applications are subjected to a field check intended to verify certain particulars supplied by the registrant. Every effort is made to establish the correct residential address, since this impacts the Polling Division into which the person is placed, a necessary pre-requisite for voting. This also has implications for the creation and maintenance of accurate related records.
- while application for an Identification Card is made at the respective Registration Area Office, production of the document takes place only at the Commission’s Central Electoral Office, located in Port-of-Spain, from where the finished product is dispatched to the Area Office.
These procedures naturally add to the time-frame within which an Identification Card can be processed and delivered to an applicant. It should be noted, though, that unlike the issue of your first- I.D. Card, applications for replacement and renewal cards are processed much faster
Notwithstanding the above, the Commission wishes to advise that it is not unmindful of its responsibility towards the public to provide this very important national document in a timely manner; and gives the assurance that every effort continues to be made to ensure efficient service delivery.
To qualify for a National Identification Card a person must be:
- A citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, fifteen (15) years and over;
- A Commonwealth citizen, fifteen (15) years and over who has resided in Trinidad and Tobago for a period of at least one year;
- A non- Commonwealth citizen, (15) years and over resident in Trinidad and Tobago for a continuous period of five years.
Registered persons whose names appear on the list of electors are entitled to vote in national elections using their ID Cards as the means of identification.
Only persons eighteen (18) years and over are eligible to vote. Election Rule No. 36 states:
“No person shall be entitled to vote at a polling station for any polling division unless his registration record appears in the Unit Register of Electors for that polling division, or his name appears on the Revised List of Electors for that polling division.”
The features of the new Identification Card
An Identification Card is valid for a period of ten (10) years from the date of issue. As the expiry date of an ID Card approaches, an application to renew the card can and should be made at least two (2) months prior to the expiry date. A card which was either lost, stolen, mutilated or otherwise destroyed, or contains incorrect information can be replaced upon the payment of a fee.
The fee for a first issue replacement card is $10.00 (TTD), while a second or subsequent issue costs $20.00 (TTD).
For enquires into your identification card please contact your Registration Area Office. The telephone numbers for all our Registration Area Offices and Sub-offices can be found here.