• NRB registers every:
  1. Birth and issues Birth Certificate,
  2. Citizen above 16 years for National Identity Card,
  3. Death for the issuance of Death Certificate,
  4. Resident Foreigner for the issuance of Resident Foreigner Identity Card.
• NRB will soon take over the function of marriage registration from the Department of the Registrar General 

• NRB also provides identity verification to third party clients such as government departments, and private sector organizations including financial institutions.

• NRB offices are at each and every District Council in Malawi, in selected post offices, and in other designated centres.

• Currently, NRB does not have offices outside Malawi. However, plans are underway to conduct Diaspora Registration through the Malawi Missions.

• Pre registration is available online but a person still has to present themselves to NRB offices for capturing of biometrics.

• All Malawian citizens above the age of 16 are eligible to register for a National ID
• Naturalized Malawians, Citizens by Registration, and Malawians with dual nationality are also eligible to register for a National ID.
• The Malawi National ID is a mandatory and vital document for every Malawian citizen aged 16 and above.

• A National ID Card is the primary document proving a person’s identity and Malawian citizenship.
• The National ID helps to prevent identity fraud and ensures accurate personal records.
• It also assists Malawians to access government services, financial and banking transactions, employment and business registration, required for domestic identification when applying for a passport, assists to verify identities, SIM Card registration and digital services, and ensures fair distribution of social benefits (e.g., agricultural subsidies, disaster relief).
• Without a National ID, individuals may face difficulties in accessing essential services, voting, or conducting official transactions in Malawi.

• Registration for a National ID is done at NRB District Registration offices in every district in Malawi, selected Post Offices, and other designated registration centres.

• Registration for first National IDs is FREE and collection of the ID is also FREE.

• • Applicant shall provide prescribed particulars needed for registration such as biodata (through NR1 Form), fingerprints and photograph.
  • Applicant proves citizenship by providing two witnesses with national IDs and /or a copy of Certificate of Birth.

   NOTE:  Malawian Citizens by Naturalization or Registration should attach a copy of their Certificate of Naturalization or Registration to the application at the nearest District Registration Office.

• An applicant should collect their National ID at the centre of registration.
• Remember that every person collects their own National ID and (NO proxy in National ID collection).

• The National ID Card shall be issued within 30 days of application

• It must be noted that the Malawi citizenship does not expire. It is just the National ID Card that expires, and has to be renewed. Therefore, even though your National ID Card has expired, you are still a citizen of Malawi. However, you need to renew the National ID Card in order for it to be acceptable as a valid identification document.

The National ID Card has an expiry date to comply with the national law as well as international standards, but also for some common sense reasons.

National Law

The National Registration Act requires that a National ID Card be replaced if the photo on the card is not clearly of the appearance of the person registered. As we age our face changes and it is generally held that for the average person, after ten years it is necessary to update the photo.

International Standards

Internationally, the design of the Malawi National ID Card has been made to meet the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which sets the standards for passports and other official electronic documents. For security reasons any official document of identity must have an expiry date, like a passport or a driver’s license, and identity cards are included in these types of documents.

Material

No card lasts forever. The material being used for the National ID card are among the best available to be long lasting. However, even using those state of the art materials, the lifetime of a card is usually at most ten years.

Proof of Life  

World-wide, one of the greatest challenges for any National ID system is being able to ensure that people that have passed away are removed from the National Register. “Ghosts” in the National Register reduces its accuracy and integrity. When a person passes away their National ID card should be returned to the nearest District Registration Office or at a Post Office. Sometimes that doesn’t happen, so ensuring that a replacement card is required every ten years, also tells the Government that a person may have passed away.

National ID is supposed to be acquired at the age of 16 and its expiry is supposed to follow a sequence of 10 years that is 26, 36, 46 and so on and so forth. In 2017 when National ID registration exercise first rolled out, each citizen was given the remaining period to reach this sequence. For example, if you registrered at the age of 21 your ID had a validity period of 5 years based on the sequence of the time you turned 16. Subsequently the expiry date after renewal will be given a ten year validity period from the date of expiry.

When you register for your first National ID at 16 years, the National ID card will expire after 10 years from the date of issuance. The expired National ID card must be surrendered at the nearest NRB Registration Centre.

Please take the expired National ID card to the nearest NRB District Registration Office or Post Office or some designated centres for renewal. You will then be asked to fill an NR1 Form and NR6 Form to renew the card. The officers will also capture your biometric information such as face and fingerprints.

No. At registration your data will be collected and you will be given a printed receipt which will be pasted on the application form. Your information is sent to the National Registry where it is compared with other records. Assuming that there are no duplicate records, your National ID card will be printed and will be sent to the registration centre for collection.

It is a crime to try to register more than once in the National ID system. Records that match as duplicates will be subject to process of investigation, called adjudication. If it is suspected that the law has been broken, the case will be sent to the Police for criminal investigation and no card will be issued until the matter is resolved.

After the card has been printed, NRB will send it to the centre where you registered. NRB is aiming to ensure that cards are produced and distributed within 30 working days after registration.

Your National ID card will be held at the District Registration Office or Post Office or designated centre waiting for your collection when you are around.

In case of a spelling error or any other minor error, you should go to the District Registration Center and request for a correction to the information to be made. However, in cases of errors which necessitate major changes on your National ID card such as name changes, the District Registration Office shall advise you accordingly.

Change of name on National ID may be due to marriage or other reasons. In case of changes due to marriage, applicant shall complete NR1 and NR6 Forms and attach a copy of the marriage certificate as evidence of the desired name change.

 In case of a complete name change, an applicant must follow the name change procedure as provided for by the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC). After the OPC process, NRB will effect the name change on the National ID at a prescribed fee of MK5,000.00.

The fee for the replacement of National ID card is set in the gazette. However, at the moment, the government of Malawi suspended all the fees for replacement of National ID cards due to loss, damage or expiry.

The fee for the replacement of National ID card is set in the gazette. However, at the moment, the government of Malawi suspended all the fees for replacement of National ID cards due to loss, damage or expiry.

If it is lost, you need to obtain a Police report, then bring the report to the nearest NRB office for assistance. But if it is defaced or damaged, you should just bring the ID to the nearest NRB office for assistance.

When a person dies, his/her death must first be registered and the deceased National ID should be returned to NRB.

Note that it is a crime to use the National ID card of the deceased person.

Date of birth is a variable which does not change. Therefore, NRB does not change this particular. In case of an error in data entry, please contact the nearest NRB District Registration Office for assistance.

First of all, obtain a police report as evidence of loss of an item. At the NRB registration centre, please complete NR1 and NR6 Forms. Thus you have completed the replacement process.

Ensure that you bring the defaced or damaged National ID birth certificate of birth certificate to the nearest NRB registration centre for replacement. You will be required to complete appropriate forms. Thus, you have completed the replaement process.

NRB Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) require that for any replacement or renewal of a National ID or any other document issued by NRB, an applicant should fill again the requisite forms in order to capture again the variable particulars such as residential information, marital status, and occupation as well as the reasons the replacement or renewal of the card.

Birth registration is the process where the government records the birth of a child officially, and from the birth registration the child is granted a birth certificate.

Every child that is born in Malawi deserves to be registered by NRB and given a birth certificate.

The birth certificate ensures that every child is recognised by the law, helping them to prove their identity and identity of their parents as well as place of birth.

This assists in

• Acquisition of citizenship/Nationality
• Access to property inheritance
• Child protection; Eradication of child labour, forced marriages, trafficking and abuse through assisting administration of Child Justice
• Facilitation of school enrolment at the right age (6 years) leading to access to quality education
• Improving the protective environment for children in need of care and protection
• Protection of Children in conflict with the law (Penal code)
• Enhancing positive identification for linkages with social protection programmes (e.g. children with disability, affected by HIV/AIDS)

Registration of births is conducted at:

• Health facility – for all health facility births
• Village headman’s office - for all community births
• District Registration Offices - for all births either not registered or delayed to register

Applicant/informant should be mother, father, relative or anybody present at birth of child. Parents or guardians are required to fill an NR8 form (Birth Report Form). For registration, the form must be duly verified by the hospital staff for hospital registration or village head.   

 Name of the child and details of parents of the child (as indicated on national IDs) shall be provided.

In case of twins or more, separate forms for each child should be filled.

The absence of one parent shall not hinder registration of birth/child. Where parents are not married, details of the father of the child shall only be included upon mutual consent of both mother and father (both signing on the form) or upon production of a court order confirming paternity of the child. Where the biological father has denied paternity, mother shall register child under their maiden surname.

Birth Certificate shall be issued within 10 working days.

The one who registered the birth (informant), whose name is on the Acknowledgement Slip is the one supposed to collect the Birth Certificate.

No, a birth certificate does not expire.

The birth certificate remains with the family of the deceased person.

A birth certificate is a proof of birth. It does not necessarily mean citizenship. A birth certificate alone does not make a child a Malawian citizen—it depends on the parents' citizenship status. If at least one parent is Malawian, the child is a citizen by descent. If the child is born in Malawi to non-Malawian parents, they are not automatically citizens unless they later apply for naturalization.

Death registration leads to production of a death certificate (legal proof of death) which helps in the settlement of inheritance, insurance claims, pensions, and closure of bank accounts.

It can also be used by dependents of the deceased when applying for loans and bursaries as proof of parents’ death.

Death registration helps the government maintain accurate population statistics (for planning healthcare, social services) and epidemiological data ((tracking causes of death for public health policies).

Applicant or informant to a death could either be a relative to the deceased or anybody present at death.

Death can occur at a health facility or home or any other place other than the two places mentioned. Therefore, death can be registered either at a heath facility or community or at District Registration Office depending on where the death ocurred.

Death certificate are issued within 10 working days after registration.

A death certificate is collected at the NRB District Registration Office.

No, a death certificate does not expire.

According to the National Registration Act, NRB has the legal mandate to register non-citizens who are lawfully residing in Malawi and issue them with a Resident foreigner ID.

Holders of valid permit issued by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services.

At the nearest NRB District Registration Office only.

Dependents (spouse of children under 21) must use the details of the permit holder to register for a resident foreigner ID.

You will pay MK20,000 at the Treasury Cashier’s office