As Uganda advances efforts to strengthen national security, service delivery, and citizen identification, the National Identification and Registration Authority has announced an extension of the nationwide mass enrollment and national identity card renewal exercise.
The decision comes amid sustained public demand and increased awareness of the importance of legal identity in accessing government and private sector services.
The extended exercise is part of broader reforms aimed at modernizing Uganda’s identification system and ensuring that all eligible citizens are accurately registered.
The National Identification and Registration Authority has extended the deadline for the nationwide mass enrollment and renewal exercise to Feb. 8, 2026.
NIRA Registrar Claire Ollama announced the extension on Monday during a weekly security media briefing held in Kampala.
The mass enrollment and renewal exercise, which began on April 1, had initially been scheduled to conclude in November 2025.
Ollama explained that although the initial six-month period ended on Nov. 8, demand for the service remained significantly high across the country.
“The six months ended on Nov. 8, but because of the demand that remained high, the board and management of NIRA, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, found it plausible to extend this project for a period of three months,” Ollama said.
She noted that the extension reflects a coordinated decision between NIRA leadership and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to ensure no eligible citizen is left out.
The extension comes at a time when the authority is reporting substantial progress in its registration and renewal efforts nationwide.
According to NIRA, more than 13.3 million national identity cards have so far been renewed.
The authority has also registered more than 6.1 million first-time applicants since the exercise began.
Data released by NIRA indicates that 636,942 first-time national identity cards have already been produced and are ready for collection.
The authority has successfully migrated more than 21.4 million records from the old identification system to a new digital platform.
NIRA has also processed 32,351 changes to personal particulars as part of the ongoing exercise.
Ollama said the figures demonstrate that Ugandans increasingly recognize the importance of maintaining a valid and legal identity.
With the new February 2026 deadline approaching, NIRA officials are encouraging parents and guardians to take advantage of the current school holiday break to register children.
Ollama clarified that a child does not need to be accompanied by a biological parent to be registered.
She explained that any blood relative is legally permitted to assist a child through the registration process.
The registrar also addressed widespread public confusion regarding fees charged during the exercise.
She explained that while a 200,000-shilling fee exists for certain adult cardholders, the fee does not apply to children.
“There has been confusion that the 200,000 applies to everybody,” Ollama said.
“It applies to a cardholder, not a child,” she added.
Ollama emphasized that changing personal particulars for children under the age of 18 is free of charge.
Parents or guardians seeking to register children are required to complete Form 7, which is available on the NIRA website.
The completed form must be presented at a designated registration center together with the child.
Ollama clarified that no affidavit is required for children during this registration process.
NIRA offices across the country remain open and operational to handle the increasing number of applicants.
Ollama urged all Ugandans who have not yet complied with the enrollment or renewal requirements to do so before the February 2026 cutoff.
She reminded the public that participation in the national identification exercise is a legal requirement under Ugandan law.
