Register for a National ID (first time)

Apply for your first National ID (NIN), step by step.

Register for your first National ID (NIN) with NIRA. NIRA itself charges nothing for first registration; our team prepares and submits the whole application for you for one all-in service price. Your fingerprints, photo and iris are captured IN PERSON at a NIRA registration point afterwards. You'll need your birth certificate, an LC1 letter, and your parents' ID copies. After approval, the card is collected in person at your district. NIRA works through a large backlog, so we won't promise a timing we can't keep.

What NIRA charges

NIRA publishes no fee for standard first-time National ID registration; enrolment during a mass exercise is free.

First-time registration (mass enrolment)Outside a mass exercise NIRA publishes no figure — we confirm the current position with NIRA before you pay anything.Free
Confirmation letter (proof of your registration details)Per letter, paid at a bank. Available once you have been registered for four months or more.UGX 1,000

Source: NIRA service booking portal · last checked 2026-07-30

We handle this end to end as one package, and the NIRA fee above is included in it. You'll see your total before you start, and you never pay the agency separately.

What you need

Birth certificate
LC1 letter (DISO-countersigned)
Parents' National ID copies

Start this application

We'll ask for what's needed one step at a time, in your language, and fill the application as you go.

The official portal

NIRA runs this service. You can also apply directly on their own site.

Open NIRA