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Applications to correct the date of birth on National Identity Cards (NIDs) can now be settled at the field level if supported by online-verifiable JSC, secondary or equivalent educational certificates, according to a new Election Commission directive.
Under the directive, upazila/thana election officers, senior district and district election officers, as well as assistant directors, deputy directors and directors of the NID Wing, will be authorised to dispose of such applications classified as “Category A”.
A circular signed by Mohammad Saiful Islam, director (Operations) of the National Identity Registration Wing, was issued on Thursday (August 13).
The circular says officials must follow the existing Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) when accepting educational certificates and other required documents. It also makes it mandatory for officials to record the reasons or notes in the Central Management System (CMS) when electronically approving or rejecting an NID application.
The Election Commission has also strengthened oversight of field-level decisions. Regional and additional regional election officers have been instructed to regularly review the work completed by officials under their jurisdiction. Each month, they must randomly check at least three applications processed by every authorised officer and submit a report in a prescribed format to the director (Operations)’ internal account.
The circular also specifies cases requiring approval at the highest level. Applications seeking a date-of-birth correction based on an Open University certificate, as well as applications involving a complete change of the applicant’s own name and both parents’ names along with the date of birth, can only be settled at the director general level.
It further states that a citizen’s date of birth, own name, or both parents’ names cannot be corrected a second time in the same field after a complete change has already been made.
The National Identity Registration Wing has instructed all concerned officials to follow the new guidelines and take necessary action accordingly.