National ID Card Process Suspended Indefinitely Over New Directive

Monrovia, Liberia: The national identification process has been put on hold.

Reason? The current ID cards use barcodes, but to meet full biometric standards, a new system is needed.

Barcodes are not biometric. New IDs will be fully biometric-compliant.

In Another Development The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), in collaboration with the National Identification Registry (NIR), has issued a new directive against President Boakai's Executive Order #147 requesting all commercial banks to relax the enforcement of the usage of the National Identification Card as a prerequisite for all banking transactions.

The National Identification Registry (NIR) informs all public social service providers to take note and act in compliance with its new directive, ignoring the President's Executive Order #147.

On May 9, 2025, President Joseph Boakai issued Executive Order #147, the mandatory enrollment of all citizens and foreign residents, and the use of the National Biometric Identification Card to access all public and private services in Liberia.

In keeping with the new CBL-NIR directive, the issuance of National Identification Cards has been suspended with immediate effect for administrative reasons until further notice.

Many Liberians have embraced the new CBL-NIR directive, while some expressed frustration over President Boakai's Executive Order #147, arguing that the executive order was not appropriate.