National identity cards of EU member states are being harmonised, in terms of both their design and their security features. The most visible change is the EU logo on the front side of each ID card.

In Germany, all national ID cards issued from 2 August 2021 onwards will have the new design and enhanced security features. In this way, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community is implementing EU Regulation 2019/1157. Fees for the revamped national identity card will not change:

• for persons under 24, it will cost 22.80 euro;
• for persons over 24, it will cost 37.00 euro.

Replacement not required

National ID cards remain valid until the date of expiry printed on them. There is no need to replace them because of the new design.

Protecting your identity

Citizens applying for national ID cards from 2 August 2021 onwards are required to supply fingerprints, as is the case with passports. Children under the age of 6 remain exempt from the obligation to provide fingerprints for new passports or identity cards.

As soon as the ID card is completed and handed over, both the producer and the issuing authority delete the fingerprints from their systems.

As with passports, only security authorities of the EU member states can read the fingerprints from the ID card to verify identity in case of doubt concerning the photo; other countries worldwide cannot access the fingerprint data.

Braille stickers

Upon request, visually impaired people can have a transparent sticker with the braille characters representing the letters “ad” (German abbreviation for identity document) attached to the back of their ID card by their issuing authority. This helps them distinguish the ID card from other cards in credit-card format. The sticker can be used on national ID cards, electronic residence permits and eID cards. The service is free of charge and will be available as of autumn 2021.

Uniform security features

The security features of Germany’s national ID card already meet the new EU requirements.

An updated flyer explaining the ID card’s security features is available on the national ID card portal (www.personalausweisportal.de): https://www.personalausweisportal.de/SharedDocs/downloads/Webs/PA/DE/informationsmaterial/flyer-broschueren/Flyer_Sicherheitsmerkmale_Personalausweis.html (in German only)