NADRA has started issuing a new National Identity Card that swaps out the old microchip for a QR code. The card is printed locally by the National Security Printing Company in Karachi, and it’s the first real change to Pakistan’s ID card design since the chip-based Smart Card came out about 14 years ago.
The government approved this new design back in February 2026. Instead of a chip, the card now carries a QR code that anyone can scan with an ordinary smartphone through the PakIdentity app. That means banks, telecom companies, hospitals, Pakistan Railways, and police stations won’t need special chip-reading machines anymore, just software that reads a QR code, something most offices can set up far more easily.
Here’s what’s different on the new card:
- A QR code instead of the old microchip
- The cardholder’s photo and details built into the QR code, readable by phone
- Symbols for senior citizens, people with disabilities, and organ donors
- The family number now printed directly on the card
- Name and address printed in both Urdu and English
- Updated security features on the card’s surface
When You’ll Actually Get One
The rollout is happening in stages, not all at once:
- From August 14, 2026, the new card replaces the standard chipless National Identity Card.
- From January 2027, the same QR-based format will extend to NICOP (for overseas Pakistanis) and Juvenile Cards.
- In the final stage, the Pakistan Origin Card (POC) will also move to this format.
If you already have a valid CNIC, you don’t need to rush and get it replaced. NADRA has confirmed that existing cards stay valid until their normal expiry date.
The old chip-based card actually had a real gap for years, most offices across Pakistan never got the machines needed to read the chip, so that part of the card just sat unused. A QR code sidesteps that problem completely, since nearly every phone today already has a camera that can scan one.
