Home Affairs Minister warns South Africans with green ID books

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has warned that green ID books pose a significant security threat, urging South Africans to move to Smart IDs.

South Africa launched the green ID book in 1980 as an alternative to the blue book that had been in use since 1972.

The original 16-page green ID book featured a 13-digit ID number that included digits for racial classification, birth date, gender, and order of registration.

In 1996, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) introduced a revised ID book with eight pages. It used a new ID number with altered racial classification digits.

The new green ID book featured a scannable barcode and required biometric fingerprint capturing. The biometric data was stored on the National Population Register.

This ID book last received a security update in 2000, when it added the holder’s digitally printed black-and-white photograph.

This replaced the pasting or hot-laminating of photos into the book, intended to make it more difficult to forge the documents by swapping out photos.

The security features of South Africa’s green ID books did not evolve with technological advances, which makes them vulnerable to criminal abuse.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Njabulo Nzuza explained that green ID books were behind most identity theft in South Africa.

Often, stolen identities are used to access credit, loans, or apply for higher education, creating significant headaches for the rightful holder of the ID.

Smile ID’s 2024 Digital Identity Fraud report showed that the South African green ID book was the most targeted by fraudsters.

It said national IDs were regularly targeted because they were the most common form of government identification and were mandatory for most adults.

Big drive to move people to Smart IDs

Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza highlighted that with the new Smart ID, it is challenging to duplicate someone’s ID.

“That is why we are migrating everyone to a Smart ID card and phasing out the green ID books,” he said.

The card’s biometric features ensure that the person presenting the ID is the rightful owner, significantly reducing the risk of identity fraud.

This also enables it to be incorporated into digital verification systems and, in some cases, eliminates the need for in-person validation.

Considering the security benefits of Smart IDs, it is understandable that the Department of Home Affairs wants to do away with green ID books.

Schreiber explained that after they stop issuing green ID books, they will consider eliminating them and replacing them with Smart ID cards.

He said that people who still use green ID books have no reason to panic, as they will remain valid for this year and beyond.

This means that green ID books remain a valid form of identification. However, users are warned that they pose significant security threats.

In January 2025, Schreiber said the Department of Home Affairs wants to stop issuing green barcoded ID books this year.

In the future, they want to issue only Smart ID cards, an internal target they are working towards to ensure they create a more secure system.

“Home Affairs will work flat-out this year to ensure that all South Africans can obtain Smart IDs as part of our vision to deliver Home Affairs @ Home,” Schreiber said.

Home Affairs @ Home expands the department’s partnerships with banks, introduce home deliveries, and launch new online channels.