KAMPALA, Uganda — The National Identification and Registration Authority has extended the deadline for the nationwide mass enrollment and renewal exercise to Feb. 8, 2026.
NIRA registrar Claire Ollama announced the extension Monday during a weekly security media briefing in Kampala. The exercise, which began April 1, was originally scheduled to conclude in November 2025.
The six months ended on Nov. 8, but because of the demand that remained high, the board and management of NIRA, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, found it plausible to extend this project for a period of three months, Ollama said.
The extension comes as the authority reports significant progress in its registration efforts. To date, NIRA has renewed more than 13.3 million national identity cards and registered more than 6.1 million first-time applicants.
Data provided by the authority indicates that 636,942 first-time IDs have been produced and are ready for collection. NIRA has also migrated more than 21.4 million records from the old identification system to a new platform and processed 32,351 changes to personal particulars.
Ollama said the figures show that Ugandans appreciate the importance of maintaining a legal identity.
With the new February deadline approaching, officials are calling on parents and guardians to utilize the current school holiday break to register children. Ollama clarified that a child does not need a physical parent present for registration, as any blood relative is legally permitted to assist with the process.
The registrar also addressed public confusion regarding service fees. While a 200,000-shilling fee exists for certain adult cardholders, Ollama emphasized that changing the particulars for children under 18 is free of charge.
There has been confusion that the 200,000 applies to everybody, Ollama said. It applies to a cardholder, not a child.
Parents are required to complete Form 7 from the NIRA website and present it at a registration center with the child. No affidavit is required for children during this process.
NIRA offices across the country remain open to handle the influx of applicants. Ollama urged those who have not yet complied with the enrollment or renewal requirements to do so before the new February 2026 cutoff, noting that the exercise is a legal requirement under Ugandan law.
