The Executive Director of the National Identification Registry (NIR), Andrew Peters, has announced strides in the country’s digital identity transformation. Peters pledged full implementation of Executive Order #147, which President Joseph Nyuma Boakai issued on April 14, 2025.
Peters spoke on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at the Ministry of Information regular press briefing in Monrovia.
He said the Executive Order mandates the compulsory use of the National Biometric Identification Card (ID card) for all public and private transactions.
“This directive is a major boost to our mandate,” Peters said, adding: “it provides the institutional backing necessary to accelerate the biometric registration of all citizens and residents.”
Established in 2011 by an Act of the Legislature, the NIR replaced the former National ID Card System created under the then People Redemption Council (PRC) Decree No. 65.
Its core responsibilities include managing the country’s National Biometric Identification System (NBIS), issuing biometric ID cards linked with unique Social Security Numbers (SSNs); maintaining secure data infrastructure to support a range of critical services from banking to passport applications.
To date, the NIR has registered 759,223 individuals, representing 14.6 percent of the country’s estimated 5.2 million population.
Of those enrolled, 56.85 percent are male (431,681) and 43.15 percent female (327,542). The agency operates 30 permanent enrollment centers nationwide, with 14 located in Montserrado County. It has also deployed mobile teams to government institutions and the two major telecom providers (Lonestar and Orange).
In September, 2023, the entity launched the Enrolment at Birth Project, aimed at capturing biometric data for over 500,000 children between the ages of 0 and 5, an age group previously excluded due to technological constraints.
With support from UNICEF, the pilot phase is underway in Montserrado, Margibi, and Grand Bassa counties, where 5,000 children are currently being enrolled.
Further, in 2024, the NIR partnered with the Civil Service Agency (CSA) to authenticate government payroll records, eliminating ghost names and saving public funds through its e-verification platform.
The country, through NIR, remains an active member of ID4Africa, a pan-African movement promoting legal identity for all.
Notably, September 16 has been declared National Identity Day, and is now recognized as a working holiday.
The country’s efforts align with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, which seeks universal legal identity by 2030. In 2025, NIR represented the country at the ID4Africa Annual General Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
On May 2, 2024, the NIR launched a National Roadmap for comprehensive biometric enrollment within a two-year timeline.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), the Liberia Revenue Authority, NICOL, the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), and the National Elections Commission (NEC), the plan includes the creation of 200 new enrollment centers, deployed 500 enrollment teams and 50 mobile teams, installed solar-powered autonomous systems; established six regional printing hubs, launch of an online registration portal and offline verification platform; creation of 3,000 new jobs nationwide, enrollment of Liberians abroad through embassies.
Additionally, the NIR has entered into a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to enhance service delivery.
A pilot project in collaboration with NICOL and LTA will issue ID cards to 5,000 low-income earners under the government’s new National Health Insurance Program.
Despite its accomplishments, the NIR continues to face significant challenges, including inadequate funding, US$1.7 million in unpaid obligations to key service provider Techno Brain and a lack of infrastructure for decentralized card printing.
Mr. Peters appealed to the government and development partners for increased financial and technical support, stressing that a modern and secure identity system is essential for effective governance, revenue collection, and service delivery.