Identity card of North Macedonia (Лична карта) (Letërnjoftim)
Type	Identity card, optional replacement for passport in the listed countries
Issued by	North Macedonia
Valid in	North Macedonia  Albania  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Kosovo  Montenegro  Serbia
Eligibility	15 years of age

The Identity card of North Macedonia (Macedonian: Лична карта, Albanian: Letërnjoftim) is a compulsory identity document issued in North Macedonia. The document is issued by the police on behalf of the Ministry of Interior.

History

Before 1912, when the area of modern-day North Macedonia was still part of the Ottoman Empire, the residents of the region, like other Ottoman citizens, were required to hold Ottoman identity cards. The cards were known in Ottoman Turkish as nüfus tezkeresi,^[1] or in Macedonian as nofuz (Macedonian: нофуз). After 1912, the territory that was to become North Macedonia was annexed by Serbia and became part of Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the identity documents changed again. From 1945 to 1991, when the present day Republic of North Macedonia was a constituent republic of Yugoslavia, citizens possessed Yugoslav identity documents. Under the Yugoslav federal system, each republic had its own variety of identity documents; in particular, Yugoslav identity documents issued since 1974 in SR Macedonia were printed in Macedonian, rather than in Serbo-Croatian.^[2][3]

Physical appearance

The identity card of North Macedonia is a plastic ID-1-(bankcard) format. The left side shows a photograph of the face the bearer. On the top left of the front, the name Република Северна Македонија in capitals, and below it the word Лична карта is shown in Macedonian and on the top right the same words in English: Republic of North Macedonia – Identity card. The flag and the coat of arms are also displayed on the identity card. The nationality of the bearer is given as “македонско / граганин на Република Северна Македонија” – “Macedonian / citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia”.^[4] Every person over 18 is required to obtain an identity card. The cost for issuing the ID-Card is 310 MKD and is issued in 15 days.

Printed data

The descriptions of the fields are printed in Macedonian and English.

• Front side:
  • Surname
  • Name
  • Nationality
  • Sex
  • Date of birth
  • Personal number
  • Date of issue
  • Date of expiry
  • Holder's signature
• Back side:
  • Place of birth
  • Permanent residence
  • Address
  • Authority
  • ID number
  • Machine-readable zone starting with IDMKD

International travel

The Identity card of North Macedonia can be used for travelling to and staying in some countries without the need for a passport on the basis of bilateral agreements:^[5]

•  Albania ^[6]
•  Bosnia and Herzegovina
•  Kosovo ^[7]
•  Montenegro ^[8]
•  Serbia ^[9]