KATHMANDU: The government has issued a new law mandating the use of National Identity Cards for all real estate transactions beginning January 14, 2025. The Ministry of Home Affairs announced this mandate in the news, which replaced the prior requirement for a citizenship document when purchasing or selling property or residences.

Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, emphasized that the objective behind this new provision is to enforce the use of national identity cards across various sectors. Besides real estate transactions, national identity cards will also become mandatory for services involving banking, financial institutions, social security funds, health insurance, pensions, personal income tax registration, driver’s licenses, and company registration and renewal in different districts.

Individuals will be required to have a national identity card in order to obtain a SIM card for mobile telephone services beginning January 14, 2025. This move is part of a larger effort to streamline identification processes and improve security measures in the public and commercial sectors.

The notice further clarifies that national identity cards or their respective numbers will be essential for accessing public services provided by government agencies, organizations, and private entities. This requirement will replace the longstanding reliance on citizenship certificates for verification purposes.

Bhattarai highlighted that the transition to national identity cards aims to modernize and standardize identification practices, ensuring smoother transactions and improved service delivery across various sectors of governance and commerce. This shift is expected to facilitate greater efficiency and security in handling personal identification and legal transactions nationwide.