NADRA
Last Updated: October 2026
A NICOP modification is NADRA’s term for changing a detail on your record: your name, date of birth, address, marital status, parents’ names, religion and so on. The Pak ID app has two versions. Update Card prints and delivers a new card, and costs what a new NICOP costs in your zone: USD 39, 57 or 75 in Zone A and USD 20, 30 or 40 in Zone B. Update Info changes only the record, for details that are not printed on the card, and NADRA’s fee structure lists it at PKR 100 through a registration centre and USD 5 through the app.
The rules for each kind of change are the same ones NADRA applies to a CNIC, and our guides to them already cover the overseas cases. This page is the NICOP-side hub: what the app does, what you pay, what NADRA asks of someone living abroad, what three consulates list, and where to read the full rule for each change.
What you can change, and where the rule is
| Change | The rule that decides it | Full guide |
|---|---|---|
| Name | A non-resident needs a name change deed, an S1 form from a mission or an attested undertaking (C2, or C1 for a minor). You cannot go back to the old name or change it a second time, with one exception for women. If a birth certificate sits in NADRA’s data it must be corrected first | Changing your name |
| Date of birth | A birth certificate in NADRA’s data must be corrected first. Age changes have their own fee table, from USD 15 to USD 125 abroad depending on the size of the change | Changing your date of birth |
| Address | No document is required to change a foreign address, though a non-resident still gives the identity or travel document the policy asks for | Changing your address |
| Marital status | A marriage certificate, which may be a foreign one, or a divorce certificate. Los Angeles also lists a spouse’s death certificate for widowhood | Adding a spouse and divorce |
| Parents’ information | It can be corrected only once, with the parent or a sibling present as a biometric witness, or by distant attestation in the app | Updating your family record |
| Religion, gender, place of birth and other fields | Ten fields need no documents at all. Others need proof, which the guide lists | Updating your family record |
Important: settle two points before you pay. A name can normally be changed only once, and a change of name or date of birth waits for the birth certificate to be corrected first wherever a certificate exists in NADRA’s data. Neither point can be fixed afterwards by paying again.
Update Card or Update Info
| Update Card (printable) | Update Info (non-printable) | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | NADRA prints a new card and delivers it | Only the record changes. NADRA says the card is not printed |
| Fee | The zone fee: USD 39, 57 or 75 in Zone A, USD 20, 30 or 40 in Zone B | PKR 100 through a registration centre, USD 5 through the app, on NADRA’s fee structure. The app shows a payable fee before you pay |
| NADRA processing | 31, 23 or 9 days | 2 days |
| Delivery | You choose a temporary or permanent address, and pay for delivery | No delivery step appears in the guideline, because no card is printed |
We found no NADRA list of which fields count as non-printable. Its two app guidelines, both dated 14 November 2025, show the same screens for personal details, family details, voting address and qualification and profession, so the payable fee the app displays is the figure to rely on. As a rule of thumb, a change to something printed on your card needs a new card, and a change to something held only in your record does not. Our NICOP fees guide explains the odd pricing of the second kind.
The steps in the Pak ID app
- Start. Open ID Documents, tap the ID card, and choose Update Card or Update Info.
- Choose the applicant. You, or a blood relative who is applying from your account: a parent, sibling, spouse or minor.
- Set delivery and priority. For Update Card you pick the address and Normal, Urgent or Executive, and NADRA says Normal and Urgent can be upgraded to Executive later. For Update Info you review the payable fee.
- Pick the field. Tap the green plus button and choose the details you want to change.
- Edit the record. Both guidelines show screens for a photograph, a signature, personal details, family details, voting address, and qualification and profession.
- Add documents. The Update Info guideline has an upload step before you submit. NADRA’s Upload Documents guideline covers adding missing documents later, using the tracking ID and PIN, from the Miscellaneous Services section.
- Review and submit. You tick every box to affirm that the information is true and complete.
- Complete the attestation. See below.
The order of the screens differs a little between the two guidelines. The Update Card guideline puts the attestation after submission, and the Update Info guideline puts it before the document upload.
The attester step
NADRA calls this a crucial step. After you submit, a designated attester has to verify your details by fingerprint, using the Verify Biometrics button, and NADRA says the modification cannot go forward without it. If the verification shows as pending in the app, the guideline says it is because the family member’s biometrics are missing. Our attestation guide explains who can act for you.
What NADRA asks of someone living abroad
- An identity or travel document. The policy’s rows for name, parents’ information, date of birth and address ask a non-resident for a Pakistani or foreign passport, a residence permit, a work permit or a travel document, or Undertaking A attested by a Pakistani mission. Our guide to NADRA’s undertaking forms explains A and the name change forms.
- Your old card. The policy says the original card is handed in, punched or defaced on the photo and returned, and that an applicant without it submits a system generated undertaking with a signature. NADRA’s manual NICOP application form, which has a Modification box, tells you to highlight the field you want changed and says the original card is to be surrendered.
- A matching record. Where a birth certificate exists in NADRA’s data, a change of name or date of birth waits for the certificate to be corrected first.
What three consulates list
| Consulate (pages read on 2 October 2026) | Documents it lists | Fees and timing |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai | Marital status: a local marriage certificate with an English translation, or the original nikah nama attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad or its camp offices, plus the passport if the spouse is foreign. Name correction: an affidavit, plus the passport if the spouse is foreign. Date of birth: a matriculation certificate, valid passport, work permit, Emirates ID, or a birth certificate issued within one year | AED 75 Normal, AED 110 Urgent, AED 150 Executive for each. NADRA services work strictly by prior appointment, Monday to Thursday, 7 am to 1 pm |
| Los Angeles | For every case: the NICOP card, a valid US passport or a Pakistani passport with a permanent resident, work or study permit, the parents’ CNIC or NICOP showing updated marital status, the spouse’s ID if married, and two references who are not parents or siblings. By case: marriage needs a nikah nama or government marriage certificate and the spouse’s ID, divorce a certificate or court order, widowhood a death certificate, a permanent address change a utility bill or property papers, a date of birth change a matric certificate, Pakistani passport or birth registration certificate, and a given name change a certificate or court decree plus a US passport showing the new name | Delivery times for a Smart NICOP of 6, 4 and 2 weeks. NADRA’s fee by credit or debit card, the consulate’s by money order or cashier’s cheque |
| Jeddah | The original identity card, the original passport and the documents that support the change, with copies | Appointment booked online. The NADRA Registration Center is open Sunday to Thursday, 8 am to 3 pm |
Missions go beyond NADRA’s policy in places. Los Angeles, for example, asks for the parents’ cards and two references, which we did not find on the policy’s lists for these changes. Where a mission asks for more than the policy, ask which rule it comes from.
Common mistakes
- Paying for a new card when only the record changes. If the detail is not printed on the card, ask about Update Info.
- Changing a name or date of birth before the birth certificate is corrected. If a certificate exists in NADRA’s data, the policy makes the certificate go first.
- Planning on a second name change. The policy does not allow it, except for a woman whose name is modified with her husband’s or father’s name.
- Leaving the attester step. Without it the application stays pending.
- Putting a change into a reprint. The policy does not allow any change in data on a reprint, so a lost card needs its own application. See our lost NICOP guide.
- Treating a consulate’s list as NADRA’s. The lists differ from one mission to the next, and from the policy.
Sources: the steps, the field screens and the attester requirement from NADRA’s Smart ID Modification (Printable) and Non-Printable guidelines, 14 November 2025, and its Upload Documents guideline; the requirements, the identity document rule and the remarks on the original card from Registration Policy RP-6.0.2, pages 13 to 18; the Modification box and the instruction to surrender the card from NADRA’s manual NICOP application form on its Downloads page; fees and processing days, including the non-printable fields table, from NADRA’s fee structure, version V3.1.3; and the consulate details from the Dubai, Los Angeles and Jeddah pages. All read on 2 October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to common questions about this topic.
What is a NICOP modification?
It is NADRA’s term for changing a detail held on your NICOP record, such as your name, date of birth, address, marital status or parents’ names. In the Pak ID app you choose Update Card, which prints a new card, or Update Info, which changes only the record.
How much does a NICOP modification cost?
For a new printed card the fee equals a new NICOP in your zone: USD 39, 57 or 75 in Zone A and USD 20, 30 or 40 in Zone B for Normal, Urgent or Executive. Updating fields that are not printed on the card is listed separately at PKR 100 through a registration centre and USD 5 through the app. Date of birth changes carry their own fee table. Missions add delivery and handling.
How long does a NICOP modification take?
NADRA publishes 31 days on Normal, 23 on Urgent and 9 on Executive for a printed card, and 2 days for updating fields that are not printed. The Los Angeles consulate quotes six, four and two weeks for a Smart NICOP. Plan with your mission’s figure.
Can I modify my NICOP online?
NADRA’s Pak ID app has Update Card and Update Info flows, and NADRA’s own guidelines describe both. A designated attester must still verify your details by fingerprint, and NADRA’s page warns that biometrics and the photograph may need a visit to a registration centre.
What documents do I need to change my name on a NICOP?
For a non-resident the policy lists a name change deed, an S1 form issued by a mission, or an undertaking attested by a Pakistani mission or notarised in the C1 or C2 format, together with a Pakistani or foreign passport, residence permit, work permit or travel document, or Undertaking A. A birth certificate in NADRA’s data has to be corrected first, and a name can normally be changed only once.
Can I change the date of birth on my NICOP?
Yes, within NADRA’s rules. Where a birth certificate exists in NADRA’s data it must be corrected first. NADRA has a separate fee table for age changes, from USD 15 abroad for a change of up to one year to USD 125 for a second change. The Dubai consulate lists a matriculation certificate, valid passport, work permit, Emirates ID or a birth certificate issued within a year.
What is the difference between printable and non-printable changes?
A printable change alters something that appears on the card, so NADRA prints and delivers a new one through Update Card. A non-printable change updates only NADRA’s record through Update Info, and NADRA says the card is not printed. We found no NADRA list of which fields are which, so the payable fee the app shows is the figure to rely on.
Do I have to hand in my old card?
The policy says the original card is handed in, punched or defaced on the photo and returned to you, and that an applicant without it submits a system generated undertaking with a signature. NADRA’s manual NICOP application form says the original card is to be surrendered when you modify it.
How do I change my address on a NICOP?
NADRA’s policy says no document is required to change a foreign address, though a non-resident still gives a passport, residence permit, work permit, travel document or Undertaking A. A change of permanent address in Pakistan needs proof of address, and the Los Angeles consulate lists a utility bill or property papers.
