How to Apply for a New CNIC in Pakistan (2026 Guide)

NADRA

Last Updated: August 2026

Two things are worth knowing before you read anything else. Your first CNIC is free on Normal processing, PKR 0 on NADRA’s own published schedule, and almost no guide says so. And if the reason you have never applied is that you have no birth certificate, NADRA has waived that requirement until 31 December 2026. That is a closing window, and it is the single best reason to deal with this now rather than next year.

Your first CNIC costs nothing

Card	Normal	Urgent	Executive
New CNIC	PKR 0, 15 days	PKR 1,150, 12 days	PKR 2,150, 06 days
New Smart NIC	PKR 750, 31 days	PKR 1,500, 23 days	PKR 2,500, 09 days

Read the top row again. On Normal processing there is no fee at all for a first CNIC, and it is produced in 15 days. You pay only if you want it faster, or if you want the Smart card with its microchip and additional security features.

Notice also that the free card is the quicker one. Non-smart Normal is 15 days against the Smart card’s 31. If nobody has told you a first CNIC can be free, that is worth knowing before you are quoted PKR 750 at a counter. Delivery is charged separately at PKR 165 within Pakistan, and our full CNIC fees guide lists every service on the schedule.

Who needs to apply

NADRA states that the CNIC is issued to all Pakistani citizens in or out of Pakistan who have attained the age of 18 and who either have not previously been registered with NADRA, or hold a Child Registration Certificate or Juvenile Card.

Two implications. Living abroad does not disqualify you, though if you are settled overseas the card designed for that is the NICOP, compared in our guide to NICOP and CNIC. And if you hold a B-Form or Juvenile Card, this is the conversion you make at 18 rather than a fresh registration from nothing.

What NADRA requires

Three requirement lines, each with alternatives. It is shorter than it looks.

1. The identity card number of a parent or blood relative, or a biometric witness by an ID holder together with undertaking “B” on the prescribed format if you have no blood relative.
2. A verified computerised birth certificate from a Union Council, Municipal Committee or Cantonment, or a citizenship or naturalisation certificate.
3. Biometric verification by a parent or blood relative, or attestation of CNICF under Regulation 9(a to h).

Note that item one already contains the answer for people with no family to call on. The undertaking “B” route exists precisely so that having no blood relative is not a dead end.

No birth certificate? You have until 31 December 2026

This is the most time-sensitive thing on this page. Asked what a 25 year old with no birth record should do, NADRA answers that a birth certificate is mandatory, “however NADRA has exempted the birth certificate requirement till 31st December 2026, subject to provision of identity card numbers and biometric data of family members.”

So during this window, family members’ ID numbers and their biometrics stand in for the birth certificate. If you or someone in your family has been putting off a first CNIC because the birth was never registered, this is the period in which it is straightforward, and NADRA has published an end date for it.

What happens after 31 December 2026 is not published. The requirement reverts to mandatory unless NADRA extends the exemption, which means going back to a Union Council to register the birth first. Treat the date as real and act before it.

Difficult situations that still have a route

Most people who believe they cannot get a CNIC are wrong, and NADRA has published an answer for each of these. They are scattered across its FAQ rather than collected anywhere, so here they are together.

Situation	What NADRA says
Both parents died before NADRA registration, no record exists	Identity is established through any registered sibling. If there is none, through the biometric witness of two individuals, preferably immediate relatives, subject to scrutiny and field verification
No blood relative at all	Biometric witness by an ID holder with undertaking “B”
In prison	Provided through special arrangements or mobile registration units, subject to authorisation from the prison authority
Mental disability, cannot give biometrics or a signature	Yes, with a disability certificate from CRPD, PCRDP, the Social Welfare Department in AJK or GB, or a foreign institute
Remote area, cannot travel to a centre	Mobile Registration Vans. Applicants may request NADRA to schedule a visit
Born abroad, never registered in Pakistan	Citizenship must first be established through the nationality documentation of parents or grandparents

Two answers that go the other way, so you are not surprised at the counter. A photograph is mandatory and NADRA will not issue a card without one. And a guardian cannot be recorded in place of a parent: biological parents must be recorded even where adoption or guardianship is legally recognised by a court.

Applying through the PakID app

PakID is NADRA’s official mobile application. Its published steps are to download the app, create an account or sign in, select the CNIC application, fill in your personal details, upload the required documents, visit a registration centre if required, and track the application in the app.

For a first CNIC, expect the centre visit rather than hoping to avoid it. NADRA holds no biometrics for you yet, and it states that biometric verification and a photograph may require attending a registration centre. The app is how you do the paperwork in advance and shorten the visit, not how you skip it.

Applying at a registration centre

NADRA publishes a heading for the in-person process on its CNIC page and nothing underneath it, and its “Where to Apply” tab is empty. There is no official step list, so we are not going to invent one.

What is documented is what you need to bring, which is the three requirement lines above, and that your fingerprints and photograph are captured there. If travelling is the obstacle, the Mobile Registration Van route is a published option and you can ask NADRA to schedule a visit.

Once submitted, see how to check your CNIC status, which also covers how to tell whether your card is genuinely overdue.

Common mistakes

• Paying for a first CNIC. Normal processing is PKR 0. You pay for speed or for the Smart card, not for the card itself.
• Missing the birth certificate window. The exemption ends 31 December 2026.
• Assuming no family means no CNIC. Undertaking “B”, a registered sibling, or two biometric witnesses all exist as routes.
• Bringing every document listed. Each requirement line has alternatives.
• Expecting to finish entirely in the app. A first registration needs your biometrics captured in person.
• Naming a guardian as a parent. NADRA requires biological parents to be recorded.
• Paying to fix NADRA’s own typo afterwards. That is an office fault, corrected free and at Executive speed.

Eligibility, the requirement list and the answers on difficult cases are taken from NADRA’s CNIC page and the FAQ published on it, and fees and processing times from its official fee structure, both read on 28 August 2026, site version V3.1.2, last updated 07-07-2026. The birth certificate exemption is quoted verbatim and expires on 31 December 2026, so confirm it is still in force if you are reading this near or after that date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to common questions about this topic.