What exactly will be stored in your new South African digital ID?

South Africa has given its very first look at a working digital ID, with Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber demonstrating the system through the MyMzansi Digital ID smartphone app.

The demonstration on 1 October 2026 showed what the digital ID would=d look like, while some of the features discussed by Schreiber are still part of the government’s proposed framework.

So what could eventually be stored in your new digital ID?

A new way to store documents and personal details

The digital ID profile demonstrated by Schreiber displayed his photograph, name and date of birth.

He said the photograph came directly from the Home Affairs population register, linking the digital credential to the official information held by the department.

The system is intended to be more than a photograph of a physical ID card. Schreiber described it as a remote verification tool linked to a person’s biometrics.

The proposed Wallet feature on the digital ID is intended to store a person’s Home Affairs credentials.

Schreiber said this would include another copy of their ID, as well as documents such as their birth certificate and marriage certificate.

These features form part of the department’s proposed digital ID framework, rather than documents that South Africans can currently access through a public digital ID system.

The broader plan is for the Wallet to eventually bring together multiple Home Affairs documents in one place.

The demonstration showed that a digital ID could be used to share specific information with an authorised official.

The information fields included name, surname, date of birth, sex, nationality, identity number, place of birth, photograph and issuing country.

A user receives a notification when an official requests their information and can accept or reject the request. The system also allows users to choose which information they share.

Schreiber demonstrated this using an immigration official requesting information about his nationality.

The proposed digital ID system also includes biometric security measures, including a facial biometric template and cryptographic signature.

It is also intended to be linked to a specific smartphone or other device through device binding.

Privacy has been a major concern raised around the digital ID plans. Schreiber said the system was not intended to give government unrestricted access to people’s information and stressed the role of user consent.

What is confirmed, and what isn’t?

While a working digital ID profile, identity verification, QR-code information sharing, notifications when information is requested, and the ability to accept or reject requests have already been confirmed for the new digital ID, there are still things that have not been set in stone.

The full digital Wallet containing documents such as birth and marriage certificates, wider government-service integration and the final rules governing how the system operates have only been proposed.

The full digital ID rollout is also only expected after 2030, so South Africans cannot yet sign up for the complete system.

In the meantime, the Smart ID card remains the immediate replacement for the green ID book, with production of green books ending on 31 March 2027 and the old documents becoming invalid from 31 March 2028.