Home Affairs unveils first-ever working Digital ID

South Africa has unveiled its first working digital ID system, giving citizens a glimpse of how their identification and other Home Affairs documents could eventually be accessed from a smartphone.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber demonstrated the system in Johannesburg on Thursday, 1 October 2026, using the MyMzansi Digital ID smartphone app.

The digital IDs are expected to launch fully after 2030 and are intended to become a way for South Africans to access government services and securely verify their identity online.

Schreiber described the development as a “quantum leap” for Home Affairs’ plans to digitise its services.

Home Affairs Minister demos new digital ID

South Africans will eventually be able to access their connected digital IDs through the MyMzansi Digital ID app.

The first screen shows a profile containing an image of the digital ID, along with the user’s photograph, name and date of birth.

During the demonstration, Schreiber pointed out that the photograph displayed was the one held in the Home Affairs population register.

He said this allows users to know that the digital credential corresponds with the information held in the official population register.

From the profile, users can access three main functions: Wallet, Share and More.

Your Home Affairs documents could be stored in one place

The Wallet function is intended to hold a person’s important Home Affairs credentials.

Schreiber did not display the private information contained in his own Wallet because it included his real personal details.

However, he said the Wallet would eventually contain a person’s Home Affairs credentials, including another copy of their ID as well as documents such as their birth certificate and marriage certificate.

This could effectively bring many of the documents people have traditionally had to queue for at Home Affairs into one digital system.

Schreiber stressed, however, that a digital ID would not simply be a photograph or digital copy of someone’s physical ID card.

“Digital ID cannot and will not be a photograph of your ID card on your phone,” he said.

Instead, he described it as a remote verification tool linked to a person’s biometrics that can be used to confirm who they are.

One of the most important features demonstrated by Schreiber was the ability to control what personal information is shared with another person or organisation.

Through the Share function, a user can generate a QR code that can be scanned by an authorised official using a paired digital ID verification app.

The person whose information is being requested is then notified on their smartphone that someone is attempting to access their information.

They can choose whether to accept or deny the request.

Users will also be able to control which specific pieces of information are shared.

These can include their name, surname, date of birth, sex, nationality, identity number, place of birth, photograph and issuing country.

This means that verifying an individual’s identity does not necessarily require handing over every piece of information contained in their digital ID.

How will the digital ID be secured?

The system is being designed with several security measures to protect a person’s digital identity.

The digital ID will be linked to the owner’s biometrics, including a facial biometric template, as well as a cryptographic signature.

It will also be linked to a specific smartphone or other device through a process known as device binding.

These measures are intended to prevent someone else from simply taking control of a person’s digital identity or using their information fraudulently.

When will South Africa get digital IDs?

The government has been working towards a digital identity system as part of Home Affairs’ broader digital transformation plans.

Draft amendments published in May outlined the proposed technology, security measures and rollout.

The latest demonstration provides a first look at the system in operation, although the full digital ID system is not expected to launch until after 2030.

The longer-term goal is for digital IDs to give South Africans access to services from multiple government departments through a single digital platform.

Rather than travelling to government offices for every service, citizens could eventually use their smartphones to prove who they are and access services remotely.