Albanian identity card

Letërnjoftim
View of the front
View of the back
Issued by	Albania
First issued	12 January 2009
Purpose	Identification
Valid in	Albania  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Kosovo  North Macedonia  Montenegro  Serbia
Expiration	10 years
Cost	1,500 leke

The Albanian identity card (Letërnjoftim) is a national identity card issued by Albanian authorities to Albanian citizens. It is proof of identity, citizenship and residence. The current version is in ID1 format and biometric. The ID card is compulsory for citizens over 16 years of age, costs 1,500 lekë (about €14) and is valid for 10 years.^[1]

Albania issued identity cards to citizens until 1991, the year the political system changed. For 18 years, in the absence of such a document, people were obliged to provide birth certificates with photos, which was considered inconvenient.

In 2007, with assistance from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a central population database was created. After that, Albanian authorities called an international tender for the production of identity cards. The tender was won by the French company Sagem Sécurité (Morpho, Safran Group).^[2] Albania commenced issuing identity cards on 12 January 2009.

The Albanian ID card is a plastic credit card size card. The front contains the bearer's photo and the following fields, written in Albanian and English:

• Nationality: Shqiptare/Albanian
• Document number
• Full name, including surname and all given names
• Photograph (both printed and processed to watermark)
• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Sex
• Personal number
• Authority
• Date of issue
• Date of expiry (normally 10 years after the date of issue)
• Signature

On the photo a micro-holographic reflecting stamp is placed. The back contains the machine readable zone. The microchip, visible on the back contains biometric data such as fingerprints of the holder, the image, signature, etc. The data can be extracted from the chip with wireless RFID technology. The ID card serves as a travel document for international travel between a limited number of countries.

An Albanian identity card is requested at the local municipality (after paying the required fee; presently 1,500 lek or about €10 at the post office) where a digital picture of the bearer's face and fingerprints are taken. The card can be picked up in person after about 15 days, when the bearer identifies themselves with their fingerprints.

An Albanian ID Card is accepted as a travel document by the following countries:

•  Bosnia and Herzegovina ^[3][4]
•  Kosovo ^[5]
•  North Macedonia ^[6]
•  Montenegro ^[7]
•  Serbia^[8]

Safran Aleat under the concessionary contract offers eALEAT Services, which are the new identity services,^[9] on behalf of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA),^[10] through a secure platform that provides identity trust to any electronic transaction, for which Aleat is certified by NAEC.^[11][12] eALEAT Services through the National ID Card offers to all Albanian citizens the following three services: authentication, authentication and data, and electronic signing.^[13]

• Albanian passport
• Driving licence in Albania
• Border crossings of Albania

• Aleat Official Website
• Modernization project helps improve public services in Albania, OSCE
• Albania's ID cards key to visa regime, elections