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South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has officially announced that a national Digital ID system will begin rolling out before the end of 2026. This announcement was made by Maropene Ramokgopa, the Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, during a media briefing on the progress of the government’s Medium‑Term Development Plan (MTDP) in Pretoria on Friday. Government documents indicate that the Digital ID policy is being finalised and is expected to be submitted to Cabinet for approval.
The Digital ID rollout is anchored to MyMzansi, a government digital services portal prototype launched in 2025. According to the minister, the roll-out of digital IDs will begin before the end of the year, and the digital ID is intended to become the foundation for linking and digitising government services across departments, making interactions with government faster, more seamless, and more secure for citizens.
South Africa’s identity system remains weak, with many government departments still unable to share and use that data in a synchronised digital manner, often forcing citizens to repeatedly verify their identity across services. However, once the digital ID system is fully implemented by year-end, as the government has promised, it would allow citizens to access multiple services, from social grant payments and health records to identity verification, without needing to present physical documents each time.
The Digital ID supports the long‑term goal of integrating with private sector services like banking and finance. According to the minister, the ID will also support departments, such as transport and basic education, to use a shared identity framework to digitise their services. Before now, the Department of Home Affairs had been laying some digital transformation strategy groundwork throughout 2025 and early 2026.
Some key milestones include the issuance of a record number of 3.6 million Smart ID cards in 2025 that surpassed previous performance by roughly 500,000 and boosted public trust in electronic identity systems. Home Affairs also introduced self‑service kiosks, eVisa platforms, and expanded partnerships with banks where residents can apply for IDs and passports more conveniently. The department also cleared a visa backlog of 306,000 applications that had accumulated over a decade.
Furthermore, plans are underway to have 100+ bank branches offering smart ID and passport services as part of a digital operating model expansion. Because South Africa is a nation where more than 30% of the population lives in remote areas, getting digital IDs to all citizens will be a logistical problem. Prior to this, the Home Affairs has included plans to deploy mobile offices to service communities with low population density.
The government says it sees this administrative and technological preparation as essential things to do before the Digital ID system can begin formal issuance. The government also notes that by the time the digital ID starts rolling out, it'll be a gradual process. To manage security risks, the department says its strategy includes a verification portal that will enable secure data sharing between government entities to combat fraud, improve service delivery, and support national security.
The vision of the smart ID system includes transitioning away from older green ID books entirely and making digital and smart identity tools the norm in South Africa. The department says the use of digital tools such as drones and body cameras at South Africa’s borders increased the detection of illegal crossings during key pilot phases. So, the ID will also underpin future digital services like digital driver’s licences, improved management, and secure identity authentication for both public and private services.
