What to do when you lose your Singapore National Registration Identity Card (NRIC)

As a Singaporean citizen or Permanent Resident, you'll be issued with a pink or blue National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) respectively, and will be responsible for its safe custody and to produce it when required.

However, over the years and decades, there might come a time when we inadvertently and unintendedly misplaced our NRIC and wonder what needs to be done next to get a replacement, and which authorities need to be informed.

Here's a concise guide to help.

Do not make a police report, unless a crime is suspected

Contrary to popular misconception, you do not need to make a report to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for a lost NRIC, unless you are a victim of crime, such as your NRIC being deliberately stolen from you, lost to a robbery or burglary, or lost due to a scam.

If there is imminent threat to life and/or property, please dial 999 for immediate police assistance. For non-emergency reporting of a crime, you can lodge a police report using the SPF's e-Service, or by visiting the nearest Neighbourhood Police Post or Neighbourhood Police Centre.

Though not legally required, you can use the SPF e-Service to report lost property (including your NRIC) not due to a crime, such as accidentally misplacing it, for documentation purposes and in case the lost property is returned by a member of the public.

Loss of NRIC: You must notify the Immigrations & Checkpoints Authority in person

The issuing authority of NRICs in Singapore is Immigrations & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). If you lose your NRIC, you must report the loss and apply for a replacement in person within 14 days to:

IC Unit
Citizen Services Centre
10 Kallang Road
ICA Building, Level 3 (Next to Lavender MRT station)
Singapore 208718

The operating hours are from 8am to 4.30pm on Mondays to Fridays, and 8am to 12.30pm on Saturdays. You will need to bring along the following documents for the lost NRIC report and NRIC replacement process:

- Hard copy recent passport-sized colour photograph, taken within the last three months and adhering to ICA's guidelines.
- Police Report (for NRIC lost to a crime) or completed Statutory Declaration (for NRIC not lost to a crime)
- Baptism or religious certificate (for Singaporeans with religious names), deed poll (for Singaporeans with a change of name), marriage certificate (for those who want to include married name)
- Permanent Residents also need to provide a digital image of the page(s) of their current passport that contain their personal particulars (bearing new name if applicable)

If you are unable to make this report and apply for a replacement NRIC in person at ICA within 14 days, you must still inform ICA of the loss by email first.

Replacement fees for replacement of NRIC due to loss

ICA charges a replacement fee is $100 for the first loss and $300 for subsequent losses. Payment can be made using NETS, NETS FlashPay or CashCard.

If your lost NRIC is found after a replacement has been issued, your old NRIC must be returned to the ICA.

New NRIC processing time and collection process

After making payment, you will be issued with a collection slip, which indicates the date from which your new NRIC will be ready for collection.

For the first-time loss, the processing time for a new NRIC is 1 month, while replacement NRIC for subsequent losses will have a processing time of 3 months.

You can then make an e-Appointment to collect your replacement NRIC, choosing from appointment slots after the date stated on your collection slip.

You can choose to collect your NRIC at the ICA Building (address and timings as above) or at designated SingPost outlets, though a service fee applies and you must retain your NRIC collection slip, have at least two fingerprints registered in ICA's database, and those fingerprints must not be faint/scarred/excessively dry or wet during collection.

This article was first published in Dollars and Sense.