Home National Identity Card (NIC) number Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka National Identity Card (NIC) number validator
How the National Identity Card (NIC) number format works
- Format
- 9 digits followed by a letter, V or X (the pre-2016 NIC format still held by many citizens)
- Example
- 911042754V
Things to watch for
- Format-only check — does not confirm the NIC was actually issued or belongs to a real person
- Covers the pre-2016 9-digit + letter NIC; the newer 12-digit numeric NIC issued since 2016 uses a different scheme and is out of scope for this checker
- The first 5 digits encode birth year and day-of-year, but this checker does not decode or cross-check them — it only validates the overall shape
^[0-9]{9}[VX]$Sri Lanka’s National Identity Card (NIC) number, issued by the Department for Registration of Persons, comes in two generations. This checker covers the older, pre-2016 format that many citizens still carry: 9 digits followed by a single letter, V or X, for example 911042754V. Sri Lanka moved to a newer 12-digit, purely numeric NIC starting in 2016, which uses a different structure entirely and isn’t what this tool validates.
Within the older format, the first 5 digits aren’t arbitrary — they encode the holder’s birth year and day-of-year — though this checker doesn’t attempt to decode or cross-check that embedded date. The trailing V or X letter is a holdover from the format’s origins, historically linked to voting-eligibility marking, and this tool simply confirms one of the two letters is present rather than assigning it any further meaning.
What this checker verifies
This tool confirms the input is exactly 9 digits followed by V or X. It does not decode the embedded birth-year/day-of-year digits or interpret the V/X letter beyond confirming it’s one of the two valid options.
What a pass doesn’t confirm
A pass doesn’t mean the Department for Registration of Persons actually issued that NIC or that it belongs to a real person.
Scope: format-only validation of the pre-2016 NIC, running entirely in your browser — nothing you type is transmitted or stored.
Content last reviewed 2026-08-09.
National Identity Card (NIC) number FAQ
What does the V or X at the end of a Sri Lankan NIC mean?
It's the final character of the pre-2016 NIC format, historically tied to voting eligibility, following 9 digits. This checker accepts either letter in that final position.
Is this the same as the newer 12-digit Sri Lankan NIC?
No. Sri Lanka introduced a 12-digit, all-numeric NIC format in 2016, which uses a different scheme than the older 9-digit-plus-letter format. This checker covers the older, still widely-held format, not the newer one.
Does the NIC's digits reveal my date of birth?
The first 5 digits of the old-format NIC do encode a birth year and day-of-year, but this checker doesn't decode or cross-check those — it only confirms the overall 9-digit-plus-letter shape.