How to Replace a Lost or Damaged Malawi National ID Card

If your national identity card has been lost, damaged, defaced or contains incorrect information, you must apply to your District Registrar for a replacement. The process requires you to submit application forms and an affidavit explaining what happened to your card.²

What you need to do

To apply for a replacement identity card, you must submit Form NR1 or NR2 (depending on your situation) along with Form NR6, which is an affidavit explaining how your card was lost, defaced, destroyed or what is wrong with it.² If your card does not reflect your correct details, contains a photograph that is no longer recognisable, or has expired, you have six weeks to hand it over to the District Registrar and apply for replacement.²

Reasons for replacement

You can apply for replacement if your card was:⁴

Fees

The replacement fee for a national identity card is K5,000 per card.⁷ However, the District Registrar will examine the affidavit you submit and decide whether the reasons justify issuing a replacement without a penalty fee. If the reasons are not considered justified, you will be required to pay the penalty fee.²

After your application

Once the Director issues your new identity card in place of a damaged one, the damaged card will be destroyed and both the national register and district register will be updated accordingly.¹ If your card was lost, the Director will inform all district registrars and other relevant authorities about the loss as soon as practicable.¹