ID numbers

Every person who lives in Iceland is registered at Registers Iceland and has a personal ID number (kennitala) which is a unique, ten-digit number, essentially your personal identifier.

ID numbers are necessary to access a wide range of services, such opening a bank account, registering your legal domicile and signing up for an Electronic ID.

As an EEA or EFTA citizen, you may stay in Iceland for three to six months without being registered. The time period is calculated from the day of arrival in Iceland.

If staying longer you need to register with the Register Iceland.

All the necessary information about the process you find here.

To apply for Icelandic ID number, you must fill in an application called A-271 that can be found here.

The first six digits of a national ID number show the day, month and year of your birth. Connected to your national ID number, Registers Iceland keeps track of vital information on your legal domicile, name, birth, changes of address, children, legal relationship status, etc.

If you are an EEA/EFTA citizen who intends to work in Iceland for less than 3-6 months you need to contact the Iceland Revenue and Customs regarding the application of a system ID number.

Only public authorities can apply for a system ID number for foreign citizens and applications must be submitted electronically.