Youths aged 16 or above will be able to avail the national identity (NID) services and card from now on, according to a decision taken by the Election Commission.

The EC on Sunday issued a notification, directing its field-level officials to extend the NID services to the Bangladesh citizens aged 16 and 17 as well.

The Bangladeshi citizens aged at least 18 have been entitled to avail of the NID services and cards since its introduction of NID registration in 2008.

“The Election Commission has given a decision to conduct the registration activities for the Bangladesh citizens who have completed 16 or 17 years of age on the date of their applications, in line with the Article 5 of the National Identity Registration (Amendment, 2013) Act, 2010,” says the notification.

The directive was sent to the Director General of NID Registration Wing, regional election officers, district election officers and upazila/thana election officers.

In 2008, the EC introduced the NID card during the preparation of the country’s electoral rolls with photographs ahead of the ninth parliamentary election. Initially the EC issued laminated NID cards to the Bangladeshi citizens aged at least 18 and then started the distribution of smart NID cards in 2016.

The NID cards are needed to avail various government and private services like opening bank accounts, obtaining passports and driving licenses, registering SIM cards and getting land-related services.