Big problem for people with green ID books in South Africa

South Africa’s green ID book is far more susceptible to fraud than the newer smart ID card, confirming the need to shift to the newer technology.

Smile ID published its 2025 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa report, revealing that fraud rates for the country’s green ID book in March 2024 were 500% higher than for smart IDs.

The firm said the green ID book is historically vulnerable due to weak security features. It noted that in 2023, it had Africa’s highest fraud rate, at 34%.

“In South Africa, the transition from traditional Green Book IDs to Smart ID cards is gaining momentum, with the latter offering enhanced security features to combat identity fraud,” it said in its report.

“While progress is underway, the report’s findings emphasise accelerating digital ID adoption to mitigate vulnerabilities.”

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber believes transitioning South Africans to the more secure smart ID card and digitising his department’s processes will help reduce identity fraud.

In January 2025, the Minister said the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) will “work flat-out” in 2025 to ensure all South Africans can get smart ID cards.

While residents born in the country can apply for smart ID cards, naturalised citizens and permanent residence holders have been left in the lurch.

This presents a major problem for the DHA’s plans to phase out green ID booklets.

“Home Affairs will work flat-out this year to ensure that all South Africans can obtain Smart IDs as part of our vision to deliver Home Affairs @ Home,” said Schreiber.

The emphasis on all citizens suggests that the DHA will at least allow naturalised citizens to apply for the document.

The DHA has allowed naturalised citizens to apply for the smart ID card in the past, provided they can secure an invitation to apply from the DHA’s director-general.

In August 2024, Schreiber said his department was slowly rolling out support for naturalised citizens to apply for the document, adding that 280 cards had been issued, with a further 697 in the pipeline.

“Once the system has been adjusted to verify compliant applications, all naturalised citizens will be able to visit any Home Affairs office equipped with live-capture facilities to apply for their smart ID cards,” he added.

Concern over the phasing out green ID books rose in June 2024, when former Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told E-tv news that they would soon be declared invalid.

“We want to do away with the green barcode ID. We think it’s long enough that we’ve kept dual identity documents,” he said.

However, Schreiber subsequently said the DHA would only phase out the green ID books when it is possible for all residents to apply for smart ID cards.

He urged South Africans who can apply for smart ID cards to do so in the meantime “to protect yourself from the vulnerabilities of the green ID book”.

While many South African residents refuse to upgrade to the smart ID card due to the long queues and wait times associated with DHA branches, they are putting themselves at risk of identity theft.

Smile ID said national IDs are regularly targeted as they are the most common form of government identification and are mandatory for most adults.

The green ID book has been in use since 1980. The South African government launched it as an alternative to the more than 50-page blue book used from 1972.

The green ID book reduced the number of pages in the identity document to 16. It featured a 13-digit ID number that included two digits for racial classification, a six-digit birth date, and four digits relating to gender and the order of registration.

The final digit was used as a control digit.

Home Affairs launched a revised ID book with just eight pages in July 1996. They featured a new 13-digit ID number that no longer classified people according to race.

It also had a scannable barcode and required biometric fingerprint scanning. Biometric information was stored on the National Population Register.

Scanning the barcode allowed authorities to reference the stored biometric data.

The document last received a security update in 2000. This was when the document holder’s digitally-printed black and white photograph was added.

The digital photographs eliminated the need for pasting or hot-laminating holder photos, intended to make it more challenging to forge the documents by swapping photos.