Identity Cards Act 2006

The Identity Cards Act 2006 (c. 15) was an <a href="/facts/Act_of_parliament/aaxV1HXy">Act</a> of the <a href="/facts/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom/7bFbPI9g">Parliament of the United Kingdom</a> that was repealed in 2011. It created National Identity Cards, a personal <a href="/facts/Identification_document/YovHMC8K">identification document</a> and <a href="/facts/National_identity_cards_in_the_European_Economic_Area_and_Switzerland/2FGdeV82">European Economic Area travel document</a>, which were voluntarily issued to British citizens. It also created a <a href="/facts/Resident_registration/Nht2T4kx">resident registry</a> database known as the National Identity Register (NIR), which has since been destroyed. In all around 15,000 National Identity Cards were issued until the act was repealed in 2011. The Identity Card for Foreign nationals was continued in the form of <a href="/facts/Residence_permit/9nEGUlrJ">Biometric Residence Permits</a> after 2011 under the provisions of the <a href="/facts/UK_Borders_Act_2007/zmklKLae">UK Borders Act 2007</a> and the <a href="/facts/Borders%2c_Citizenship_and_Immigration_Act_2009/mPoS5oYa">Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009</a>.

The introduction of the scheme by the <a href="/facts/Labour_Party_(UK)/jr0wYRdF">Labour</a> government was much debated, and <a href="/facts/Civil_liberty/xyu96brC">civil liberty</a> concerns focused primarily on the database underlying the identity cards rather than the cards themselves. The Act specified fifty categories of information that the National Identity Register could hold on each citizen. The legislation further said that those renewing or applying for <a href="/facts/British_passport/gGsXjpbG">passports</a> must be entered on to the NIR.
The <a href="/facts/Cameron%25E2%2580%2593Clegg_coalition/vcuB5P3c">Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition</a> formed following the <a href="/facts/2010_United_Kingdom_general_election/4SnmJh1l">2010 general election</a> announced that the ID card scheme would be scrapped. The Identity Cards Act was repealed by the <a href="/facts/Identity_Documents_Act_2010/6vA8jfn6">Identity Documents Act 2010</a> on 21 January 2011, and the cards were invalidated with no refunds to purchasers.
The UK does not have a central <a href="/facts/Civil_registration/jFzFTbqV">civilian registry</a> and there are no identification requirements in public. <a href="/facts/Driving_licence_in_the_United_Kingdom/YI0bB7pz">Driving licences</a>, <a href="/facts/British_passport/gGsXjpbG">passports</a> and <a href="/facts/Birth_certificate/wCMHqenn">birth certificates</a> are the most widely used documents for proving identity in the United Kingdom. Most young non-drivers are able to be issued a <a href="/facts/Driving_licence_in_the_United_Kingdom/YI0bB7pz">provisional driving licence</a>, which can be used as ID in some cases, but not all are eligible. Utility bills are the primary document used as evidence of residency. However, authorities and police may require individuals under suspicion without identification to be <a href="/facts/Arrest/NqEXFEMg">arrested</a>.

Identity Cards Act 2006 open-in-new

Identity Cards Act 2006