The Ministry of Public Security has piloted the granting of new identity (ID) cards that includes the name of cardholders’ parents, with Hanoi to be the first place of piloting the new cards.

Yesterday, three districts in Hanoi, Hoang Mai, Tay Ho and Tu Liem, became the first areas for piloting the granting of the new ID cards.

After Hanoi, the new card will be issued in other provinces and cities, according to Circular 27/2012 of the Ministry on May 16, 2012, said Major General Tran Van Ve, deputy head of the Police General Department for Administrative Management of Social Order and Safety.

The new ID card has a rectangular shape, 85.6 mm long and 53.98 mm wide, is made of highly durable materials, and have a use duration of 15 years, Ve said.

Each new ID card number has 12 digits, instead of only 9 in current cards, and a 2D bar code that stores personal identification details, including fingerprints, which will be taken by an equipment using laser, not black ink as currently.

“We use a US automated fingerprints identification system to manage, control and compare fingerprints, to prevent a situation in which a citizen may have more than one ID card or a situation in which many people hold the same identification number,” Ve said.

When an ID card with a bar code is exposed to a card-reading machine, all information stored will be displayed on a screen.

On the backside of the card, the names of the cardholder’s parents are shown.

Being manufactured using advanced technology, the new ID cards cannot be counterfeited, the senior police officer continued.

The fee for a new ID card is VND20,000-30,000 (US$1.44). In case a card must be re-granted, the fee will be VND60,000-70,000.

When granting new ID cards to citizens, concerned agencies will withdraw their old ones and give them a certificate bearing their old ID numbers so that they can use them in issues related to the old numbers.

Regarding the inclusion of parents’ names in the new card, Ve said the ministry has collected opinions about the new ID card from other agencies and some disagree with such an inclusion.

“However, we find it unnecessary to abolish the regulation on including parent names in the new cards,” Ve said.