Postal Identity cards

Postal IDs

An Identity Card is similar to a passport and is issued by the Postmaster General to assist the holder to establish his identity to transact Post Office business. It gives a brief description of the holder and bears his signature. A photograph of the holder autographed by him and authenticated by the GPO date-stamp is gummed on to the card. Identity Cards are intended for the convenience of tourists, commercial travellers and other members of the public generally.

Contrary to the belief, the Postal ID is still a legally valid identity and is acceptable for any financial transaction, identification etc., and if anyone declines to accept it as an ID please inform the Postmaster General immediately. The issuance of the National ID card has not invalidated the Postal ID card and it is still in the Government statute books. Sri Lanka Post is in the process issuing a modern, secure, credit card size Identification in the near future

Identity Cards are issued to persons who fulfil the following conditions:-

  • The applicant must be able to sign his or her name in Sinhalese, Tamil or English;
  • The applicant must fill in the particulars on the prescribed form, obtainable at any Post Office;
  • Two clear copies of a recent photograph of the applicant (bust only) of the size 8.25 cm’s (3¼”) x 5.72 cm’s (2¼”) must be furnished, and the applicant must sign on the copy affixed to the application and also auto­graph the duplicate in the presence of the Postmaster. The signature on the photograph attached to the application form should be so inserted as to leave part of it on the body of the form and extending on to the face of the photograph ;
  • A fee of Rs. 50.00 must be paid by means of stamps affixed to the application form ;
  • If the applicant is not known to the Postmaster, two witnesses who must be respectable permanent residents of the area served by the Post Office, and known to the Postmaster, must testify to the identity of the applicant and sign the declaration on the form in the presence of the Postmaster;
  • The application form should be written and signed in the presence of the Postmaster of the Post Office nearest to the applicant’s permanent residence and handed over to him to be forwarded to the Postmaster General ; and
  • Before taking delivery of the identity card the applicant must sign his name on the Identity Card and on the acknowledgment form, in the presence of the Postmaster.

One day fee:-Rs.200.00. Identity Cards can be collected from the Postal Headquarters Colombo.

The card, if issued, shall be delivered to the applicant through the Post Office at which the application was made.

An identity Card shall be valid for a period of five years from the date of issue. Where a holder desires the continuation of the facility thereafter he shall make a fresh application producing his lapsed Identity Card and two clear copies of a recent photograph and the prescribed fee. Duplicates will not be issued in any circumstances.

Notwithstanding the fact that a person has an Identity Card, a Postmaster may make such further inquiries as he may consider necessary to establish the identity of a holder and demand additional corroborative evidence of such identity.

In the event of the loss or destruction of an Identity Card the holder must report the loss to the Postmaster General immediately. No duplicate, for an Identity Card lost or destroyed, will be issued in any circumstances and the holder shall not be entitled to any rebate for any unexpired period of the Identity Card.

The Postmaster General reserves the right to recall any Identity Card for examination and to confiscate it in case of improper use, erasures, defacement or mutilation.

Neither the Postmaster General nor any officer of the Post Office shall be held responsible for any consequences arising out of the loss or misuse of an Identity Card.