The Dominican Republic Central Electoral Board will open national identity card renewals to all citizens without restrictions starting Friday, removing birthday month scheduling rules.
The announcement was made on Thursday by Board President Román Jáquez Liranzo during an event where the agency celebrated delivering the new document to three million citizens.
Jáquez stated that renewal access would be open without limitations from Friday and called on citizens not to leave the process until the last minute. He added that the general opening follows step-by-step modifications made by the agency since the process began, moving from birthday month restrictions to expanded facilities and local registration drives.
The Central Electoral Board, known locally as the Junta Central Electoral or JCE, is the independent constitutional body responsible for managing civil registration and organizing elections in the Dominican Republic. The national identity card, known as the cédula, is required for voting, administrative tasks, and official transactions across the Caribbean country of 11 million people.
Progress towards identity card renewal goals
Data presented by the agency shows that 3,066,520 identity cards have been delivered, representing 35.8 percent of the total target of 8,569,272 citizens. An additional 164,970 documents have been captured and are ready to be personalized and delivered, which brings total overall progress to 37.7 percent.
Official figures show that 5,337,782 citizens still need to renew their documents. Despite changes to the rollout schedule, electoral officials maintain that the renewal process remains on track to meet its final target.
To increase processing capacity, the agency recently conducted mobile registration drives across multiple regions. These operations took place in Juan López in Moca, Cumayasa in Villa Hermosa, El Ciruelillo in San Francisco de Macorís, Las Barias in Azua, Sabaneta in San Juan de la Maguana, Villa Elisa in Guayubín, San Francisco de Jacagua in Santiago, the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo campus in Barahona, and Pantoja in Los Alcarrizos.
Regional breakdown and overseas statistics
Santo Domingo province leads all regions with 678,211 documents delivered, followed by the National District with 334,842 and Santiago with 326,188. San Cristóbal registered 176,857 delivered cards, while La Vega recorded 132,531.
Outside the country, the electoral board reported delivering 136,961 documents to Dominicans living abroad. Among overseas recipients, 76,593 documents were issued to women and 60,368 were issued to men.
April 2027 deadline and security features
Jáquez reminded citizens that April 1, 2027 will mark the start of a new phase in the process. After that date, the previous identity card will no longer be accepted, leading to civil disqualification for individuals who do not possess the updated document. He urged the public not to wait until the final months to complete the renewal.
The board president stressed that the initiative goes beyond replacing a card, stating that it also strengthens personal identity, the civil registry, and the integrity of the voting roll.
The new identity document incorporates more than 100 security features and is made of high-resistance polycarbonate. It features laser engraving, a ghost photo, microtext, a changeable laser image, and an embedded cryptographic chip for data storage and authentication, without geolocation or tracking capabilities.
Jáquez also reported that the Dominican Republic received the award for best identity document in Latin America for 2026, presented during the China Security Print forum.
