Kennitala (Icelandic ID number)

Island.is, the government portal, says every person who lives in Iceland is registered at Registers Iceland and has a unique ten-digit kennitala, used widely as a personal identifier. You need it to open a bank account and register your legal domicile, and public services generally depend on a registered domicile.

Registers Iceland explains the format, often written with a hyphen after the sixth digit, such as 120174-3389:

• Digits 1 to 6: date of birth as DDMMYY.
• Digits 7 and 8: chosen at random.
• Digit 9: a check digit.
• Digit 10: the century, 9 for 1900 to 1999 and 0 from 2000.

If you are not a Nordic or EEA/EFTA citizen, you do not apply for a kennitala yourself. It comes at the end of the work-based residence permit process:

1. Attend a photo appointment for your residence card at the Directorate of Immigration or a district commissioner, with your passport.
2. Submit the notification of residence form (A-269).
3. If it applies to you, complete a medical examination within two weeks of arriving.
4. The permit is issued and the card ordered, and the Directorate of Immigration asks Registers Iceland to register your legal domicile, which assigns your kennitala.

Island.is warns that if you do not complete the photo, residence notification and medical exam within 90 days of the permit being granted, the permit will not be issued. EEA/EFTA citizens instead apply in person at Registers Iceland or some police stations.

Registers Iceland also issues system ID numbers (kerfiskennitala) for people who need to be identified but do not live in Iceland, such as for tax payments. They look the same but give no rights: a system ID number is not a residence permit and does not give access to social security. Only Icelandic legal entities can apply for one. If you later register your domicile, your existing system ID number is moved to the national register.

For non-EEA staff the job usually comes first. Your employer applies for the work permit together with your residence permit, and you apply separately to the Directorate of Health for your licence. The kennitala only arrives once the permit is issued and your domicile is registered, so you may sign a contract and start paperwork without one. Registers Iceland also keeps records linked to your number, including address, name and relationship status, so tell it when these change. Registers Iceland says registering your domicile, which is how the personal ID number is assigned, is free.

• Missing the 90-day window for the photo, residence notification or medical exam.
• Mistaking a system ID for full registration. Ask which you have.
• Licence paperwork. The Directorate of Health sends issued licences to the applicant's mailbox on island.is, so keep your contact details there up to date.

See our Iceland guide and the Directorate of Health page.