Latvian personal code (personas kods)

The personas kods is Latvia's lifelong identity number. It is kept in the Register of Natural Persons (Fizisko personu reģistrs), which OCMA maintains. Latvian citizens receive it at birth, and foreigners receive it once they have a legal connection with Latvia, most often a residence permit.

There are two formats. Older codes contain the date of birth. OCMA says that from 1 July 2017 every newly registered person receives a code starting with the digit 3, where the second digit is a random digit from 2 to 9 generated by the system and the remaining digits are also random. A new arrival therefore receives a code that reveals nothing about their age.

OCMA's guidance is clear: the personal identity number is allocated when you receive a temporary or permanent residence permit, and a visa does not give you the right to one. For most nurses and doctors from outside the EU, that means the code arrives at the end of the employment route:

1. Your employer registers the vacancy with the State Employment Agency and submits a sponsorship request to OCMA.
2. You apply for a residence permit at a Latvian diplomatic or consular mission.
3. OCMA grants the permit, and you are entered in the Register of Natural Persons with a personal code.
4. You declare your place of residence, online through latvija.gov.lv, at your local government or at an OCMA office when you collect the permit. OCMA charges no state fee for the declaration.
5. You register as a taxpayer with the State Revenue Service.

Other institutions can also enter a foreigner in the register when rights and obligations arise in areas such as health, taxes, benefits, education or property. OCMA lists the State Revenue Service, the National Health Service and the State Social Insurance Agency among them.

The code is how Latvian systems recognise you. In practice you will be asked for it by your employer and the State Revenue Service, and it underpins access to the state e-services portal latvija.gov.lv, where, for example, the results of the state language test are published. OCMA also issues an eID card for foreigners who do not live permanently in Latvia, linked to the register.

Recognition of your qualification through the AIC starts with a copy of your passport, so you can begin it from abroad, long before you have a code.

Since 1 July 2017, anyone whose code was issued up to 30 June 2017 and contains a date of birth may change it once, in person at OCMA or a Latvian mission, or by e-signed application. The change is free of charge, but the new number is generated automatically, cannot be chosen and cannot be reversed. Identity documents showing the old code become invalid, and a new passport or ID card carries its own state fee.

• Expecting a code on a visa. Short-term employment on a visa does not create one, so services that need a personal code may be closed to you until your residence permit is granted.
• Confusing it with your home country's number. Since 1 July 2017 the register also stores any identity code shown in your foreign identity document, but that is not your Latvian personal code.
• Using old rules. A new Immigration Law took effect on 15 September 2026. OCMA says it removes annual registration of residence permits and sets a maximum processing time of four months, so check current guidance before you plan your arrival.