Official ID card may soon be mandatory for children in the Czech Republic from age 6

The obligations to have an official ID card will probably apply to children starting at 6 years of age, the Interior Ministry said. Another pending change is that in the future, electronically readable data will replace the personal ID number as the main identification on the ID card.

The age of 6 was
chosen for two reasons. The first is that it is when children start
school, and the ID card can be used to prove age for using public
transit and for various purposes at school. The second is that it is
the time limit for a father to deny paternity. The Interior Ministry
says that by 6 years of age, a child should know with certainty who
his or her parents are.

The proposal is part of a document the government is preparing to find ways to minimize the use of the personal ID number (rodné číslo) when verifying identity. The rodné číslo uses the person’s date of birth, combined with a four-digit code. Anyone handling the number can easily determine a person’s age, for example. This can be seen as an invasion of privacy. Also, using one ID number for multiple purposes makes fraud and abuse easier.

The
new electronic number would change over time as the card is updated,
to give more data protection. Cards for minors should be issued every
five years and for adults every 10 years.

Deputy Interior
Minister Petr Mlsna (unafiliated)
said that
children getting the card will not
mean a significant change because parents
can currently have a document issued for their children immediately
after birth. Approximately 353,000 children under 15 have an ID card.
“What is new is that they will have to do so if the law is passed,”
Mlsna said. Children would not be required to
carry the card at all times.

When ID cards and
passports are counted together, almost 1.2 million children already
have a form of official ID. According to the Czech Statistical Office
(ČSÚ). There are 1.7 million people under
the age of 15 in the Czech Republic, which has a total; population of
10.7 million.

A
personal document can be good for children
traveling with parents if
they do not have the same surname, according
to the ministry.

The changes could
come into effect within two years, just as a European Union
regulation introducing biometrics in identity cards enters into
force.