How To Replace Lost ID Even If You Don’t Remember Your ID Number

It’s a problem more Kenyans run into than you’d expect: your national ID goes missing, you never made a photocopy, and to make matters worse, you can’t even recall your own ID number off the top of your head.

For a lot of people, that’s where the panic sets in: how exactly are you supposed to replace a card when you don’t have the one piece of information the whole process seems to depend on?

Huduma Kenya has now weighed in on the matter, and the answer is more reassuring than most people expect. Losing your ID number along with your card, it turns out, isn’t the dead end many assume it to be.

The clarification comes after the agency found itself fielding the same question repeatedly from members of the public unsure whether a replacement was even possible without that number in hand.

According to Huduma Kenya, the fix is simple: just show up at any Huduma Centre in person. Staff there are able to help you trace your details and get the replacement process moving.

“Kindly visit any Huduma centre; you will get your ID number and apply for replacement,” the agency said in its response.

Officers at the centre pull up your details straight from the database once you’re there, and in cases where that isn’t straightforward, your fingerprint can also be used to confirm who you are and retrieve your ID number.

There’s one catch, though: you’ll need to get your basic details right. Huduma Kenya stressed that applicants must provide accurate information, particularly their full names and date of birth, since even small discrepancies can slow the whole process down.

For anyone who’s been putting off replacing a lost ID simply because they assumed it was impossible without the number, this should come as some relief.

How to Replace a Lost ID Card

1. Head to your nearest Huduma Centre or National Registration Bureau office, police abstract in hand.
2. Fill out the replacement form. If you have your old ID number, or even just a copy of the card, bring that along too, plus the police abstract.
3. Officers will take a fresh digital photo on-site.
4. You’ll be issued a temporary waiting card to use in the meantime while your new-generation Maisha card is being processed.

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