Birth date mismatches mean nearly 300 getting new ID code ({{contentCtrl.commentsTotal}})

The Ministry of the Interior on Pikk Street in Central Tallinn.
The Ministry of the Interior on Pikk Street in Central Tallinn. Source: Postimees/Scanpix

A population register review yielded discrepancies in dates of birth between what the register holds and corresponding birth certificates, necessitating new personal ID codes for 295 people, the Ministry of the Interior says.

The minstry already sent the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) the revised codes; it is not urgent that those affected get new documents – they can wait for existing documents' expiry, the ministry says.

Nonetheless, since banks, phone and internet service providers, the health sector and many other situations require an ID code, affected individuals still need to inform the relevant organisations.

Not an unknown issue

Many were aware of the mismatching data already, since the ID code is partly based on birth date (see below).

''It is important for us that handling the personal code change happens with the minimum of inconvenience for those affected,'' said Enel Pungas, head of the population activities department at the interior ministry.

''The ministry will send additional information relevant to this ID code change, and will inform the authorities using the population register data, to synchronize the information as soon as possible,'' Mr Pungas went on.

Continued registry updating work

The change also paves the way for the 2021 population census, based on the population registry for the first time, having previously relied on door-to-door surveys.

Centralising the register of births, deaths, marriages, divorces, name changes etc. began in 2000, with digitisation following from 2005; paper records from 1926 onwards continue to be added, so further discrepancies may arise.

The 11-digit personal ID code, issued for life, is given to non-citizens resident in Estonia, as well as citizens. Its first digit denotes gender (3 is male, 4 for females, for those born in the 20th century; 5 and 6 are the respective numbers for 21st century births) and is followed by 6 digits for date of birth, YY/MM/DD, followed by a three digit number in sequence of issue to those born on the same day (eg 005 would be the 5th person registered with that date of birth). The last digit is a control digit calculated to a special formula.

So, for instance, in the unlikely event Donald Trump, born 14 June 1946 were to get an Estonian ID number it would be something like 34606140051.

It is not clear whether affected codes concern Estonian citizens or not.

Further assistance is available from the PPA by phoning 612 3000.


Editor: Andrew Whyte

Source: Sisseministeerium

