What is the difference between the old and new Sri Lankan NIC?

The old NIC is 9 digits followed by the letter V or X (for example 851234567V). The new NIC is 12 digits. Both encode the holder's birth year, a day-of-year serial, and sex.

How does the NIC encode sex?

The day-of-year block normally runs 1 to 366 for males. For females, 500 is added, giving a range of 501 to 866. Subtracting 500 recovers the day and tells you the holder is female.

What do the V and X letters mean on the old NIC?

The trailing letter indicates voting eligibility — V for eligible to vote and X for ineligible. Both are valid NIC formats; the letter does not change the encoded birth data.

How is the birth year read from the number?

On the old format the first two digits are the last two digits of the birth year, prefixed with 19. On the new 12-digit format the first four digits are the full birth year.

Is my NIC number sent anywhere?

No. The decoding runs entirely in your browser in JavaScript. Your identity number is never transmitted to any server.

Sri Lanka NIC Validator

The Sri Lanka NIC Validator checks whether a National Identity Card number is structurally valid in either the old 9-character format or the new 12-digit format, and decodes the birth year, day-of-year serial, and encoded sex it carries — all locally in your browser.

How it works

Two NIC formats are in circulation. The old format is nine digits followed by the letter V or X: the first two digits are the last two digits of the birth year (prefixed with 19), digits three to five are a day-of-year serial, and the remaining digits form a serial. The new format is twelve digits: the first four are the full birth year and digits five to seven are the day-of-year serial.

Sex is encoded in the day-of-year block. For males the block is 1 to 366; for females 500 is added, giving 501 to 866. The tool subtracts that offset to recover both the calendar day and the holder’s sex, then validates that the decoded day falls within 1 to 366 and that the birth year is plausible.

Example

The old NIC 857654321V decodes to a 1985 birth year and a male holder (the day-of-year block is below 500). The new NIC 198512345678 decodes to a 1985 birth year, with the day-of-year serial and sex read from digits five to seven.

Notes

Decoding confirms the number is internally consistent and reveals the encoded birth year and sex, but it does not prove the card was issued or is currently valid. The Department for Registration of Persons holds the authoritative record. Everything runs locally in your browser.