National identity cards must be provided to all Saudi women within seven years, a ministerial committee has recommended. National identity cards will be the only identity documents to be accepted in cases of accidents, at road checkpoints and in maternity hospitals. The committee aconfirmed amendment to Article 67 of the Civil Status Regulation issued in 1407H. The amended Article reads: “Any Saudi citizen who has reached the age of 15 years must obtain a national identity card. It is optional for a Saudi national between the age of 10 and 15 years to get a national ID card based on the approval of his or her guardian. The identity card will be issued on the basis of data in the central civil record.” The committee authorized the Ministry of Interior to lay down a gradual plan to issue ID cards. __
