How to Get and Use Electronic Identification in Iceland

Electronic identification (rafræn skilríki) is a credential used to prove who you are online. A kennitala is the ten-digit identifier connected to your Icelandic record. You normally need one for electronic identification, but the number does not itself create a credential or prove residence or permission to work.

Check which kind of kennitala you have

Write down the exact name, birth date and kennitala held by Registers Iceland. A full national ID number entered in the population register and a system ID number created for a narrower administrative purpose can look similar but do not necessarily support the same services or issuance route. Ask Registers Iceland which record you have if it is unclear. Do not keep trying alternative spellings when the record and document disagree.

Use the official national-ID guidance for immigrants and keep residence registration separate. Nordic movers, other EEA or EFTA nationals, residence-permit holders and people with a system ID have different registration histories. Auðkenni still performs its own identity check regardless of how the number arose.

Bring an accepted physical document

At an Auðkenni registration office or another registration authority, present a valid document from the live accepted identity-document list. As checked on 22 August 2026, the list accepts:

• passports from all countries, except emergency or extended passports;
• current driving licences from Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden or Finland;
• identity cards that are travel documents and were issued within Schengen or the EEA;
• Icelandic identity cards issued from 1 March 2024; and
• Icelandic residence-permit cards.

Digital credentials, laminated old paper cards and specified older Icelandic documents are not accepted. The photograph must identify you, the document must still be valid, and the name and birth date must match Registers Iceland when the kennitala is not printed on it. A foreign issuing authority may need to establish that an identity card is also a travel document. Auðkenni can refuse it if this cannot be verified.

Residence permits remained on the accepted list at the date above, but recheck immediately before visiting because issuer policy can change. Acceptance as identity evidence does not prove that every residence, work or service condition has been met.

Match the route to the phone and document

Self-registration in the Auðkenni App is narrower. It requires a valid Icelandic passport or Icelandic identity card, a compatible smartphone with NFC and an applicant aged at least 13. A guardian must sign for a person under 18. The issuer’s current pages do not promise that every old Android or iPhone version works, so open the official Google Play listing or Apple App Store listing on the actual device and check the stated operating-system requirement before relying on self-service.

With a foreign passport, accepted foreign travel card, qualifying Nordic licence or residence-permit card, use in-person issuance. Staff verify the physical document and registry match. Bring the phone on which the app will be activated. Do not expect a photo, paper copy, digital wallet card or another person’s device to replace personal attendance and the original accepted ID.

SIM-card electronic identification is also issued in person and is connected to an Icelandic phone number and compatible SIM. The app is not tied to the number, but it requires internet access.

Decide whether to proceed

Before starting, confirm:

1. the exact kennitala type and registry data;
2. a valid document accepted for your chosen route;
3. NFC, app-store compatibility and internet for self-registration;
4. guardian participation if under 18; and
5. an Icelandic number and appropriate SIM for the SIM route.

If one condition fails, contact its owner: Registers Iceland for registry data, the document issuer for the physical ID, the mobile provider for the SIM, or Auðkenni for credential issuance. Record the answer and use the assisted route rather than inventing a workaround.

Auðkenni offers electronic identification in its app and on a SIM card, plus a paid physical card for specialised use. Check the intended service’s login options first. Auðkenni currently recommends holding both app and SIM credentials where possible because a service may support only one and an internet or mobile network can fail.

Separate issuer fees from phone costs

Auðkenni’s tariff effective 1 March 2026 sets the issuance and use charge at ISK 0 for the standard app and SIM credentials. The optional physical Auðkenni card costs, including VAT:

• ISK 14,880 for one year;
• ISK 26,288 for two years;
• ISK 37,200 for three years; or
• ISK 44,144 for four years.

A card reader and compatible computer may cost extra. ISK 0 also does not make a phone, data, Icelandic subscription, physical SIM, replacement SIM or roaming free. Check the current mobile tariff with Síminn, Nova or Sýn/Vodafone before choosing. Ask specifically for activation, physical-SIM or replacement-SIM cost, recurring plan or prepaid minimum, data and roaming. These carrier prices are separate from Auðkenni’s issuer fee and can change by plan.

Activate the app by self-service

If you have an eligible Icelandic passport or identity card, NFC-capable supported phone and meet the age rules, install only the official Android app or iPhone app. The current sequence is:

1. Choose registration and the correct age group.
2. Read and accept the terms.
3. Enter a phone number and email for notices.
4. Scan the document page and read its chip with NFC.
5. Complete the facial comparison.
6. Create PIN-1 for identification and PIN-2 for signing.
7. Sign the registration application in the app.

Auðkenni currently gives 60 minutes to sign after registration starts. Begin with the document and uninterrupted time available. If the chip, face or registry comparison fails, do not use unofficial assistance; switch to in-person issuance.

Use an official registration authority

For a foreign document or failed self-registration, download the app, bring the phone and an accepted original physical ID to a current registration authority. The live map includes participating Auðkenni, bank and telecommunications locations, but not every branch provides issuance. Check the location and opening information shortly before travelling.

SIM electronic identification also requires an in-person identity check. Bring the compatible phone, Icelandic SIM and accepted document. Ask the carrier whether a change of provider, phone number, SIM or eSIM will require replacement credentials.

You may keep both app and SIM electronic identification. They are separate credentials: replacing or losing one does not mean you should assume the other is disabled. Verify each status in Auðkenni My Pages and revoke each exposed credential separately.

Activate safely and plan replacement

Create different PINs that are not your phone unlock code, bank PIN or kennitala digits. PIN-1 approves identification; PIN-2 approves an electronic signature. Never disclose either to a relative, employer, bank employee or support caller. Test login only on a low-risk service you reached independently, compare the displayed code, then log out. A login is not proof that a form was submitted; save the final receipt.

The app credential is currently valid for five years. SIM credentials issued from 1 June 2026 currently expire on 31 December 2029 rather than after five years. Check the expiry shown for your credential. Credentials are replaced, not extended, so arrange a new one before a tax, health, immigration, bank or company deadline. Store the official revocation and support details somewhere accessible without the phone.

Identification, a passkey, consent, a digital licence and an electronic signature are not interchangeable. Identification proves which person is present. A passkey can make a supported login easier. Consent authorises a stated use. A displayed digital licence proves a particular recorded right. A signature confirms the document or transaction shown for signing.

Start every login yourself

Open the service from an address you know. For an Auðkenni App login, choose that method on the service, enter your kennitala or scan the offered QR code, and compare the text or number shown by the website with the app. Enter PIN-1 only when you initiated the action, the service is correct and the comparison matches. Cancel an unexpected prompt, mismatched code or unfamiliar service.

PIN-1 completes authentication. It may open an account or form, but it does not itself submit an application, authorise payment or create a decision. Continue through the service and obtain a final receipt.

Understand the Ísland.is passkey

After signing into the official Ísland.is app with electronic identification, a user can create a passkey for easier access to websites that use the Ísland.is authentication service, including My Pages and the Application System. See the current Ísland.is app capabilities.

The passkey is an additional login method within that supported service environment. It is not a new Auðkenni credential, does not replace PIN-2, and does not turn a login into a qualified electronic signature. Protect the device lock and biometrics, remove the passkey when a device leaves your control, and keep an electronic-identification recovery route.

Treat PIN-2 as a signing decision

Before entering PIN-2, identify the service, recipient, final document version, amount, period, represented person or company, and exact declaration. Download or review the complete document where possible. Stop if data are missing or wrong.

A validated electronic signature can have the legal effect of a handwritten self-signature, but the document, authority to act and applicable law still determine the consequence. Some public forms need only authentication and submission; others require an electronic signature. A passkey or screenshot of a logged-in page does not meet a qualified-signature requirement unless the service expressly completes the required signing process.

Do not confuse digital licences with identity evidence

The Ísland.is app can display and verify supported digital licences, including certain driving, machinery, firearms and disability credentials. The built-in scanner can check authenticity. Digital Iceland’s digital-licence guidance says these currently do not serve as personal identification in the same way as a plastic identity card or passport. A My Pages screen, exported screenshot or wallet image is therefore not a universal ID document. Use the live in-app credential and verification method only where the recipient accepts that licence, and carry the required physical travel or identity document when the situation demands it.

Keep proof and correct mistakes through the service owner

After a consequential action, save the signed file, submission and payment receipt, timestamp, case number and official confirmation. Log out on shared equipment. Revoking or replacing electronic identification prevents later credential use but does not invalidate a signature already made, cancel an application or reverse payment. If the wrong item was signed, contact the service owner immediately for its correction, cancellation, dispute or review route and preserve the original evidence.

My Pages (Mínar síður) on Ísland.is is a starting point, not a guarantee that every authority, record or stage appears there. Begin with the task you need to finish, then identify the organisation that owns the underlying record.

Distinguish a draft from a decision

A portal journey can show a saved draft, submission receipt, payment receipt, processing status, Digital Mailbox message and formal decision. These are different. Do not treat a draft as submitted, a payment as approval or a status label as a final decision. Save the case number, submitted file, receipt and decision separately.

Individuals and legal entities with a kennitala have a Digital Mailbox under Documents in My Pages. Electronic identification is needed to open it. Email and app notices only alert you; open the actual message and check the issuing body, date, requested action and deadline. If one document fails, contact its issuing organisation. If the entire mailbox fails, use Digital Iceland support. An absent item may mean the authority has not connected that record, not that no decision exists.

Use the Ísland.is app for the functions it actually provides

The official Ísland.is app can show Digital Mailbox documents, selected application statuses, personal information, properties, vehicles and supported digital licences. It can receive notifications, scan another person’s supported digital licence and create a passkey for compatible Ísland.is logins. Availability depends on the agency and service.

The app is not the Auðkenni App. Auðkenni supplies electronic identification and signatures; the Ísland.is app presents government information and supported credentials after login. A My Pages or app screen is not universal identity evidence. Where a supported digital licence is accepted, show its live, verifiable version and use the built-in verification method. Carry a passport, physical identity card or other required document when the procedure calls for one.

Recheck the health-service transition

Health functions are changing during 2026. On 22 August 2026, My Health on Ísland.is listed referrals, organ-donation preference, waiting-list information, medicine co-payment, blood type and vaccination overview as available. It said appointments, questionnaires, messages, pregnancy, treatments, prescriptions and renewals were still being moved from authenticated Heilsuvera, with closure of Heilsuvera My Pages scheduled for September 2026 after migration.

That is a schedule, not proof that a particular function has moved. Check both current official service pages on the day of use. If a deadline concerns a prescription, appointment or medical message, contact the healthcare provider rather than waiting for a portal migration. Service-specific family access also applies; current Heilsuvera guidance has not simply mirrored the general Ísland.is mandate until age 18.

Confirm changes with the record owner

For an address move, portal profile text is not completion. Follow the official moving route, which generally requires reporting a move within Iceland or abroad to Registers Iceland within seven days, and then verify the legal-domicile record. Nordic moves, a child’s domicile, couples and moves abroad can use different forms or consent.

For any important task, record the responsible authority, reference, date, status, requests for more information, payment, final decision and next deadline. If My Pages conflicts with the authority, ask that authority for its written record. The portal provides access; the record owner determines the application, tax, health, immigration, registration or benefit outcome.

Electronic identification is personal. Never solve another person’s access problem by sharing a phone, PIN, approval prompt or active session. Use the mandate, custody record, company signing authority or service-specific authorisation that the destination accepts.

Use your own identity to act for someone else

In the Ísland.is Authorisation system, the representative first logs in with their own electronic identification and then switches to a person or organisation they may represent. Check the grantor, represented party, services, permitted actions, start, expiry and whether the access covers viewing, submitting, paying or signing. Set the narrowest useful scope and end date, review Usage where available, and revoke access when the task or role ends.

An individual with electronic identification can grant and revoke access under Access Control in My Pages. Parents automatically receive a general Ísland.is mandate for children until 18 from the custody record held by Registers Iceland. That does not override a service’s own age or authority rule.

Use the paper route when the grantor has no electronic ID

The current individual and family mandate instructions provide a real paper route for an individual without electronic identification:

1. Print the linked General mandate to handle my affairs through public digital services.
2. Complete every field.
3. Obtain two witnesses. If a witness is foreign, include a copy of that witness’s ID.
4. Scan or photograph the signed form.
5. The intended representative submits it through the linked Ísland.is application.

The official page currently says the representative receives activation notice by email within two to three days. This paper form is for an individual granting authority to another individual, not for a company. It covers only public entities connected to the Ísland.is Authorisation system. The representative can show the grantor the Usage history after logging in.

Choose the correct authority for the task

Visibility under Switch user does not prove access in a bank, tax system, pension fund or medicine service. Confirm before the deadline.

Confirm company authority

For a company or association, the registered procuration holder uses personal electronic identification and switches user. Under the current company mandate instructions, only executives authorised to sign for the organisation can grant mandates and access-control rights. If the entity is absent, verify the procuration registration with Iceland Revenue and Customs. Employment, ownership or knowing a shared login is not a substitute.

Grant staff only the necessary data or function, add an end date and review former employees and advisers. Preserve the represented entity, human actor, mandate scope, submitted document, receipt and timestamp for consequential actions. Digital access also does not replace accounting, payroll, tax, financial-statement, licensing or employer obligations.

Act in order: stop the interaction, revoke exposed access, secure related accounts, preserve evidence, then report and correct each affected service. Do not spend the first minutes arguing with a caller or following a recovery link they supplied.

Stop and revoke the correct credential

Cancel any login or signature request you did not initiate. Close the suspicious page without entering PIN, password, card data or code. Reach the real service by a separately verified address or number.

If someone may know a PIN or you approved a suspicious request, follow Auðkenni’s direct revocation instructions immediately. Use Auðkenni My Pages only from a trusted route or contact support. A forgotten PIN cannot be retrieved and requires new electronic identification.

For a lost phone or SIM, contact both the mobile provider and Auðkenni. A device lock, SIM block and credential revocation solve different risks. If you hold both app and SIM credentials, verify and revoke each affected one. Secure email, banking and password-manager sessions from another trusted device. Call the bank immediately if payment access or a transaction may be involved.

Auðkenni’s current contact details are +354 530 0000 and [email protected]. Its site lists telephone and chat support on weekdays 09:00–18:00 and Saturdays 10:00–16:00, with office service on weekdays 10:00–16:00. Check the live support page because hours can change. Outside available hours, use online revocation where safe and do not delay the bank or police because issuer support is closed.

Find every affected action

Review credential activity, My Pages submissions, Digital Mailbox, mandates, banking, tax, immigration, health, municipal and company services, plus signed files and confirmation emails. Tell each service owner to preserve logs, flag unauthorised activity and state its cancellation, correction or dispute route.

Revocation prevents later use. It does not erase a valid signature already made, reverse a transfer, withdraw an application, cancel a mandate action or correct a public record. Replacement of the credential likewise does not invalidate an existing signed document; deal with the document through the recipient or responsible authority.

Preserve and route the report

Keep the original email, text, caller number and URL. Save the prompt, service, displayed code, time, case or transaction reference, bank movement and contact log without exposing a PIN. Use the report matching the event:

• Auðkenni revocation for the credential;
• the bank’s fraud channel for money or payment access;
• report cybercrime to the Icelandic Police for suspected online crime;
• report a security incident to CERT-IS for a cybersecurity incident or threat; and
• the Data Protection Authority complaint route for an eligible personal-data complaint.

An organisation may also have internal and statutory breach duties. Keep every receipt and case number. After replacement, test a low-risk service reached independently, review mandates and sessions, and confirm the old credential status rather than assuming replacement disabled every route.

Record the exact error, time, service address, credential type, device, operating-system version, recent phone or SIM change and task before retrying. A useful support request names the failed condition; it does not merely say that electronic identification is broken.

Send the symptom to its owner

Do not alter spellings or use another person’s details to force a match. The app credential is tied to its device and internet access, not the phone number; the SIM credential is tied to the Icelandic number and SIM route. State which one failed.

Use the official assisted or in-person route

For issuance or replacement, use the current registration-authority map, confirm hours and bring the accepted original physical identity document plus the required phone. A paper copy, screenshot or digital licence is not a substitute.

Auðkenni can be reached through its support page, by +354 530 0000 or [email protected]. The live site currently lists phone and chat on weekdays 09:00–18:00 and Saturdays 10:00–16:00. Digital Iceland has a separate support and contact page for Ísland.is functions.

If disability or another barrier prevents standard issuance, use Auðkenni’s request for accommodation and ask what assistance can be provided without exposing the chosen PIN. Auðkenni’s site has Icelandic and English navigation; for another language or an inaccessible service, ask the issuer or authority what interpreter, assisted, paper, telephone, postal or representative option is actually available. Do not assume every service offers all of them.

Protect the deadline separately

Credential recovery does not extend the deadline for the underlying tax, health, immigration, benefit, company or court task. Before expiry, send the responsible authority a message such as:

I attempted to submit [task] at [time and date], but [exact error] prevented access. My reference is [number]. Please confirm an available in-person, paper, postal, telephone, accessibility or authorised-representative route and whether the original deadline remains applicable. Please record this contact on the case.

Keep the sent message, reply, named team, instruction, fee, alternate submission and receipt. Ask for the review or complaint route if an alternative is refused. This does not guarantee an extension, but it proves the access problem and action taken before the deadline while the credential is restored.