National identification number

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "National identification number" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (April 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

A national identification number, national identity number, or national insurance number or JMBG/EMBG is used by the governments of many countries as a means of tracking their citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents for the purposes of work, taxation, government benefits, health care, and other governmentally-related functions.

The ways in which such a system is implemented vary among countries, but in most cases citizens are issued an identification number upon reaching legal age, or when they are born. Non-citizens may be issued such numbers when they enter the country, or when granted a temporary or permanent residence permit.

Many countries issued such numbers for a singular purpose, but over time, they become a de facto national identification number. For example, the United States developed its Social Security number (SSN) system as a means of organizing disbursing of Social Security benefits. However, due to function creep, the number has become used for other purposes to the point where it is almost essential to have one to, among other things, open a bank account, obtain a credit card, or drive a car. Although some countries are required to collect Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) information for overseas payment procedures, some countries, like the US, are not required to collect other nations' TIN if other requirements are met, such as date of birth.^[1][2] Authorities use databases and they need a unique identifier so that data actually refer to the searched person. In countries where there is no established nationwide number, authorities need to create their own number for each person, though there is a risk of mismatching people.^{[citation needed]}