Singapore NRIC Number: Did You Know These 7 Surprising Facts?

We all love our pink NRIC (National Registration Identity Card) and can rattle off the digits and alphabets by heart, but did you know these fun facts about the Singapore NRIC number?

To learn more about the Singapore NRIC number, we’ve listed down 7 surprising facts about it. Seeing as how it’s important for us living within the little red dot, some of this information you should probably know by now.

But some of these facts about the Singapore NRIC number might just surprise you and make you wonder “Why didn’t I know that before?”

7 Facts About The Singapore NRIC Number You Probably Didn’t Know

See how many of these you were already aware of and which ones you didn’t know!

1. S is not for Singapore

Many people used to think that ‘S’ stood for Singapore and ‘F’ for foreigner in the Singapore NRIC number. Not true.

The alphabet ‘S’ is used for Singapore citizens and permanent residents who are born in the 1900s, because well, ‘S’ is the 19th letter of the alphabet!

For those Singapore citizens and permanent residents born in the 2000s, the letter ‘T’ is used instead, because (you guessed right) ‘T’ is the 20th letter of the alphabet.

2. What about F and G?

Foreigners holding long-term passes, employment pass, student pass etc issued before the year 2000 are assigned the letter “F”.

Foreigners holding passes issued in and after the year 2000 are assigned the letter “G” in their NRIC number.

3. The first 2 digits of the Singapore NRIC number stand for?

Image courtesy: Stock

For most of us, the first two digits of our NRIC reflect the last two digits of our birth year.

For example, if your NRIC number is S8712345B, it means that you were born in the year 1987.

However, this only applies to Singapore citizens and PRs born in the year 1968 and after. For those born before 1968, their NRIC number will begin with a 0 or 1.

4. What do the last 5 digits of the Singapore NRIC number mean?

The last 5 digits of your NRIC number reflect the number of people who had their birth or citizenship registered before you.

For example, having an NRIC number of S8712345X means that you are born in the year 1987, and also the 12,345th child to register your birth/citizenship.

5. What about the last letter?

Image courtesy: iStock

Guess what, there is a formula to ‘calculate’ the last letter of the Singapore NRIC number! The algorithm for that has never been officially released though.

6. Little known fact:

Did you know that, until 29 September 2002, the NRIC indicated its holder’s blood group?!

Apparently, this information was later removed due to advances in medical technology that enabled quick testing during emergencies.

7. NRIC numbers of some famous people

Just like the rest of us, even the most famous local people have a Singapore NRIC number. If you are wondering what the earliest NRIC numbers looked like, here is the Singapore NRIC number of some famous people: