Introduction

The National Registration Department (NRD) is a Department under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for the registration of important events of every individual such as birth, death, adoption, marriage and divorce. In addition, NRD is also responsible for determining citizenship status and subsequently, the issue of identification document in the form of identity card to eligible individuals.

The National Registration Department was established after the Emergency (Registration Areas) Regulations 1948 were enforced as one of the measure to counter security threats. These regulations require that all citizens register and obtain identity card upon attaining the age of 12 and above. The department was also given additional functions to register all significant events which include the registration of birth, death, adoption, marriage, divorce and citizenship.

Since its establishment, this Department has moved to several buildings in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Initially, the headquarters of the National Registration Department was located in the Sulaiman Building in Jalan Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. In 1958, the headquarters moved to Petaling Jaya Federal Building to accommodate the increasing records, documents and personnel. Several years later, the NRD headquarters moved to the Selangor State Development Corporation building where it remained until early December 2004 when its new office began its operations in Precinct 2 in the Federal Government Administrative Centre, Putrajaya.