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Sri Lanka NIC Decoder – Validate & Convert Old NIC

Check the structure of an old or new Sri Lankan NIC, decode its embedded birth date and gender code, and convert an eligible old NIC to the 12-digit format.

10 → 12old to new NIC format

NIC toolkit

Decode an NIC number

Spaces and hyphens are ignored. The number is processed only in this browser and is never submitted to the website.

Accepted structures: 9 digits followed by V or X, or the new 12-digit format. The example is published by the DRP.

How decoding works

Old and new NIC structures

The old structure contains a two-digit birth year, a three-digit day code, four serial digits and V or X. The new structure expands the birth year to four digits, retains the day code and serial information, and uses 12 digits. A day code above 500 represents the female code and 500 is subtracted before converting the remaining value to a calendar date.

NIC day codes reserve 29 days for February in every year. In a non-leap year, code 060 is not a valid birth date, but later dates continue after that reserved slot—for example, 061 is March 1 and 366 is December 31. The old-format year is interpreted as 19xx. Old-to-new conversion follows the relationship published by the Department for Registration of Persons.

Sri Lanka NIC decoder questions

What information can be decoded from an NIC number?

The public number structure can indicate the encoded birth year, day code and gender code, and the old format can be converted to its corresponding 12-digit structure. It does not reveal an address or verify the person’s identity.

Why can an NIC birthday differ around the end of February?

The NIC day-code sequence reserves a position for February 29 every year. In non-leap years that reserved code is invalid, while the following codes still map to dates from March 1 onward.

Is the NIC number sent to Peak Lanka?

No. The decoder runs locally in the browser and does not submit the entered number to Peak Lanka.

This is not official NIC verification

A number can match the public structure and still be unissued, cancelled, duplicated or incorrect. Peak Lanka has no access to the national register and does not confirm anyone’s identity. Contact the Department for Registration of Persons when formal verification is required.

Official sources