The Election Commission (EC) has delegated authority to field-level election officials to settle applications seeking correction of dates of birth in National Identity Cards (NIDs) based on verifiable educational certificates.

The decision is aimed at speeding up the disposal of applications submitted on the basis of online-verifiable educational certificates, including Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent certificates.

According to an EC circular issued by its National Identity Registration Wing on Thursday, such applications will be treated as “Category A” cases and may be settled by the concerned Upazila/Thana Election Officers, Senior District/District Election Officers and officials of the NID Wing at the levels of Assistant Director, Deputy Director and Director.

The circular said the officials must follow the existing Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the EC on 18 December, 2025, when accepting educational certificates and other supporting documents for processing correction applications.

It also instructed officials to record mandatory notes in the Commission’s Case Management System (CMS) while disposing of such applications.

The EC has also directed Regional Election Officers and Additional Regional Election Officers to regularly monitor the activities carried out by officials under their jurisdiction.

They have been asked to review the applications disposed of by each concerned officer every month and submit reports to the relevant authorities.

According to the circular, applications for correction of date of birth based on certificates issued by universities, as well as applications involving complete changes to the applicant’s name along with the names of their father and mother, will have to be disposed of at the Assistant Director level.

However, no second correction on the same issue will be allowed in cases involving a complete change of the date of birth, the applicant’s own name, and the names of their parents.

The EC has instructed all concerned officials to take necessary measures in accordance with the circular. Copies of the directive have been sent to relevant officials at the EC Secretariat and election offices at the field level.