Jordan is moving to give its Sanad mobile identity app the same legal standing as a physical national ID card – a step that would require banks, businesses, and government agencies to accept the app as official proof of identity.
The Jordanian cabinet has approved draft amendments to the Civil Status Law that would formally recognize digital identity issued through the Sanad app as an official credential, equivalent to the physical card issued by the Civil Status and Passports Department. The amendments have been forwarded to parliament for consideration.
For mobile identity, the significance lies in the legal upgrade. Sanad has already been accepted for banking identity verification across all banks in Jordan following approval by the Central Bank. What these amendments would do is extend that recognition more broadly – to any institution, public or private, that currently requires a national ID. If parliament passes the amendments, Jordanian residents could use their phone to prove identity in any context where the physical card is currently accepted.
The package also proposes creating a free digital mailbox for every citizen, resident, and registered entity through the Sanad platform, enabling official notifications and government correspondence to be delivered through the same mobile identity infrastructure. That transforms Sanad from an identity verification tool into a broader personal communications channel tied to verified identity.
Jordan’s cabinet also paired the identity amendments with changes to the Traffic Law that would allow vehicle sale and purchase transactions to be completed fully online using electronic signatures and remote authentication. That linkage is notable: it connects mobile identity directly to high-value commercial transactions rather than limiting its application to basic government services.
The amendments still need parliamentary approval, so the timeline is not yet final. Still, Jordan’s approach offers a useful model for mobile identity programs elsewhere. The country has been building toward this point incrementally – first deploying the Sanad app, then gaining banking sector adoption, and now seeking the legal framework that makes the mobile credential as broadly usable as the physical one it is meant to replace.
For anyone watching how mobile digital ID transitions from pilot to mainstream credential, Jordan’s legislative path is worth tracking.
Source: Biometric Update
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By the Mobile ID World Editorial Team
