Liberia restructures national ID deal with OSD, plans issuance restart

Liberia has agreed on a concession arrangement with Austrian identity company OSD International, paving the way for the resumption of national ID card issuance after nearly a year of delays, National Identification Registry (NIR) Executive Director Andrew Peters told Biometric Update.

The agreement marks a significant shift in Liberia’s digital identity strategy. Rather than relying on a traditional procurement model, the government plans to use a public-private partnership structure under which OSD would finance enrollment and identity issuance infrastructure, recover its investment over time, and eventually transfer the system to the state.

Peters was speaking in an interview with Biometric Update on the sidelines of the ID4Africa 2026 AGM which took place this month in Abidjan.

OSD was selected to modernize Liberia’s identity infrastructure and support the rollout of mandatory national ID cards under an April 2025 executive order.

Controversy soon erupted with claims of irregularities related to the contract as well as other issues, which eventually led to the suspension of national ID issuance in June 2025.

The president, Joseph Boakai, also ordered the setting up of a multi-sectorial steering committee which was given a mandate to review the contract details and other concerns, and set the right conditions for the resumption of identity delivery across the country.

President prefers concession deal

Peters said the committee’s review found OSD to be the right fit for the project and so forwarded its recommendations to the president for action.

“After looking at OSD’s demonstration regarding their experience in ID management systems, the president asked that instead of a standard contract, we should enter into a concession agreement with them through a public-private partnership,” Peters stated.

Under the proposed arrangement, OSD would finance the rollout of the national identity system, with a goal of enrolling Liberia’s entire population and foreign residents within 18 months. The company would then operate the system for a defined period, recover its investment and eventually transfer it to the Liberian government.

“Those are some of the issues that prolonged the discussion. Finally, we agreed with them [OSD] that they will fund the entire process, so that we can enrol the entire population of Liberia and foreign residents within 18 months,” he added.

The approach reflects a growing trend among lower-income countries to use public-private partnerships and concession models to finance national digital identity infrastructure, particularly where fiscal constraints have slowed enrollment and service delivery.

According to the NIR boss, the deal will allow OSD to run the system for a number of years, recoup its investment, then hand it over to the Liberian government after training people to operate it.

Both parties now have a deal, Peters says, but the agreement has to be vetted in parliament before it can become actionable.

“The concession agreement will be at the legislature hopefully by this month or early next month because it has to be ratified. The President will submit it to lawmakers for a critique,” the official told Biometric Update.

Free cards for poor, vulnerable Liberians

Peters hopes things will go fast with the concession ratification process so that the issuance of national ID cards can resume because it holds a lot of benefits for the Liberian people.

Peters said an estimated 3.5 million vulnerable Liberians who cannot afford the card will receive it free of charge. Under the arrangement, OSD will fund the initial registration process, while the government will ultimately cover the cost of cards issued to eligible citizens.

The NIR CEO also mentioned that what OSD will deliver for the country is a polycarbonate card with advanced security features.

Peters cited OSD’s experience in identity systems and secure credential issuance as a factor in the government’s decision.

Liberians impatient for IDs

Less than 15 percent of Liberians currently hold a national ID card, but Peters says the agreement raises hopes that national ID issuance will soon resume, bringing a long-awaited credential to millions of citizens.

There’ve been complaints among citizens since the suspension of ID card issuance in June last year.

“Liberians are yearning for their cards. They have come to understand the importance of the national identification card. Before, they had an issue with it, but with the level of information dissemination and the work we have done, they now understand its importance and need for every citizen and foreign resident within our borders to obtain one.”

The official added that the deal will allow the NIR to strengthen its operations, build staff capacity, deploy additional ICT infrastructure and expand services across the country. “This will reduce the distances that people have to walk to reach our teams in order to get their identity registered, because travel also adds to the overall cost.”

If approved by lawmakers, the agreement could accelerate one of Liberia’s most ambitious digital identity efforts to date, expanding coverage far beyond the current level while establishing the infrastructure needed to support mandatory national identification requirements.

Article Topics

Austrian State Printing House (OSD)  |  biometrics  |  digital ID infrastructure  |  ID4Africa  |  ID4Africa 2026  |  Liberia  |  national ID  |  National Identification Registry (NIR)  |  public-private partnerships