Saudi Schools Launch Digital Student ID with QR Code

Public-school students across Saudi Arabia now have digital student ID cards fitted with QR codes, introduced from the 1448 AH / 2026–2027 academic year as part of a wider push to modernise the education system.

The new ID is an official electronic identity that displays the student’s name, nationality, national ID or iqama number, school, and grade level. Authorised authorities can verify a student’s identity by scanning the QR code, which reflects the latest data recorded in the Ministry’s systems. The information is automatically updated when a student changes grade or school.

The card is accessed digitally only and is provided free of charge, with no fees for issuing or using it. The move is designed to end paper-based follow-up and paper cards, shifting to fully digital tracking and identification. Students access the ID through the Ministry of Education’s digital education platforms, including a Unified Education Portal that brings together academic tasks, communication tools, and administrative services in one place.

The QR code is intended for electronic verification by authorised entities only, and is used in school-related and official educational settings. Officials have stressed that the digital student ID is separate from the national ID card. For students aged 15 and above, the national ID remains mandatory for dealings with government agencies and public institutions, while the digital student ID is limited to education-related identification.

Part of a bigger digital shift

The rollout is one piece of a broader education digital transformation programme for the new academic year. This includes expanded online tools that let parents and students track homework, exams, and assignments and communicate with teachers without visiting schools. A new digital platform for education professionals is also being introduced, serving around 500,000 staff and linked to training for more than 240,000 teachers and employees. Alongside this, 22 school subjects have been updated and 50 new artificial intelligence learning units have been added to the curriculum.

For families, the change means fewer paper documents to manage and a faster, more reliable way to confirm a student’s identity in official school contexts.

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