Editing National identification number (section)

== Americas ==

=== Argentina ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2009}}
In [[Argentina]] the only nationally issued identification is the [[Documento Nacional de Identidad (Argentina)|DNI]], ''Documento Nacional de Identidad'' (National Identity Document). It is a number not related to anything in particular about the person (except for immigrants who get assigned numbers starting at 92,000,000). It is assigned at birth by the ''[[Registro Nacional de las Personas]]'' (National Registry for People), but parents need to sign up their children, and because of this there are some people, especially the poor, who do not have a DNI.

The ID is required for applying for credit, opening a bank account, and for voting. Law requires a person to show his or her DNI when using a credit card. Prior to the DNI the LC (Libreta Cívica, for women), and LE (Libreta de Enrolamiento, for men) were used. This was later unified in the DNI.

For taxpaying purposes, the CUIT and CUIL (Código Único de Identificación Tributaria, Unique Code for Taxpaying Identification and Código de Identificación Laboral, Unique Code for Laboral Identification) are used. An example of the ID is 20-10563145-8. It is based on the DNI and appends 2 numbers at the beginning and one at the end. For example, 20 and 23 for men, 27 for women, and one control digit at the end. Employees have a CUIL (assigned at the moment the DNI is created), and employers have a CUIT. The first two digits to identify the CUIT for companies are for instance: 30 or 33. If a person decides to open a company of its own, his CUIL usually becomes his CUIT. The CUIT was needed because a different identification is required for companies, who cannot be identified by a DNI number.

=== Brazil ===
{{Main|Registro Geral|Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas}}

In [[Brazil]], there are two main systems: The first, the ''Registro Geral'' (RG, General Registry in free translation) is the record number of the [[Brazilian identity card|Identity Cards]] issued by the Institutes of Identification from [[Federative units of Brazil|Federative Units]] (whose links may vary between their civil and scientific polices - except in Rio de Janeiro, where they're issued by its Transit Department) under a national graphic and data standard since 1984. However, the General Registry is assigned federatively (not being the same for the same person in all Federative Units) and also coexists with a few other registry numbers (such as those issued by the [[Brazilian Armed Forces]] or the [[Registro Nacional de Estrangeiros|Migratory National Registry]] issued to refugees and residents of Brazil or its border municipalities by the [[Federal Police of Brazil]]), making possible to a brazilian or portuguese with equality of rights and duties to have other General Registries by other federative units (which is usually dealt with by specifying the one which issued its Identity Card) being almost impossible for one to coincide with another. The other system, the ''Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas'' (CPF, Cadastre of Physical Persons in free translation), is the main tax identification issued on an exclusive, federal and lifetime basis by the [[Receita Federal do Brasil|Secretary of Federal Revenue of Brazil]] originally for taxation purposes (a related system is used for individual micro-entrepreneurs, enterprises and institutions of any nature, which is called ''Cadastro Nacional de Pessoas Jurídicas'' - CNPJ, National Cadastre of Juridical Persons in free translation). One, the other and/or both numbers are required for many common tasks in Brazil such as opening a [[bank account]] or obtaining a [[driver's license]]. However, a new Identity Card version has been issued since 2022 with the citizens' General Registries based around the CPF.

Another type of registration is the Social Security Number, currently originated when a person accesses the National Social Security Institute's website with its CPF<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.inss.gov.br/ |title=inss.gov.br |publisher=inss.gov.br |access-date=2012-07-14 |archive-date=2012-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626105235/http://www.inss.gov.br/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> or starts to work for a enterprise or institution of almost any nature (when it's mandatory to register the employee in the Social Integration Program).

There's also the ''Título Eleitoral'' (Electoral Title, in free translation) issued by the Regional Electoral Courts from the Federative Units and mandatory for brazilians and portugueses with equality of rights and duties (even if living overseas) from 18 to 70 years old.

=== Canada ===
{{Main|Social insurance number}}
The use of the social insurance number (SIN) as a de facto ID number ended in 2004 with passage of The [[Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://onpayroll.ca/blog/social-insurance-number-useage|publisher=OnPayroll.ca|title=Social Insurance Number Usage|date=26 August 2011|access-date=2012-01-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828030129/http://onpayroll.ca/blog/social-insurance-number-useage|archive-date=2012-08-28|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are only certain instances where an organization may ask for a SIN (namely for tax or retirement benefit related issues). The SIN must be guarded as confidential personal information, and therefore cannot be used as a general ID number.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.privacylawyer.ca/privacy/piepda_and_social_insurance_numbers.pdf|author=David T.S. Fraser|date=1 September 2003|title=New rules for using social insurance numbers|publisher=McInnes Cooper law firm|access-date=10 January 2012|archive-date=27 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127190449/http://www.privacylawyer.ca/privacy/piepda_and_social_insurance_numbers.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Nevertheless, the SIN is still used as a unique identifier for the [[Canada Revenue Agency]] (similar to US's [[IRS]] and England's [[HMRC]]) to track individuals who are filing their income tax returns.

=== Chile ===
In [[Chile]] the National Identification Number is called RUN ''(Rol Único Nacional)'' but is usually called RUT ''(Rol Único Tributario)'' since the number is the same as the one used for tax purposes. The main difference between them is that a RUN is only assigned to natural persons, while [[juristic person]]s can only get a RUT number.

In the case of natural persons, the RUN/RUT number is used as a national identification number, as a taxpayer number, as a social insurance number, as a driver's license number, for employment, etc. It is also commonly used as a customer number in banks, retailers, insurance companies, airlines, etc. Until the end of August 2013, the RUN was also used as the passport number. After this date, Chilean passports have had unique numbers.

Since well before 1990, every baby born is given a RUN number; it was previously assigned when applying to get an ID card. Non-Chilean residents also get a RUN and an identification card. Every company or organization also must have a RUT for taxation purposes.

The RUN or RUT has 7 or 8 digits (for people alive today; in the past, there were persons with a 5- or 6-digit one) plus a [[check digit]] or letter (xx.xxx.xxx-z, z is {0-9, K}).

=== Colombia ===
In [[Colombia]], each person is issued a basic ID card during childhood (''Tarjeta de Identidad''). The ID number includes the date of birth and a short serial number. Upon reaching the age of 18, every citizen is reissued a citizenship card (''Cédula de Ciudadanía''), and the ID number on it is used and required in all instances, public and private.

Every Colombian national traveling abroad is issued a passport document (which includes a passport number related to the national identification number); in this manner foreign governments can track Colombian nationals with their consulates.

There is as well a number assigned to companies: NIT (''Número de Identificación Tributaria''). Tributary Identification Number (for its Spanish acronym). Among other things, it is used for tax reports.

RUT (''Registro único tributario'') (taxpayer identification number)

As of 2003 created the NUIP (''Número Único de Identificación Personal''), starting the numbering per billion (1,000,000,000).

=== Mexico ===
{{Main|Unique Population Registry Code}}
In Mexico, the ID number is called the [[Unique Population Registry Code|CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población)]] although the most important and accepted ID card would be the [[Voting Credential|election card]] ("credencial de elector" or else "credencial del INE," as per the initials of Instituto Nacional Electoral (National Electoral Institute), the institution responsible for electoral procedures). There are, however, other important ID numbers in Mexico: for instance, the social security number, which is the number assigned by [[Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social]] (Mexican Institute of Social Security, or IMSS) to every citizen who starts working, or the [[Federal Taxpayer Registry|RFC (Registro Federal del Contribuyente)]] which is assigned by the Treasury and has the same format as the CURP but a shorter length.

=== United States ===
{{Main|Social Security number}}

In the [[United States]], the Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number issued to [[United States nationality law|U.S. citizens]], [[Permanent residence (United States)|permanent residents]], and temporary (working) residents. Its purpose was to identify individuals for the purposes of [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]], but it is now also used to track individuals for [[Taxation in the United States|taxation]] purposes. There is no legal requirement to have a SSN if it is not required for Social Security or taxation purposes, but in practice one is required for many other purposes, for example to open a bank account or apply for a driving license, so that nearly all U.S. citizens and permanent residents have one. The SSN has therefore become a ''de facto'' national identification number,<ref>{{cite news |first=Jim |last=Kouri |title=Social Security Cards: De Facto National Identification |url=http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=3911 |work=American Chronicle |date=9 March 2005 |access-date=18 July 2010 |archive-date=17 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717092547/http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=3911 |url-status=live }}</ref> despite the fact that originally it was expressly not for this purpose.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/26/weekinreview/the-nation-not-for-identification-purposes-just-kidding.html|title=The Nation; Not for Identification Purposes (Just Kidding) (Published 1998)|first=Robert|last=Pear|newspaper=The New York Times|date=26 July 1998|access-date=5 September 2017|archive-date=25 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925104640/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/26/weekinreview/the-nation-not-for-identification-purposes-just-kidding.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In fact, a valid SSN can be easily guessed, as they were issued serially<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ssa.gov/history/ssn/geocard.html | title=Social Security History | access-date=2017-08-04 | archive-date=2019-12-05 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205135753/https://www.ssa.gov/history/ssn/geocard.html | url-status=live }}</ref> prior to 25 June 2011.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ssa.gov/employer/randomization.html | title=Social Security Number Randomization | access-date=2017-12-21 | archive-date=2019-10-02 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002182027/https://www.ssa.gov/employer/randomization.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

A [[Selective Service Number]] must be applied for by all male citizens and immigrant non-citizens turning age 18, to register for military conscription. Though the United States currently employs a [[volunteer military]], all males are required to register in case of a potential draft.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nationale Identitätsnummer ESTA |url=https://www.estaformular.org/reisen-in-den-usa/nationale-identitaetsnummer-esta |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=Zeitschrift für Migrationsforschung |language=de |archive-date=2022-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207104727/https://www.estaformular.org/reisen-in-den-usa/nationale-identitaetsnummer-esta |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Venezuela ===
In [[Venezuela]], the Administrative Service of Identification, Migration, and Immigration ([[SAIME]]) issues an ID card for individuals in their teens (Cédula de Identidad). The ID card includes date of birth, a correlative number (population continuous number for nationals, greater than 80,000,000 for foreign-born residents), a photo, marital status, expiration date (an expired ID card is still valid for nationals), and a fingerprint. Newly issued ID cards are valid for 10 years.

Private companies and public entities are assigned a RIF (Fiscal Information Registry) number for taxable purposes. For natural persons, it is their ID number + checksum digit.