What is the Maisha Integrated Database?

It is the central population register that integrates births, national IDs, passports and deaths into one system underpinning the Maisha Namba.

Is the Maisha Digital ID the same as the physical card?

No, it is a digital credential on a smartphone used for online authentication, complementing the physical Maisha Card.

🇰🇪 Kenya · Mobile eID / app

Maisha Digital ID

Maisha Digital ID and Maisha Integrated Database

The Maisha Digital ID is the smartphone-based credential of Kenya's Maisha ecosystem, enabling holders to authenticate online, while the Maisha Integrated Database is the consolidated national population register linking birth, ID, passport and death records into a single source of truth.

What it does

Online authenticationIdentity verification / KYCBiometric authentication

Country:🇰🇪 Kenya

Type:Mobile eID / app

Status:Pilot

Launched:2023

Issuer:State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services / National Registration Bureau

Who can get it:Kenyan citizens holding a Maisha Namba

Format

Mobile app

Identity attributes

Biographic dataBiometric references (fingerprints, facial image)Maisha NambaLinks to civil-registration events

Authentication methods

Mobile appBiometricOnline authentication

Common use cases

Remote online identity verification for government and private servicesSingle source of truth linking births, IDs, passports and deaths

Standards

Integrated registration architectureBiometric fingerprint and facial platform

Coverage

In piloting and rollout phase (no standalone adoption figure published)

Interoperability

The integrated database ties together birth registration, national ID, passport and death records, and the digital ID enables cross-service online verification

Privacy and trust

Concentrating biometric and life-event data in a single integrated database heightens data-protection and surveillance concerns, with compliance with Kenya's Data Protection Act central to public debate.

Official source

https://usajili.go.ke/

Maisha Digital ID: frequently asked questions

What is the Maisha Integrated Database?: It is the central population register that integrates births, national IDs, passports and deaths into one system underpinning the Maisha Namba.
Is the Maisha Digital ID the same as the physical card?: No, it is a digital credential on a smartphone used for online authentication, complementing the physical Maisha Card.

Educational reference, not official guidance. Confirm current details with the issuing authority. all Kenya schemes · identity verification vendors