Hong Kong ID card replacement fees in 2026: free vs HKD 460
Your first Hong Kong identity card as a new arrival costs nothing, and so does the card issued when a resident turns 11 or 18. Beyond those cases a fee attaches: replacing a card that was lost, damaged, destroyed or defaced is chargeable, and replacing one because the particulars printed on it have changed costs HK$460. That is the position set out on the Immigration Department's "Identity Cards" Frequently Asked Questions page.
When is a Hong Kong identity card free of charge?
No fee is charged for identity cards issued to new arrivals, or to people reaching the age of 11 or 18. For a household moving to Hong Kong that covers three moments: an adult's first registration, a child's first juvenile card at 11, and the adult card that replaces it at 18.
The other free route has closed. New identity cards issued under the Territory-wide Identity Card Replacement Exercise carried no fee, but the Immigration Department closed all Smart Identity Card Replacement Centres with effect from 4 March 2023, and anyone still holding an old-form card has since been replacing it at a Registration of Persons (ROP) Office as an ordinary application.
The invalidation timetable that drove that exercise has also run its course. Smart identity cards issued before 26 November 2018 became invalid in two phases during 2025: cards held by people born in or after 1970 ceased to be valid on 12 May 2025, and cards held by people born in 1969 or before ceased to be valid on 12 October 2025. In 2026 there is no residual free call-up left to rely on.
What turns a replacement into a paid transaction?
The trigger does. A fee is payable when the replacement follows loss, damage, destruction or defacement of the card, or an alteration of the registered particulars. None of those resembles a first registration or an age milestone, and none of them is free.
Only one of those triggers has a published figure on the identity card FAQ. The alteration case — amending particulars shown on the card — is priced at HK$460. The page confirms that a fee is payable for loss, damage, destruction and defacement but publishes no amount there, so that figure has to come from the department's current fee information. This article is general reference rather than advice on any individual case, and government fees change; confirm the amount against the Immigration Department's latest published information or with a qualified professional before you rely on it.
What exactly does the HK$460 cover?
It covers the replacement card itself, once the department approves your application to amend registered particulars shown on the card. Filing the application costs nothing. Complete Form ROP73, "Application for Amendment of Registered Particulars of Hong Kong Identity Card", and lodge it by post to the Registration of Persons (Support) Section, 1st Floor, Administration Tower, Immigration Headquarters, 61 Po Yap Road, Tseung Kwan O, deposit it in an Immigration Department drop-in box, fax it to (852) 2131 8876, or submit it online through gov.hk or the Immigration Department Mobile Application. You may also book ahead and file in person at any Registration of Persons Office; such applications are assessed case by case.
The sequence after filing runs in this order.
- Wait for the department to contact you.
- Attend the interview at the Registration of Persons Office.
- Bring the originals of your supporting documents for verification.
- Pay HK$460 once the department approves the amendment and arranges the replacement card.
What you bring depends on the change. A new name calls for documents relating to the change, such as a deed poll, a marriage certificate or a travel document. Correcting a date or place of birth calls for documents showing the correct date or place, such as household registration, a notarial certificate or a birth certificate. The department states that supporting documents are decided case by case according to the type of amendment.
Which changes require a new card, and which do not?
The dividing line is whether the item is printed on the card. A smart identity card shows name, any name in Chinese commercial code, gender, date of birth and identity card number. Registered particulars such as residential address and marital status sit on the record but do not appear on the card, so updating them produces no new card and no replacement fee.
| Change | Printed on the card | How you file it | Does HK$460 apply? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name change | Yes | Form ROP73 with deed poll, marriage certificate or travel document | Yes, charged on the replacement card |
| Date of birth correction | Yes | Form ROP73 with household registration, notarial certificate or birth certificate | Yes, charged on the replacement card |
| Place of birth correction | Yes | Form ROP73 with the equivalent origin document | Yes, charged on the replacement card |
| Residential address | No | Form ROP18A, or Form ROP18 with other particulars | No, no replacement card is issued |
| Marital status | No | Form ROP18 | No, no replacement card is issued |
You notify an off-card change by letter or by form — Form ROP18A for an address change alone, Form ROP18 otherwise — and file it at any Registration of Persons Office, by email, by fax to (852) 2824 1662, or by post to the Registration of Persons Records Section, 9/F, Administration Tower, Immigration Headquarters, 61 Po Yap Road, Tseung Kwan O. The department refuses underpaid mail, so mail must carry sufficient postage and a return address.
One nearby product is easy to confuse with a replacement. A Certificate of Registered Particulars shows what your identity card record holds — name, residential address, date of birth, place of birth, marital status and spouse's name — and carries its own non-refundable fee of HK$425. It is evidence, not a replacement card.
What is the process when a card is lost or damaged?
A fee is payable whichever channel you use, so the practical question is where to file. Anyone with an urgent need — a card that was lost, destroyed, damaged or defaced — may apply at any Registration of Persons Office without an appointment.
If you are 18 or over and hold a valid smart identity card issued in Hong Kong, you can also use one of the 44 Personal Documentation Submission Kiosks (PDSKs) at the Immigration Headquarters in Tseung Kwan O. They are appointment-free, and loss replacements are among the applications they accept.
Two limits matter.
- An invalid identity card cannot be used at a PDSK.
- If you also need to change the particulars shown on the card, the kiosk route is closed to you. Book a Registration of Persons Office instead, through the online booking service, the 24-hour telephone booking line 2598 0888, or the Immigration Department Mobile Application — and note that the HK$460 then applies.
At a Personal Documentation Submission Kiosk, except in loss cases, your old card is collected when the application is completed and an acknowledgement of application for an identity card is issued. That acknowledgement alone will not get you through an immigration control point: you must also produce a valid travel document such as a passport or Hong Kong Re-entry Permit. Nor can you keep the superseded card as a souvenir. It must be returned for cancellation, and possessing more than one identity card without reasonable excuse is an offence liable to a fine of HK$50,000 and imprisonment for two years.
What happens if you leave the replacement too late?
Missing the specified call-up period without reasonable excuse is an offence under section 7B(3) of the Registration of Persons Ordinance, with a fine of $5,000 on prosecution. Sickness, the pandemic situation and absence from Hong Kong are given as examples of reasonable excuse; an applicant relying on one must declare the reason at registration, and the department then considers the case on its facts.
A heavier exposure follows an order to replace. An invalid card is refused at immigration clearance, and it is surrendered if you lodge another application with the Immigration Department; either way you will be ordered to apply within a specified period. Failure to comply with that order is an offence under regulation 19(4) of the Registration of Persons Regulations, carrying a fine of $25,000 and imprisonment for two years. Some applications cannot proceed at all in the meantime: an HKSAR passport requires the holder to have a valid Hong Kong permanent identity card at both application and collection.
What applies if you are outside Hong Kong?
Residents who were away during their specified call-up period must apply within 30 days of returning to Hong Kong. Plan the appointment around the trip, because the Appointment Booking System for identity card applications currently opens 96 working days ahead.
The application itself must be made in person. Collection does not: tell the registration officer at the time of registration and complete Form ID678, then have your representative collect the card. That person must be at least 18, bring their own proof of identity, and bring your acknowledgement of application together with the completed authorisation form, with signatures matching the one on your application.
For the journey itself, travel on a valid travel document. An invalid identity card is not accepted for immigration clearance, and if you present one on arrival it has to be surrendered.
Does a delayed replacement affect permanent resident status?
Not for everyone, and not automatically. Hong Kong permanent residents of Chinese nationality do not lose permanent resident status because an old-form card was invalidated while they were away; the law gives them 30 days after their return to replace it.
Permanent residents who are not of Chinese nationality face a separate rule. Continuous absence of not less than 36 months, counted from when they ceased to have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong, may affect their right of abode in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. A person who does lose that right automatically acquires the right to land, which allows them to enter Hong Kong freely to live, study or work without restriction. For residents who split their time between Hong Kong and other jurisdictions, that distinction deserves more attention than the card fee itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it free to replace a Hong Kong identity card in 2026?
Only in narrow cases. The Immigration Department charges no fee for identity cards issued to new arrivals or to people reaching the age of 11 or 18. The no-fee Territory-wide Identity Card Replacement Exercise ended, with all Smart Identity Card Replacement Centres closing on 4 March 2023, so ordinary replacements now follow the standard fee rules.
When exactly does the HK$460 charge apply?
It applies when the department approves an application to amend registered particulars printed on the card, most commonly name, date of birth or place of birth. You file Form ROP73, attend an interview with original documents, and pay HK$460 when the replacement card is arranged.
How much does it cost to replace a lost or damaged card?
A fee is payable, but the identity card FAQ publishes no amount for loss, damage, destruction or defacement, unlike the HK$460 it states for amendments. Check the current figure against the Immigration Department's published fee information before budgeting for the replacement.
Do I pay HK$460 if I change my address?
No. Residential address and marital status are registered particulars that do not appear on the card, so updating them issues no replacement card. File Form ROP18A for an address change alone, or Form ROP18 for other off-card particulars, at any Registration of Persons Office or by email, fax or post.
Can I keep my old identity card as a souvenir?
No. The superseded card must be returned to the Registration of Persons Office for cancellation. Possessing more than one identity card without reasonable excuse is an offence liable to a fine of HK$50,000 and imprisonment for two years.
I was overseas when my old card was invalidated — am I in trouble?
Not on the card itself: residents absent during their call-up period apply within 30 days of returning to Hong Kong. Permanent residents who are not of Chinese nationality should watch the separate rule, under which continuous absence of 36 months or more after ceasing to ordinarily reside in Hong Kong may affect the right of abode.