Stefan Andonovski: 6–12 months to enable police to accept digital identity documents

Minister of Digital Transformation Stefan Andonovski said the legal changes needed for police to accept digital identity documents — a digital ID card and a digital driving licence — will take between six months and one year to implement.

Andonovski said officials are currently mapping the specific articles and laws that must be amended, while the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) is preparing technological equipment for new patrol vehicles so officers can carry out checks in the field.

Timeline and technical preparations

"This is a process that must begin, and it starts at the Ministry of Digital Transformation with the creation of the digital wallet, which is regulated in the Law on Electronic Documents, Article 20g, which determines the method of verification," Andonovski said after opening the Energotexnoma 2026 fair. "From this, and with the whole digitization process, changes begin in all other institutions. We have already changed 140 laws that relate to the acceptance of electronic documents that require photocopies of data. We will approach this in the same way."

He noted that MIA is a partner from day one because it supplies the base data for identity cards and driving licences. Andonovski added that some subordinate MIA acts must be adapted to adjust the look and format of the documents, and that technical upgrades will enable institutions to accept electronic documents one by one.

Andonovski pointed to examples abroad: Poland introduced the tool in 2019, and in 2021 the police began accepting electronic documents issued by the Ministry of Interior. "Therefore, I expect that we will need at least six months to a year to complete the necessary changes because at the moment we are working on mapping — which are those articles and from which specific laws that require changes. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, in turn, is working on providing technological capabilities in the new vehicles it is acquiring, devices so that MIA personnel can do their job. We will also start with the private sector, with supermarkets, venues, bars, banks, insurance companies..., this is a process that will need to slowly enter every institution, it is not only the Ministry of Internal Affairs," he said.

Photo: press material from the event