Getting Your Cédula in Uruguay: The National ID
Uruguay · Step by Step
Key Facts
- What it is. The cédula de identidad is Uruguay's national ID card — the number locals use for banking, contracts and health plans.
- It follows residency. You don't buy a cédula; it's issued once your residency is in process, via a certificate from the migration office.
- Where you get it. The card is issued by Identificación Civil after the Dirección Nacional de Migración confirms your file.
- First card. Your first cédula is valid for two years, then renewed for longer periods.
- The early shortcut. Need a tax number sooner? The RUT from the DGI can be obtained faster and opens some doors before the cédula.
Ask any expat in Uruguay which document matters most and they'll say the same thing: your cédula de identidad. It's the little ID card — and the number on it — that unlocks banking, contracts, phone plans and health cover. Here's a friendly guide to what it is, how you actually get one, and the tax-number shortcut that helps in the meantime.
What the cédula actually is
The cédula de identidad is Uruguay's national identity card, and the number printed on it is your key to daily life. You'll quote it to open a bank account, sign a lease, join a health mutualista, get a phone plan and sign almost any contract — much like the role a CPF plays in Brazil.
Everyone living in Uruguay carries one, residents and citizens alike. The modern card carries a photo, fingerprint and chip, and it can be used digitally through services like the cédula digital, TuID from Antel or Identidad Digital from Abitab.
Why it comes after residency
Here's the part newcomers often miss: you can't simply request a cédula as a tourist. It's issued once you have a certificado de residencia from the Dirección Nacional de Migración.
When you begin the residency process, Migración produces a digital certificate showing you as a resident in process, and that document is exactly what lets Identificación Civil issue your card. So the real sequence is straightforward: start your residency, receive the certificate, then collect your cédula.
The documents you'll need
To get the card you'll generally need your partida de nacimiento (birth certificate), apostilled or legalized and translated by a traductor público, then registered in the foreigners section of the Registro Civil. You'll also bring the certificado de residencia from Migración, a valid passport and a passport photo.
Documents born from countries that signed the apostille convention are simplest, and anything issued electronically that can be verified online may skip the apostille altogether. Applicants born in the United States arrange a national police-record check through Interpol in Montevideo, which requests it from the FBI.
How the appointment works
You book the appointment, called an audiencia, through the official Tuapp or the online system, then pay the fee in cash or by debit card in pesos. On the day, you attend a DNIC office in person with your original documents, where staff take your photo and fingerprints on the spot.
The visit itself is quick — often around ten minutes once your paperwork is in order. The migratory certificate used for that first card costs about 55.7 indexed units, a modest sum, and the first cédula you receive is valid for two years.
The RUT shortcut and life afterwards
If you need a local tax identifier before full residency and a cédula come through, the RUT from the DGI tax office is worth knowing about. It's available to non-residents who have taxable activity in Uruguay, it's faster to obtain, and it opens some private-bank and business doors in the meantime.
Once you hold the cédula, everything gets easier: it becomes your login for gub.uy government services, your identifier at the bank, and the document health plans and landlords expect. Carrying ID is normal here, so keep it on you.
Keeping your cédula current
Treat the card as something to maintain, not just obtain. Because the first cédula is valid for two years, set a reminder well before it expires so a renewal never catches you off guard.
Renewals are simpler than the first issue and are handled at Identificación Civil, and keeping the card valid matters because an expired ID can stall a bank transaction or a contract signing. A small tip: photograph both sides of your cédula and store the image securely, so you always have the number to hand when a form asks for it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cédula de identidad?
It's Uruguay's national ID card and number — the everyday key for banking, leases, phone plans and health cover. Residents and citizens alike carry one.
Can a tourist get a cédula?
No. The cédula is issued once your residency is in process and the Dirección Nacional de Migración has given you a residence certificate, which Identificación Civil then uses to issue the card.
What documents do I need?
Typically an apostilled, translated birth certificate, your residence certificate from Migración, a valid passport and a photo. Applicants born in the US arrange a police-record check through Interpol and the FBI.
How long is the first cédula valid?
The first card issued is valid for two years; renewals are then for longer periods.
Is there a faster tax number?
Yes — the RUT from the DGI tax office is available to non-residents with taxable activity and is quicker to obtain than full residency, opening some banking and business doors in the meantime.
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, immigration or financial advice. Uruguay's rules change, so confirm current requirements with official sources — the Dirección Nacional de Migración, the DGI tax office and the Banco Central del Uruguay — and consult a qualified Uruguayan escribano or abogado before acting. Information is current as of June 2026.
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