The ID card is becoming more expensive

The Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) is planning to increase the fees for the ID card. A corresponding "ordinance procedure" has been initiated, said a spokesperson for the ministry at the request of c't. The ministry would not provide details on the exact amount of the planned fees due to the ongoing process.

Currently, the standard fee for an ID card is 37 euros. Applicants under the age of 24 pay 22.80 euros. There is also a fee for the biometric photo. This is 6 euros if the digital photo is taken by the authorities when the application is made. The standard fee of 37 euros has been in place since January 1, 2021 – previously the Perso cost 28.80 euros.

The background to the planned fee increase is cost increases at Bundesdruckerei. It has already increased the product prices for ID documents such as passports and ID cards by around 4.90 euros as of August 1. This does not refer to the fees paid by the applicants, but to the prices charged by the Bundesdruckerei to the local authorities.

Association of Cities and Towns calls for further fee increases

The BMI spokesperson told c't that the procedure for increasing the fees had been initiated in order to "keep the burden on local authorities" with regard to the ID card "justifiable". The BMI does not want to increase the fees for passports, as these were already adjusted two years ago. The administrative costs for passports are calculated in such a way that a sufficient proportion remains even after price adjustments, said the BMI spokesperson.

However, the German Association of Cities sees things differently: "The calculation for applications, advice and expenses in the citizens' offices is already on the edge and the cities are usually already paying for it due to higher costs for personnel and energy," said Christian Schuchardt, Chief Executive of the Association of Cities. If the prices charged by the Federal Printing Office rise, the federal government will therefore have to increase the fees for passports and immigration documents by the same amount.

The fees for ID documents are basically made up of two factors: the product price for an ID card and a share of the administrative costs that remains with the local authority. The product price is determined by the Bundesdruckerei "following an audit by externally appointed auditors", explained the BMI. The share of administrative costs is determined by the Federal Statistical Office.

The switch to digital photos also plays a role

The switch to digital passport photos also plays a role in the increase in product prices: The Bundesdruckerei is currently – equipping thousands of local authorities in many places with biometric photo recording systems ("PointID") after a delay. The local authorities were originally supposed to pass on the fees of 6 euros per photo to the Bundesdruckerei, but in spring the BMI decided that the full amount would remain with the local authorities "to compensate for the increased administrative costs".

The private providers of biometric photo capture systems, who offer local authorities alternatives to PointID, are therefore accusing the BMI of unfair competition: The PointID systems would now be cross-financed by the general ID card fees (you can read more about this in the current issue of the free c't newsletter D.digital). The BMI rejected this accusation to c't: The consideration of the manufacturing and maintenance costs for the PointID devices would have a "rather minor" effect on the expected increase in fees. The BMI estimated the costs for the PointID systems over a period of five years at 171 million euros in 2020.

(cwo)