[1] Albania issued identity cards to citizens until 1991, the year the political system changed.

For 18 years, in the absence of such a document, people were obliged to provide birth certificates with photos, which was considered inconvenient.

The microchip, visible on the back contains biometric data such as fingerprints of the holder, the image, signature, etc.

An Albanian identity card is requested at the local municipality (after paying the required fee; presently 1,500 lek or about €10 at the post office) where a digital picture of the bearer's face and fingerprints are taken.

An Albanian ID Card is accepted as a travel document by the following countries: Safran Aleat under the concessionary contract offers eALEAT Services, which are the new identity services,[9] on behalf of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA),[10] through a secure platform that provides identity trust to any electronic transaction, for which Aleat is certified by NAEC.