Free NIC to Birthday Converter
Sri Lanka's free NIC decoder: enter an old or new NIC number to instantly convert it to the date of birth (DOB), age, gender, and the day of the week the person was born — plus the converted NIC number. Private and real-time.
🔒 Your NIC is processed entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded, stored, or sent anywhere.
Instant
Decodes date of birth, age, gender & weekday in real time as you type.
Private
Runs in your browser — your NIC never leaves your device.
Old & New
Works with both old (9-digit) and new (12-digit) NIC formats.
Converts NIC
Automatically shows the equivalent old/new NIC number.
How the Sri Lankan NIC number works
Every Sri Lankan NIC number has meaning built into its digits. The old NIC has 9 digits and a letter (e.g. 851234567V): the first two digits are the birth year, the next three are the day of the year, followed by a serial number, a check digit, and a voting letter (V or X). The new NIC has 12 digits (e.g. 198512304567) and uses the full four-digit birth year.
Gender is encoded in the day-of-year field: for females, 500 is added to the day number. The day of year itself is counted as if every year has 366 days (February always counts as 29), which is how this tool accurately works out the exact date of birth.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find a birthday (date of birth) from a NIC number?+
Type the NIC number into the converter above and the date of birth appears instantly. To do it by hand: read the birth year (the first 2 digits of an old NIC, or the first 4 digits of a new NIC), then take the next 3 digits as the day of the year. If that number is above 500 the holder is female, so subtract 500. Count that many days from 1 January, treating February as 29 days. For example, 851234567V is year 1985, day 123, which is 2 May 1985.
Can I convert a birthday to a NIC number (DOB to NIC)?+
Only partly. A date of birth and gender fix the first part of a NIC: the birth year followed by the day-of-year number (plus 500 for females). Someone born on 2 May 1985 has an old NIC starting 85123 if male or 85623 if female, and a new NIC starting 1985123 or 1985623. The remaining serial and check digits are assigned by the Department for Registration of Persons, so the full NIC number cannot be worked out from a birthday alone.
What information can you get from a Sri Lankan NIC number?+
A Sri Lankan NIC encodes the holder's year of birth, day of the year (which gives the exact date of birth), and gender. From that we can also work out the person's current age and the day of the week they were born. Old NICs additionally carry a voting-eligibility letter (V or X).
What is the difference between the old and new NIC?+
The old NIC has 9 digits followed by a letter (V or X), e.g. 851234567V, and uses a 2-digit birth year. The new NIC, introduced around 2016, has 12 digits with no letter, e.g. 198512304567, and uses the full 4-digit birth year plus an extra serial digit.
How does the NIC show gender?+
The 3-digit day-of-year field encodes gender. For males the value is the day of the year (001–366). For females, 500 is added — so a value above 500 means female, and you subtract 500 to get the real day of birth.
How do I convert an old NIC to a new NIC?+
Add '19' in front of the old number and insert a '0' before the serial number. For example, 851234567V becomes 198512304567. This tool does the conversion automatically.
Is this NIC decoder safe and private?+
Yes. Everything is calculated locally in your browser. Your NIC number is never uploaded, stored, or sent to any server.
Need a custom system for your business?
Senithu Software Solutions builds software, websites, and apps — including HR, membership, and identity systems — for businesses across Sri Lanka. Get a free quote.
Contact SenithuExplore: Custom software development · Web development · Pricing