PINFL is a personal identification number: a unique fourteen-digit number assigned to a person once. A foreign national obtains it against a passport at a public services centre or at a migration unit of the internal affairs bodies, and no fee is charged for issuance. Without a PINFL you cannot be identified in state systems, which means no e-signature, no company registration and no bank account.
Key takeaways
The PINFL is a numeric identifier, not a sheet of paper and not a plastic card, so there is no "PINFL document" to collect. Under the administrative regulation approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 177 of 12.04.2022, the number consists of fourteen digits: an index of sex and century of birth, the date of birth, the district or city code, a sequential number and a check digit.
That structure has a practical consequence: the number belongs to the person, not to their immigration status. The regulation allows it to be reissued in four cases only — if the number was generated with an error, on a change of date of birth, on a change of sex and on adoption. A change of surname, a visa extension or a move to another city do not change it.
Physically the PINFL lives in the foreign national's ID card, in a residence permit and in state databases. It can also be obtained separately as a certificate: the operator issues one at the applicant's request, and through the single portal the PINFL certificate is generated automatically and free of charge.
Because it is the identification key to every state and banking service. The preamble to the same resolution puts it plainly: the personal identification number "is the single identifier of a citizen in the provision of state, banking, social and other services", and tax authorities keep taxpayer records using it.
In practice a foreign founder needs the number in order to:
The sequence is rigid: the number first, everything else after it. Starting with company registration ends with nobody being able to identify the foreign founder — our walkthrough of company registration begins with exactly this step.
There are three routes, and they differ not in speed but in where you physically are.
| Route | Issuing body | What is required | Term under the regulation |
|---|---|---|---|
| In person, while in Uzbekistan | A public services centre or a migration and citizenship unit of the internal affairs bodies | A foreign passport; for permanent residents, a residence permit; at a migration unit, a certificate of registration at the place of stay | One working day from the electronic application, for temporary and permanent residents |
| Through an authorised representative | A public services centre | A power of attorney recognised in the established manner, a copy of the principal's identity document, a digital photograph to the ICAO standard and the representative's identity document | No separate term is set by the regulation |
| Remotely from abroad | The Ministry of Internal Affairs through the e-Residency platform | A copy of the identity document, a digital photograph to the ICAO standard and an online Face-ID biometric check | Three working days |
The terms in the table are the time the ministry takes to generate the number once the application has entered the system. On its page about the PINFL for foreign citizens, the my.gov.uz portal gives a service term of 2–4 working days, which also covers the operator's work at the centre. Plan against the larger figure.
Nothing. Clause 2 of the regulation states it in one line: "no fee is charged for the issuance of a personal identification number". A certificate confirming the assigned number is also free through the single state services portal and is generated automatically.
What can be paid for are the centre's accompanying services, not the number itself. In April 2026 in Tashkent we paid around 426,000 soums for expedited service and collected the number the same day — roughly 36 dollars at the official Central Bank rate of 18 September 2026. That is our own experience rather than an approved tariff: the set of paid services differs between centres, so check the list and the price on the spot.
Important If you are asked to pay "for the PINFL", the payment is not for the number. The number itself is issued free of charge under the regulation, and you can refer to that rule.
The order is: registration at the place of stay, the PINFL, a SIM card, OneID and the e-signature, personal cards and only then the company. Every step rests on the previous one, so the order matters more than the speed.
Registration at the place of stay comes first for a practical reason: the migration unit asks for the certificate, and the three-day term runs from the date of entry, not from the day your schedule frees up.
Because since 2026 this is a condition of access to banking applications. Central Bank Regulation No. 3759, registered on 21 January 2026, came into force on 22 April 2026 and introduced a check that the phone number matches the user's PINFL: where they do not match, registration in the mobile application and linking of a bank card are not allowed.
Two consequences follow. First, the number must be registered to you, not to an acquaintance or to a company. Second, the same number becomes the main one for internet banking, the e-signature, payment confirmations and state services, so changing it later costs more than choosing it once.
Tip Do not leave the mobile operator's shop until the staff show you that the number is issued against your passport and linked to your PINFL. Re-registration means a second visit, and without a working number neither the e-signature nor the banking application will start.
One more detail that derails plans: a handset brought with you and used with a local SIM card has to be registered by its IMEI. Under the current tariffs that is 88,000 soums within the first 30 days of use and 110,000 soums later; in roaming with a foreign SIM card registration is free.
The regulation provides two routes without a personal visit. The first is an authorised representative: the PINFL is issued to a foreign national who operates in Uzbekistan through an authorised representative, on the basis of a power of attorney recognised in the manner established by law.
The second is the e-Residency platform: a digital system that lets a foreign national pass identification online without being physically present and receive the number for business activity or for using state services. The applicant enters the identity document data and passes a Face-ID biometric check, and the number is generated within three working days.
A practical caveat: on its page for foreigners the my.gov.uz portal still directs applicants to a public services centre. If you are counting on the remote route, check in advance whether the platform is available for your country and keep the power of attorney as a fallback.
They cost not money but repeat visits and a delayed launch.
The last point is more common than it sounds. Someone received the number a year earlier during another procedure, forgot about it and comes back for a "new" one, when what they need is a certificate for the number they already have.
Syntra Systems is an IT company from Tashkent and an IT Park resident. We went through the PINFL, the e-signature and the registration of a legal entity ourselves, which is why this text links to the regulation and to the state services portal: every figure can be opened and checked. We do not provide legal or immigration services — that is the work of specialist advisers.
Our part starts later, once the company is running and needs a working IT foundation: records of enquiries and clients, systems connected to each other, servers and support. On the technical support page the nearest services are support of working systems from $700 a month and project development from $1,500 a month.
Two further walkthroughs are useful further along a foreign founder's path: how to open a corporate account and pass the bank check and how to obtain IT Park resident status.
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A PINFL is a personal number: a single identifier used across state, banking and social services, and it's what tax records are kept against. A company's TIN is a separate number, assigned when the legal entity is registered.
There are two routes: an authorised representative with a power of attorney, a copy of your passport and an ICAO-standard photo, or the ‘e-Residency’ platform with an online Face-ID check and a three-business-day turnaround. The my.gov.uz portal still redirects foreigners to a public services centre, so check e-Residency's availability for your country in advance and keep the power of attorney as a backup.
No. The regulation allows the number to be reissued in four cases only: if it was generated with an error, on a change of date of birth, on a change of sex and on adoption. A change of surname, a new passport, a visa extension and a move to another city leave the number untouched.
The number itself is free — that's clause 2 of the regulation — and the certificate through the public services portal is free too. What can cost money are the centre's add-on services: in April 2026 in Tashkent we paid about 426,000 soums for expedited processing and got the number the same day — that's our own experience, not a fixed rate.
It will not be issued again: an application is refused if the person already has a number. The number is recovered through a certificate — the operator issues one at the applicant's request, and through the single state services portal the certificate is generated automatically and free of charge.
A temporary resident needs a passport, a permanent resident a residence permit, and a stateless person a travel document; a migration office will also ask for a certificate of registration at the place of stay. Through a representative you need a power of attorney, a copy of the principal's passport, an ICAO-standard digital photo and the representative's own ID.
For banking, yes. Since 22 April 2026 a Central Bank requirement has applied: during registration in a mobile application the PINFL of the phone number's owner is checked against the client's PINFL, and where they differ registration and card linking are not allowed.
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