lima and Callao will implement mandatory telework for public servants between March 9 and 14, yet the Registro Nacional de Identificación y Estado Civil (Reniec) will continue in-person attention at all its agencies to preserve identity services.
What happens to identification services in Lima?
The Reniec affirmed that it will keep serving the public at all its offices nationwide despite the temporary telework mandate. The institution specified that in-person attention will be maintained for the period of March 9 to March 13 and that service hours will remain the regular schedule of Monday to Friday from 8: 45 a. m. to 4: 45 p. m. Reniec emphasized that identification services are considered essential because of their role in enabling citizen rights and participation in electoral processes.
Reniec also urged citizens to use its digital platforms when possible, particularly for procedures such as renewals or duplicate issuance of the national identity document, to streamline operations during the exceptional period.
What are the forces shaping this response?
The current arrangement is the product of several administrative and operational decisions explicitly set out by public institutions. The Autoridad Nacional del Servicio Civil formalized a mandatory and exceptional telework regime through Resolución de Presidencia Ejecutiva N° 000040-2026-SERVIR-PE, establishing total telework for civil servants located in Lima Metropolitana and the Constitutional Province of Callao between March 9 and March 14. The measure was taken in the context of an emergency tied to the supply of natural gas.
At the same time, the resolution requires public institutions to ensure continuity of services to the citizenry and permits maintaining in-person operations for activities considered indispensable. Entities explicitly identified as able to sustain presencial attention include:
- electoral bodies such as the national electoral jury and the national office for electoral processes;
- health establishments;
- fiscalization and supervisory organisms;
- transport-related services;
- identity and civil registry services, including Reniec.
These elements together explain why Reniec’s operational choice was to sustain its usual office schedule even as many public servants shift to telework for the defined period.
What should citizens and institutions do next?
Citizens who need identity-related procedures should expect in-person attention at Reniec offices during the stated hours on business days of the covered interval, and whenever feasible they should make use of online platforms for renewals and duplicates to reduce wait times and simplify processing. Public institutions will apply telework for civil servants in the affected jurisdictions during March 9–14, after which workers are to resume the modality they had prior to the measure. Institutions that must remain operational are to ensure continuity for indispensable functions, consistent with the resolution’s provisions.
Given the limited scope of the exceptional telework order and the explicit allowances for essential services, the immediate effect should be continuity of civil identification services while broader public administration functions operate remotely in the defined districts; stakeholders should plan accordingly and follow Reniec’s guidance for procedures in lima
