Universiteit Leiden

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Activating your LU-card

To be able to activate your LU-Card online, it is necessary that you confirm your identity. We use the ReadID Ready app for this. On this page you will see what you need to confirm your identity.

What do you need?

  1. Your ULCN credentials
  2. Your new LU-Card
  3. Your valid identity document
  4. A suitable smartphone: 
    • iPhone 7 or later or 
    • Android with an OS of 5.0 or higher with NFC enabled

What if you do not have a suitable smartphone?

Try to borrow a smartphone that meets the above requirements. It doesn’t matter if you don’t own the phone; it is simply a means to be able to perform the verification. After verification, no data remains on the mobile phone.

If you do not have the above supplies, you cannot activate your LU-Card online. Please visit an LU-Card Helpdesk to do so.

How does it work?

  1. Get a mobile phone and your identity document
  2. Download the ReadID Ready app to your mobile phone
  3. Go to the LU-Card activation page https://lu-card-activeren.universiteitleiden.nl/ and use your ULCN credentials to log in
  4. A QR code will appear on screen
  5. Click on the QR code to open the ReadID Ready app
  6. Scan your identity document with the camera of the mobile phone
  7. Hold your identity document against your phone
  8. Upon successful verification, you will see a confirmation on the mobile phone
  9. Your LU-Card will be activated within a few minutes

If online activation is not an option for you, you can visit a LU-Card Helpdesk.

Frequently Asked Questions

With the ReadID Ready app we can verify your identity online. You do not need to go to a LU-Card Service Desk for identification and activation of your LU-Card.

ReadID Ready provides identity document verification on behalf of Leiden University. This verification is done by checking your personal data. For security reasons, we need to store your personal data on our servers for one week.

None of the information that is scanned or read from the chip, is stored in the application or on the phone. As soon as you close the app, the information is deleted from the phone. For more information see the Privacy Policy of ReadID Ready.

Leiden University receives the name details from your proof of identity for the activation of your LU-Card.

More information about the ReadID Ready App can be found on the ReadID Ready user page.

For iOS, you need an iPhone 7 or up, running iOS 13.1 or up. iPads do not work since they do not have the required NFC capability.

For Android, you need to have version Android 5 or up with NFC. By far most Android smartphones have this. Some Android tablet have this as well. Please make sure NFC is enabled.

When you close the app, all information obtained by reading the chip is deleted. No personal information remains on the phone.

After successful online verification of your identity, your LU-Card will be activated within two working days. Do you want to see the status of your LU-Card? Sign in to Account Services with your ULCN credentials. On your profile page, the LU-Card tab shows the status of your card. If the status is valid, the activation is complete.

Please go to a LU-Card Helpdesk to have your LU-Card activated.

Please contact a LU-Card Helpdesk.

Scanning the QR code should be easy and fast. Try either of the following:

  • You need two devices. Retrieve the QR code with your computer or tablet and scan the code with the mobile phone.
  • Keep the phone closer or further away from the QR code. The QR code should fit in the rectangle on the phone's screen.
  • Turn or move the phone to avoid glare.

QR codes are personal and can only be used once. After verifying your identity, the QR code expires.

When the verification process is interrupted, the QR code is in use. This is a security feature to prevent the code from being used on multiple devices at the same time. Generate a new QR code.

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