Cabinet of Ministers amends the regulations of the biometric data processing system

The Cabinet of Ministers has adopted amendments to the Regulations No. 234 “Regulations on the Biometric Data Processing System” of May 6, 2014. The amendments were published as Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 550, and the notice regarding them is included in the September 22, 2026 issue of Latvijas Vēstnesis No. 182 (OP 2026/182). The publication can be found in the table of contents under the section “CONSTITUTIONAL INSTITUTIONS”, subsection “Cabinet of Ministers”, as item number 3.

The amendments affect the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 234 of May 6, 2014, the subject of which is the operation of the biometric data processing system. The basic regulations have been in force since 2014, and their scope is the processing of biometric data; therefore, the changes directly relate to the procedure for processing personal data and the operation of the state biometric system. Also published in the same issue is the Cabinet of Ministers Meeting Minutes No. 53, which indicates that several government decisions are compiled in the September 22 edition.

Official Reference and Publication Location

• Publisher: Latvijas Vēstnesis, the official publication of the Republic of Latvia.
• Publication date: September 22, 2026.
• Issue number: No. 182; official designation OP 2026/182.
• Section: “CONSTITUTIONAL INSTITUTIONS”, subsection “Cabinet of Ministers”.
• Item number in the table of contents: 3.
• Amendment act: Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 550.
• Regulations being amended: Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 234 “Regulations on the Biometric Data Processing System” of May 6, 2014.
• Public reference: https://www.vestnesis.lv/url/16981?content=1

Other Government Decisions in the Same Issue

Several other Cabinet of Ministers acts were published in the same issue as the biometric regulation amendments:

• Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 542 – amendments to Regulations No. 772 “Regulations on the Registration of Credit Intermediaries and Credit Intermediary Representatives” of December 13, 2016.
• Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 543 – amendments to Regulations No. 691 “Regulations on Consumer Lending” of October 25, 2016.
• Cabinet of Ministers Order No. 556 – regarding the allocation of financial resources from the state budget program “Funds for Unforeseen Events”.
• Cabinet of Ministers Meeting Minutes No. 53.

Ministry and Local Government Decisions

Decisions of the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development and local governments were also published in the same edition:

• Order of the Minister of Smart Administration and Regional Development No. P-1-2/116 – on the partial repeal of the suspension of Binding Regulation No. 9 of the Preiļi Municipality council.
• Order of the Minister of Smart Administration and Regional Development No. P-1-2/117 – on the partial repeal of the suspension of Binding Regulation No. 10 of the Bauska Municipality council.
• Liepāja City Council Binding Regulation No. 18 – amendments to Binding Regulation No. 39 of December 19, 2024, “On Municipal Support for the Implementation of Sports Projects in Liepāja”.
• South Courland Municipality Council Binding Regulation No. 2026/10 – amendments to Binding Regulation No. 2023/17 on the procedure for the management and registration of decentralized sewerage systems.

Why this affects residents

The regulations of the biometric data processing system are the legal basis upon which state institutions process a person’s biometric data; therefore, amendments to them affect every person whose data is included in this system. Publication in the official gazette is the moment from which the amendments become publicly available and verifiable. The table of contents provides only the official reference to the amendments, while the full text of the amendments is available in the official gazette.

Conclusion

Amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 234 of 2014 mean that the legal regulation of the state biometric data processing system is being updated, maintaining personal data protection requirements as one of the main conditions. Residents whose biometric data is processed in state systems must check the current version in the official gazette, as the directly published text, rather than the table of contents entry, determines the applicable procedure.

Official source: Latvijas Vēstnesis, September 22, 2026, No. 182 (OP 2026/182), section “CONSTITUTIONAL INSTITUTIONS” – Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 550 “Amendments to Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 234 of May 6, 2014 ‘Biometric Data Processing System Regulations’”. Public reference: https://www.vestnesis.lv/url/16981?content=1