Should you state your sex or gender in Iceland?

In practice: Avoid unless relevant

Resume rules in Iceland

Q: Should you put a photo on your CV in Iceland?

In practice: Optional; rarely required unless specifically requested What the law says: GDPR (EU 2016/679) + Icelandic Data Protection Act 90/2018: personal data processing must be necessary and justified; photos require lawful basis

Q: Should you include your date of birth in Iceland?

In practice: Optional; increasingly omitted in favor of skills-based focus What the law says: GDPR + Act 90/2018: data minimization; birth date not necessary unless relevant to role

What employers in Iceland expect on a Ferilskrá, what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.

Call it a CV for Iceland, a resume for Iceland, or Ferilskrá: it's the same document. Employers there usually want it written in Icelandic.

This is research, not legal advice. Employment and data protection law changes, state and provincial rules matter in federal countries, and practice varies by industry and seniority. Each entry shows when it was looked up and how confident we are. Where nothing reliable was published it says Not found rather than a guess.

Law and practice, side by side

The label on the right is what local hiring expects. The two lines under it are the law and the habit, which often disagree.

Photo: Optional

Optional; rarely required unless specifically requested

What the law says: GDPR (EU 2016/679) + Icelandic Data Protection Act 90/2018: personal data processing must be necessary and justified; photos require lawful basis

Date of birth: Optional

Optional; increasingly omitted in favor of skills-based focus

What the law says: GDPR + Act 90/2018: data minimization; birth date not necessary unless relevant to role

Marital status: Avoid

Avoid

Sex or gender: Avoid

Avoid unless relevant

Nationality: Optional

Optional

National ID number: Not found

Not found

The rest of the entry

Local name of the document: Ferilskrá
Language to submit in: Icelandic
Typical length: 1-2 pages
Address detail expected: Contact information (email, phone) required; full address optional
Signature and date: Not mentioned
Officially prescribed form: None; Europass format accepted
Religion, ethnicity or caste: GDPR: sensitive data; not to be requested
Health, disability or pregnancy: GDPR: sensitive data; only if necessary
Other customary attachments: References with contact information recommended
Named statutes: Icelandic Data Protection Act 90/2018 (implementing GDPR)
Data protection regime: GDPR (EU 2016/679) + Icelandic Act 90/2018 on Data Protection and Processing of Personal Data
Local language source: Icelandic

Where this came from

Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. Medium confidence. Result of that check: Confirmed.

Notes: Icelandic practice emphasizes skills over personal details to comply with anti-discrimination principles. GDPR and Act 90/2018 apply data minimization. Nordic transparency tradition conflicts with modern data protection.

Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this