A compact CMOS anti-fuse memory cell. In one aspect, an apparatus includes an N-well and an anti-fuse cell formed on the N-well. The anti-fuse cell includes a lightly doped drain (LDD) region deposited in the N-well, an oxide layer deposited on the N-well and having an overlapping region that overlaps the LDD region, and a control gate deposited on the oxide layer, wherein a bit of the anti-fuse cell is programmed when a voltage difference between the control gate and the LDD region exceeds a voltage threshold of the oxide layer and forms a leakage path from the control gate to the LDD region, and wherein the leakage path is confined to occur in the overlapping region.