Supplemental Identification
If your driver's license, military id, U.S. or valid foreign passport or state-issued id was issued more than six months ago, then you can properly identify yourself. However, if it was issued within six months, it is not sufficient to prove your identity.
The main reason for making a personal appearance at a post office or courthouse is for the acceptance agent to establish that you are, indeed, who you say you are. The clerk verifies your identity by checking your driver’s license and ascertaining that the person in the driver’s license photo is you. The clerk also verifies that the passport photos you submit are, in fact, pictures of you. Persons wanting to commit passport fraud are more likely to secure a drivers license then go and secure a passport. To prohibit this, the passport agency requires that you must have had your current driver’s license for at least six months. If you have not had your driver’s license for six months – even if it was renewed, you must produce other proof of identity. If you do not, the issuance of your passport will be suspended.
Submit photocopies of at least four documents listed below. Do not submit original copies of the documents; send only photocopies. The passport agency is looking for official documents prepared by a third party and which were issued in the past - ideally some should have been issued longer than 5 years ago. Documents that bear your photograph, signature and/or physical description are particularly helpful. You should submit at least one copy of a current picture identification such as a driver’s license, state-issued or military identification. |
Other documents that you can submit include:
Employment ID cards/records – such as a pay stub or W-2 form
Governmental IDs
Student IDs
Current or expired driver’s license
Military or government service records
Union membership cards
Welfare, Medicare, Medicaid IDs
Professional license cards
Mortgage, lease or rental documents
Driver’s license
Medicare, Medicaid or welfare cards or records
Marriage certificate or license
School or college transcripts, diplomas or yearbooks showing name and photo
Insurance cards or records
Expired passports
Baptismal certificates or records
Circumcision certificates or records
Voter registration card
Tax records
Banking records and ATM cards
Newspaper articles showing your name and/or photo
Children’s birth certificates showing parent’s names
Social Security card and records |