# Do you ever go out without ID? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2020, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764 "2020-02-11T12:58:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/61 "2020-02-11T21:25:51Z")
I never leave the house without my wallet, including ID. You never know. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/62 "2020-02-11T21:47:14Z")
Always. My big Baggallini wallet contains DL marked “veteran”, health / credit / debit / library / store cards, money, and US passport. Don’t leave home without it. A chain holds house & cars keys, tiny Swiss Army knife, whistle, P38 can opener, Army dogtag, and tiny flashlight. If leaving house, grab those, Android phone, and voice recorder. If walking in the neighborhood (formerly with now-deceased dog), carry those, and a tinwhistle to repel attacks. Almost all that stuff (hopefully not the tinwhistle) can be useful or needed whenever I’m beyond our small acreage. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/63 "2020-02-11T21:56:46Z")
For decades, the only time I went out with no ID was when I would go running at the school field a block away. Now that the knees have confined me to the treadmill (at the gym which I have to drive to) I pretty much never leave the house without ID. I’ve worked all my life on secure military compounds, which may have shaped the habit. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/64 "2020-02-11T22:03:03Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > As someone who doesn’t have a smart phone - is there a way to put your ID on your phone? Yeah, I suppose you could photograph your license, and I’ve heard of putting EMERGENCY CONTACT in your contact list so if someone finds you unresponsive, they’d know who to call. But I think it would make sense to have a place on your phone where you’d have your name, address, photo, and maybe some contact numbers. Of course, if your phone is lost or stolen, someone else has access to that info. > > I dunno… stream of consciousness here. But avoidance of being “John/Jane Doe” seems to be pretty important to me. iPhone has something called Medical ID. You can access it by clicking “emergency” on the home screen without logging in (via passcode, thumbprint or facial recognition) and then “Medical ID” (the other option is a phone dialpad from which one can dial 911). This gives someone who isn’t you access to your medical ID info. [Here’s instructions on how to add Medical ID info to the iPhone.](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207021) You are right though - if the phone is lost or stolen, someone immediately has access to it. So, don’t put your SSN or credit card 🙂 Oh and before smartphones, it was a big thing to put “ICE” as a contact name for a phone number in your phone. “In Case of Emergency”. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/65 "2020-02-11T22:22:26Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > iPhone has something called Medical ID. You can access it by clicking “emergency” on the home screen without logging in (via passcode, thumbprint or facial recognition) and then “Medical ID” (the other option is a phone dialpad from which one can dial 911). This gives someone who isn’t you access to your medical ID info. That only works if the phone isn’t damaged (cracked screen) or destroyed & makes it to the hospital with you. If, for instance your phone was out when you car was hit, it could be anywhere in the passenger compartment (or even out of it) in an accident. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/66 "2020-02-11T22:43:09Z")
If I’m going further than the end of my driveway, I will always have my wallet (with drivers license and various payment cards in it). Even if I’m not going that far, chances are I will grab either my phone or my keys (getting locked out of the house is not something anyone _plans_ to do). ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/67 "2020-02-12T00:31:01Z")
I’m out in the country. I wander for miles at times with no ID on me. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/68 "2020-02-12T00:39:20Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I never leave the house without my wallet, including ID. You never know. I always have my ID on me, even if I’m working out at the gym or swimming. This is so they can quickly identify the body if something were to happen to me. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/69 "2020-02-12T00:41:16Z")
My pants don’t feel right without my wallet in my front pocket, so I carry ID even while inside the house. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/70 "2020-02-12T00:59:58Z")
I carry my license when driving, but it stays in the car. There’s no place in this county where I couldn’t cash a check without an ID; it’s a small town, and I am recognized by an amazing number of people. If I get hit by a car, the cop will probably know who I am without documentation unless I am decapitated and he can’t see a face. So there’s really no reason for me to carry an ID away from a car. There is one exception…one grocery store has a policy of carding everyone, regardless of age or appearance, when buying liquor. 85 year-old grandmas get carded. 90 year-old grandpas get carded. I have my own policy of avoiding this store, and once left an entire shopping cart for them to put back when they wanted an ID and I couldn’t provide it. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/71 "2020-02-12T02:10:45Z")
Domestically, I always have ID with me, at the very least because I’m driving. When I travel internationally and am parked in the city I’ll be staying in, I leave my ID and most of my plastic in a safe at the hotel or AirBnB and just walk around with cash and a debit card to get more cash. And of course the hotel / airbnb swipe key if it’s not a door-code setup. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/72 "2020-02-12T02:44:49Z")
My ID stays in my wallet, and I would almost never leave my apt without my wallet. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/73 "2020-02-12T04:16:03Z")
For the last ten years in the US, I never went out WITH any ID, unlesss I knew I was going to need it for some demanding reason. I did not drive, had a state ID and a passport. Before leaving the house, I’d slip my credit card or library card in my shirt pocket, depending on which I expected to need. I didn’t carry keys, either, since I never locked my door. You have no idea how liberating it feels, to not worry about that kind of shit. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/74 "2020-02-12T07:28:30Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I’ve read a bunch of stories on sites like [Not Always Right](https://notalwaysright.com/) where a store clerk will ask for ID and the customer claims not to have any. These aren’t necessarily underage kids trying to buy beer - some are adults who apparently don’t carry ID with them. > > I don’t go anywhere without my purse, especially when driving, so I have my wallet and my license with me. Even on vacation in situations where I’m neither driving nor planning to buy alcohol, I’ll make sure my license is in my pocket - how else will the police identify my body?? :eek: But seriously, it seems a simple, common-sense thing to have a form of identification on your person, just in case. > > Do you ever wander about anonymously? If so, why? I love reading that site =) I rarely go without my messenger bag, and have an everyday carry ‘list’ because it generally stays packed except for my daily pill pack [though I do actually keep 3 days of meds with the exception of my lantus, I have to grab my vial and syringe case and glucometer reader [I have a sensor that gets inserted into the back of my arm every 14 days] > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I actually have dogtags on, most days. > I have medic alert info that needs to be clear if I have a problem. > I usually have my drivers lisc…even if I’m not driving, as well. I also wear dogtags 😃 > [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > Normally I carry my photocard driving licence in my wallet, but I seem to have mislaid it at the moment, so I have to make a special effort to remember my passport if I’ll be needing photo ID. > > . I have both the US passport and the passport ID card, the card is resident in my wallet, the passport is in my lockbox, I only get it out if we are leaving the country otehr than to Canada, for that I can use my passport card > [@enipla](#): > > Don’t go anywhere without - > > [ul] > [li]Wallet, and thus my ID/drivers license.[/li][li]Sunglasses (maybe if my Wife and I go out at night, but that’s rare, we are homebodies, and live pretty remote)[/li][li]Keys[/li][li]Pocket knife[/li][/ul] Hm, must not be glasses wearers for near/far sightedness? Our glasses are photogray/change to turn into sunglasses with solar exposure. > [@kayaker](#): > > I feel bad for anyone named Puddentaine who gets asked their name by the police. You just know it won’t go well, no matter how often he repeats his name. RPTFLMAO > [@Senegoid](#): > > Or, cut out the middledog and get yourself chipped. > > Most of those Not Always Right stories where someone is being a jerk about showing their ID seem to be cases where someone just feels insulted by being asked for ID, or is being defiant just to be defiant. I had actually been thinking of getting myself chipped 😛 I already have a [bodytag](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/409405422358924351/?lp=true). I ran into a guy last hospital stay who as a joke had a classic hospital bracelet tattooed on his wrist [name, blood type, DOB and a VR code, not sure what info it was though] ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/75 "2020-02-12T07:29:17Z")
No I always have my ID with me as required by the authoritarian state of Japan, just like in the Chinas and the Koreas. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/76 "2020-02-12T08:23:17Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > No I always have my ID with me as required by the authoritarian state of Japan, just like in the Chinas and the Koreas. Here in Philippines, it is not required to carry ID at all times, either for nationals or aliens. But my wife keeps my old expired ACR in her purse. I keep the current one safely at home. My wife has no national ID as such, but for day-to-day, any government-issued card will do. Neither of us drive, so no DL. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/77 "2020-02-12T10:49:39Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > For the last ten years in the US, I never went out WITH any ID, unlesss I knew I was going to need it for some demanding reason. I did not drive, had a state ID and a passport. Before leaving the house, I’d slip my credit card or library card in my shirt pocket, depending on which I expected to need. I didn’t carry keys, either, since I never locked my door. > > You have no idea how liberating it feels, to not worry about that kind of shit. It must be very liberating to have the privilege not to worry about that shit. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/78 "2020-02-12T11:24:41Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It must be very liberating to have the privilege not to worry about that shit. It’s liberating to recognize the privilege and exercise it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/79 "2020-02-12T12:03:49Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > My pants don’t feel right without my wallet in my front pocket, so I carry ID even while inside the house. Wait, you wear pants while inside your house?! ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2020, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764/80 "2020-02-12T12:36:43Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > My pants don’t feel right without my wallet in my front pocket, so I carry ID even while inside the house. That’s me. I won’t go outside without pants, obviously. The last time I forgot to take my wallet with me was a pain. I was excited about getting a new computer but had to rush to work. I only realized I didn’t have my ID on the subway. I had less than $1.00 in change on me, plus a couple of bus tokens (but at least I had packed my lunch). > [@kayaker](#): > > Wait, you wear pants while inside your house?! Is that unusual? I have something like sweat pants or pajama pants I wear at home, but I’m not going to walk around in only boxers or briefs even at home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-go-out-without-id/847764.md?page=5)