# Do you have a valid passport? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 23, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872 "2019-11-23T15:10:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/61 "2019-11-25T00:48:46Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > There are some states that don’t like to accept a U.S. passport for buying age-restricted items because **their rules state that they can only accept their own states’ driver license.** Rather annoying. Do you have a cite for this assertion? ---
**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:** [November 25, 2019, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/62 "2019-11-25T00:58:01Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > On a side note, we live in California and consequently have to get the new REAL ID compliant drivers license for air travel within the US. Pain in the butt - have to deal with DMV. Not true. It’s a US thing, not a California thing, & you can use a passport or passport card (which is license/wallet-sized) instead of getting a RealID DL. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/63 "2019-11-25T01:05:56Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The issue with Real ID has nothing to do with California. To get a Real ID license you need proof of citizenship, like a passport, proof of your Social Security Number, like your original card, and two proofs of residence like a utility bill or property tax bill. > > My new license came when I was on a trip, and my old picture one expired in the middle of it (I had a paper temp license) so I used my passport this time, and it worked fine. Hmm, I haven’t had a social security card since about 1990, when I lost it. And my driver’s licence and passport have sightly different names. (My state doesn’t allow middle names on the driver’s licence,Z only a middle initial. My passport has my full legal name.) I am soooo looking forward to real id. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/64 "2019-11-25T01:52:18Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Hmm, I haven’t had a social security card since about 1990, when I lost it. And my driver’s licence and passport have sightly different names. (My state doesn’t allow middle names on the driver’s licence,Z only a middle initial. My passport has my full legal name.) I am soooo looking forward to real id. Have fun. My wife has lost sight in one eye, and if she renews in person she has to take another road test (which she passes.) She’s decided to keep with a normal license and use her passport to fly. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/65 "2019-11-25T11:45:51Z")
I got a passport a few years ago when I was about to graduate from my third bout of college. I had a hope that I would get a job that required international travel. So far, this hasn’t happened. The passport is good until 2024 though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/66 "2019-11-25T11:51:40Z")
Yes. They’re good for 10 years, which is conveniently (or not) about the frequency with which I travel internationally. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/67 "2019-11-25T11:58:40Z")
Yes, I’ve had one since I was a child. As well as international travel (4x per year on average), I have often used it as proof of ID, as we don’t have a national ID card in the UK, and for a long time driving licences didn’t have a photo (they do now). Anytime we have a new starter at work, they’re required to bring their passport as proof of eligibility to work. So it would be a bit awkward not to have one. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/68 "2019-11-25T12:37:40Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > U.S. Citizen, living in the Schengen area. Yep, I got a valid passport. And my residence permit, which I have to show if anyone wants to see my passport, as my passport does not contain a Schengen area entry stamp. Americans can only stay in the Schengen area for 90 days until they have a valid residence permit for the area. > > I have been asked for my residence permit in the U.S. (the airline doesn’t like it when you say you don’t have a return to U.S. flight booked), U.K. (not Schengen, so they shouldn’t care) and any time I have to show my passport traveling within the Schengen area. Often they don’t even ask to see a passport. > > My passport’s valid until August 2022. Global Entry is valid until my birthday in 2021, but I don’t actually have a card, which is only needed for crossing the border with an auto. > > Residence permit is good until 2023. So I have something to do in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Glad I only have one passport. My friend has two passports, plus an ID card for the European country and her residence permit. Something’s always needing attention. > > ETA > > There are some states that don’t like to accept a U.S. passport for buying age-restricted items because their rules state that they can only accept their own states’ driver license. Rather annoying. Do you mean some stores don’t like to accept passports or out of state ID? I do agree this is really annoying, especially when I’m clearly well over 21. I’ve mainly seen it near college campuses. When I lived in Columbus Ohio, I had to buy cigarettes for a 75 year old because she didn’t have an ID and one store was absolutely 100% card everyone. And, after a lifetime of heavy drinking and smoking, she looked every single one of those 75 years. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/69 "2019-11-25T13:38:44Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Do you mean some stores don’t like to accept passports or out of state ID? Right, as far as I can tell the usual situation is that _a particular business_ may not want to accept an ID that does not also show local or in-US residence even if the state (or even corporate HQ!) does not go that far. When combined with the relatively frequent instance of employees not being aware that some place or another is a component of the Greater USA (for instance, Puerto Rico or even New Mexico, fer cryin’ out loud) or having had it driven into their heads that everything they do not immediately recognize must be assumed fake, it sometimes [makes the news](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cvs-puerto-rican-drivers-license/). Then there’s how for some official situations such as obtaining the ID in the first place, or a voting registration or firearms transaction, you may be required to present proof of identity, of citizenship, AND of residence – passports allow you to pencil in an address but are not proof of place of domicile. ---
**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:** [November 25, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/70 "2019-11-25T15:04:53Z")
Of course I have a passport. It would be odd to be without one. I also secured passports for my kids when they were young, and they have used theirs. I used to keep my passport in my safe deposit box at the bank, retrieving it whenever we had travel plans. One day my gf mentioned (jokingly) that I’d be shit outa luck if I had to leave the country unexpectedly on a Sunday. I retrieved my passport and have kept it at home ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/71 "2019-11-25T18:48:17Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Do you have a cite for this assertion? Looking at the [law](https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-35-ps-health-and-safety/pa-st-sect-35-780-113-6.html), it states that any government ID is acceptable. The sales clerk had to call a manager because the training didn’t cover government ID other than the PA driver’s license. So, no cite. Just experience with incorrectly trained sale clerks and bartenders. ---
**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:** [November 25, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/72 "2019-11-25T18:51:26Z")
Don’t have one, never have had one, and don’t expect to ever need one. I have no relations that live outside the united states and I don’t travel to visit the ones that live here. If people want to visit me, they know where I live. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/73 "2019-11-25T19:29:28Z")
My US passport is valid till 2025 and my Canadian one till 2027. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/74 "2019-11-25T20:37:28Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Have fun. My wife has lost sight in one eye, and if she renews in person she has to take another road test (which she passes.) She’s decided to keep with a normal license and use her passport to fly. If she renews in person she has to take a road test, but if she renews by mail she doesn’t? Why in the world does that happen? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/75 "2019-11-25T20:58:10Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > If she renews in person she has to take a road test, but if she renews by mail she doesn’t? Why in the world does that happen? Beats me. She’s not legally blind or anything, and she always passes. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/76 "2019-11-25T21:04:17Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > So, no cite. Just experience with incorrectly trained sale clerks and bartenders. Thanks. That makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/77 "2019-11-25T21:05:01Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > That’s what happens when one of the poll options isn’t pie? 😉 You have 3.14159 valid passports? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2019, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/78 "2019-11-25T23:11:00Z")
Mine expires first quarter 2023. I use it to fly domestically (my non Real ID DL is jammed in my wallet and hard to remove) Brian ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/79 "2019-11-26T13:12:06Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Looking at the [law](https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-35-ps-health-and-safety/pa-st-sect-35-780-113-6.html), it states that any government ID is acceptable. The sales clerk had to call a manager because the training didn’t cover government ID other than the PA driver’s license. > > So, no cite. Just experience with incorrectly trained sale clerks and bartenders. This extreme carding business seems to be a particularly American business. Shops here (UK) often had a sign/sticker by the tills which says “if you look under 25, we may ask for ID”. But no one is seriously going to card a 50 year old. I got carded when I was about 40 by some cashier-robot and I just laughed, and asked them to count my grey hairs instead (we don’t habitually have to carry ID, so the policy wouldn’t work here anyway). I was still served. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872/80 "2019-11-26T13:59:34Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > (we don’t habitually have to carry ID, so the policy wouldn’t work here anyway). I was still served. Some stores in the US will not allow the clerk to process the sale of alcohol without scanning the driver’s license or ID. It doesn’t matter the age or perceived age of the customer, the register won’t process the sale without ID. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-valid-passport/843872.md?page=5)