# Do you have government issued I.D.? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644 "2012-03-13T13:27:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/21 "2012-03-13T16:05:46Z")
I guess I do if Medicaid cards count, but I wouldn’t count them. Otherwise, no. I always meant to go get one whenever it came up, but it never did. My college ID even worked for a lot of things you’d think you needed an ID for. And no employer ever needed more than my social security number. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/22 "2012-03-13T16:16:30Z")
I’m a US citizen outside of the country for a while. I have my Washington DC driver’s license, passport and DC government work ID. I don’t count my SS card since it doesn’t validate my identity (there is no way to prove that I am the person named on the card). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/23 "2012-03-13T16:21:24Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And no employer ever needed more than my social security number. Post-9/11, I believe that’s changed. I just started a new job last fall, and they had a government form they had to fill out with me, and providing some sort of government-issue picture ID seemed to be required (my driver’s license and at-that-time-expired passport were sufficient). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/24 "2012-03-13T16:21:32Z")
Yes, both for the US (passport) and for Canada (passport, driver’s licence): the poll didn’t take that possibility into account. ETA: I also have a Canadian citizenship card. If you don’t require a photo, I have health cards for Canada and the UK, and Social Security for the US and SIN for Canada, and a birth certificate for the US. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/25 "2012-03-13T16:21:58Z")
DL, vehicle registration, tourist passport, two cancelled diplomatic passports, birth cert, retired military ID, voter registration card. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/26 "2012-03-13T16:23:02Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Social Security cards are not considered government-issued ID, I’m pretty sure. Mine, which was issued quite some time ago, says right on it that it’s not to be used as ID, so I don’t even carry it. I don’t think the new ones say that. I have a driver’s license that I carry in the U.S. and a passport I carry outside the U.S. I have various other documents that may or may not count as government-issued ID, depending on context. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/27 "2012-03-13T16:41:06Z")
Driver’s license, passport, voter registration, hunting license. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/28 "2012-03-13T17:04:16Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > They’re not a picture ID but they’re one of the forms of ID that have to be provided under certain circumstances in the US. It doesn’t work by itself but only paired up - but the other member of the pair isn’t valid by itself either. This is the kind of circumstance in which I’ve used my Social Security card as ID, or at least had the option to do so. Sometimes, when multiple IDs are required, it will be specified that one must be a government issued photo ID, and the other may be anything from another photo ID to a Social Security card to a major credit card. It isn’t especially common, but I know it’s happened at least once or twice with regard to getting my security pass for my job with the Department of Commerce, so I count it. I suppose by this standard, a birth certificate would probably also count as government issued ID, so my total’s up to five. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/29 "2012-03-13T17:26:20Z")
> [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](#): > > This is the kind of circumstance in which I’ve used my Social Security card as ID, or at least had the option to do so. I don’t understand. Did the law change? My card looks kind of [this one](http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/pictures/img/elvis/50s/50/elvis_social_security_card_1950.jpg). It says NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION in capital letters right on the card. How could I use it for ID? ---
**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:** [March 13, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/30 "2012-03-13T17:35:36Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:29, topic:615644”] I don’t understand. Did the law change? My card looks kind of [this one](http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/pictures/img/elvis/50s/50/elvis_social_security_card_1950.jpg). It says NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION in capital letters right on the card. How could I use it for ID? [/QUOTE] > **[Why does my old social security card say it can’t be used as ID?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341325/why-does-my-old-social-security-card-say-it-can-t-be-used-as-id)** The post-1972 card looks like [this](http://ilookbothways.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/social_security_card1.png?w=650) and the only restrictions printed on it (on the back) are “Do not laminate this card” and “This card is property of the Social Security Administration…” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/31 "2012-03-13T17:44:40Z")
I have a driver’s license from the state of Arizona. I’m not going to count my Social Security card because on the back of mine it says, “Do not carry it with you.” ---
**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:** [March 13, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/32 "2012-03-13T17:49:35Z")
US passport, Canadian citizenship card, Quebec driver’s licence, Quebec health card, all with photo ID. In addition, US SS card (“not for identification”), Canadian SIN, two Penna birth certificates, one with my birth name and the other with the name that I have used all my life, all not with photos. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/33 "2012-03-13T17:55:18Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > US passport, Canadian citizenship card, Quebec driver’s licence, Quebec health card, all with photo ID. In addition, US SS card (“not for identification”), Canadian SIN, two Penna birth certificates, one with my birth name and the other with the name that I have used all my life, all not with photos. What’s a Penna birth certificate? ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/34 "2012-03-13T17:59:08Z")
Hmmm … 33 posts in and nobody admits to having a Concealed Carry License? I have 3 government-issued picture IDs: 1. Passport 2. Driver’s License 3. Ask Opal ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/35 "2012-03-13T18:03:45Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What’s a Penna birth certificate? I’m thinking it may be a Pennsylvania birth certificate. I seem to recall “Penna” as being an old abbreviation for that state name. (As in “Reg. Penna. Dept. Agr.” from [here](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/306/why-is-reg-dept-penna-agr-on-so-many-labels).) As for me, passport and driver’s licence. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/36 "2012-03-13T18:04:52Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What’s a Penna birth certificate? A birth certificate from the state of Pennsylvania. “Penna.” is sometimes used as an abbreviation of the state’s name. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/37 "2012-03-13T18:07:03Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I’m thinking it may be a Pennsylvania birth certificate. I seem to recall “Penna” as being an old abbreviation for that state name. (As in “Reg. Penna. Dept. Agr.” from [here](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/306/why-is-reg-dept-penna-agr-on-so-many-labels).) > > As for me, passport and driver’s licence. > [@cochrane](#): > > A birth certificate from the state of Pennsylvania. “Penna.” is sometimes used as an abbreviation of the state’s name. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/38 "2012-03-13T18:09:33Z")
Drivers license, Medicare card, voter registration, card, for a long time I had a draft card, ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/39 "2012-03-13T19:05:00Z")
Driver’s license and passport. Also social insurance card and birth certificate, if those count. I also have an Ontario health card, but I’ve seen a number of places saying they will not accept that as a photo ID. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644/40 "2012-03-13T19:15:19Z")
Two, driver’s license and work ID (I work for a state university). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-government-issued-i-d/615644.md?page=3)