*thinks*

[conuly]

Huh. Do you think I can do two birds with one stone here and use the envelope the passport came in as my proof of address when getting a state ID?

Comments

[dine]

good idea! official Federal government mail, obviously delivered to you - that sure sounds like it should work

[gwydion]

You can in Oregon and Washington. Dunno elssewhere, but can't you just use your pss card to get the ID? It's picture ID.

[moxie_man]

I find it silly/stupid that a current US Passport by itself isn't good enough.

[redbird]

There are a lot of more-or-less official things that want proof of address as well as of identity: to get a Massachusetts "real ID" card with my new address, I showed them a utility bill (for address), and passport because apparently the previous state ID wasn't good enough. And of course the rules vary from state to state.

This is enough of a thing that I make sure that at least one utility bill is in my name, and at least one in cattitude's. But that's something I was aware of by 2013, when we moved to Washington; it wasn't a thing when we rented our New York apartment in 1987.

[redbird]

tl;dr: you can use that envelope but they'll also want to see our social security card.

Looking at the state website, yes you can, but would need to go relatively soon, since for that they want "Postmarked mail dated within 90 days of your office visit." As far as I can tell, that's *any* postmarked mail, so if you don't get to this in time, you could ask someone (e.g. me) to mail you a birthday/Arbor Day/'thinking of you' card and use that envelope.

The other thing they want is evidence of your social security number: if you can't find your social security card, you'll need to first get a replacement.

If you want "real ID," they want two proofs of address (in case anyone was wondering about this being an extra hoop they're making poor or nonwhite people jump through).

The easiest second proof is probably the "DMV Certification of Residence (MV-44NYR)": you can print out a form and have it signed by a "co-resident" or neighbor. That's valid only as a second proof, for real ID, not by itself. (There's a long list of other things that they'll accept as ID; the ones that I'm guessing you might have include a voter registration notification card, canceled check, or health insurance or prescription card with your address pre-printed.)

[conuly]

Well, it's enough for proof of ID, which is why I got it, but it doesn't have my address on it so I suppose it can hardly count as proof of address.

[conuly]

I do have my SS card, in fact, and brought it with me to bolster my claims of being a real person when I got this passport.

[conuly]

A picture ID without my address on it.

[conuly]

Fingers crossed.

[elf]

I usually use bank statements, which I print out from the website and then redact info that shouldn't be shared, like the actual account number.

[conuly]

I've never been, uh, gainfully employed. Indeed, this is the first government photo ID I've had since I was ten, and I didn't even have a valid school ID for the past decade or so.

I don't have a bank account, is what I'm saying.

[elf]

Wow. (And also, that's nicely hopeful to hear. I have a now-adult daughter who has no photographic ID and limited other proofs of existence, and we're trying to figure out where to start with that. And I keep running into weird roadblocks and thinking we cannot be the only people who find all of this ridiculous and complicated and pointless.)

Voter reg card? Utility bill? Library card?

...ULC minister card?

The envelope that the passport came in might work, but they might grumble at it (even if it's on the accepted list; state employees are confused by non-standard options) and may want something more formal.

Funny note: When my father needed to re-verify some bit of legalities, they wanted his ID card from his job. He asked them what details it needed to contain, and they said, whatever it has. And he said, he's the guy who makes the ID cards there, so just let him know what needs to be on it, and that's what the cards will have in the future.

[gwydion]

Ah, yeah. I'm not sure.

[conuly]

In order to get a passport - and I suggest you move on this sooner rather than later - it is sufficient to show up with as much identification as you can muster (birth certificate, social security card, any old photo IDs even if they're expired (I had two school IDs and my baby passport), library card or voter registration card if you have, everything in the original and also xeroxed front AND back, yes that's stupid) and somebody to act as an "identifying witness' - this is an American citizen with a valid ID who has known the person at least five years and will sign an affidavit in the presence of the passport official confirming that the person in question is a real person and an American citizen.

You can serve as an identifying witness. If you have trouble getting a birth certificate due to the ID situation, go through Vitalchek. If you cannot get the original birth certificate, only a copy, bring what you have - they accepted my copy without comment, even though it said in big letters it wasn't usable as proof of citizenship. If you cannot get ANY birth certificate you should show up with whatever you can gather together and ask them for advice.

I recommend that you go to some big city post office rather than a smaller one - that's why we went into Manhattan rather than one on Staten Island! - and, if possible, you call ahead. In bigger post offices they see this every day - hell, I wasn't even the only person there who needed an identifying witness! - but in smaller ones you may need to alert them to the need to have this paperwork ready for you.

Once you have the passport in hand you only have to find proof of address to get a state ID. Which is the place I'm at right now. Some comments here suggest that in at least some states you can get an affidavit to work as proof of address as well, but we're going to go with the letter from the passport office and a piece or two of personal mail, plus set me up with a bank account. (This is all in service of me having a job, so I need a bank account anyway. Not that I need to wait on a state ID to get a job, but I want a state ID.)

And no, you're not the only person in the catch-22 of not having an ID and yet needing to get an ID. Some 10 percent of adult American citizens do not have government issued photo ID. Unsurprisingly, most of those are poor and often homeless, and THAT is why voter ID laws are wrong.