Identity documents in the United States
In the United States, identity documents are typically the state-issued driver's license or identity card, while also the Social Security card and the United States passport card may serve as national identification. The United States passport itself also may serve as identification. There is, however, no official "national identity card" in the United States, in the sense that there is no federal agency with nationwide jurisdiction that directly issues an identity document to all US citizens for mandatory regular use.
There have been proposals to nationalize ID cards, as currently citizens are identified by a patchwork of documents issued by both the federal government as well as individual state and local governments.
It is both a political issue and a practical one, and the idea of federalism is cited as supporting federated identification. All legislative attempts to create a national identity card have failed due to tenacious opposition from liberal and conservative politicians alike, who regard the national identity card as the mark of a totalitarian society.
The most common national photo identity documents are the passport and passport card, which are issued by the U.S. Department of State to U.S. nationals only upon voluntary application. Issuance of these documents is discretionary - that is, for various reasons, the State Department can refuse an application for a passport or passport card.
More recently, various trusted traveler programs have been opened to the public in the United States, including TSA Precheck, SENTRI, NEXUS, FAST, and Global Entry. With the exception of TSA Precheck, which provides a unique “Known Traveler Number”, these programs provide photo IDs issued by the Department of Homeland Security and are considered national photo IDs.
The driver's license, which is issued by each individual state, operates as the de facto national identity card due to the ubiquity of driving in the United States. Each state also issues a non-driver state identity card which fulfills the same identification functions as the driver's license, but does not permit the operation of a motor vehicle.
Social Security cards have federal jurisdiction but cannot verify identity. They verify only the match between a given name and a Social Security Number and were intended only for use in complying with Social Security payroll tax laws. They now are used in a wider scope of activities, such as for obtaining credit and other regulated financial services in banking and investments.
Birth certificate
The birth certificate is the initial identification document issued to parents shortly after the birth of their child. The birth certificate is typically issued by local governments, usually the city or county where a child is born. It is an important record, often called a "feeder document," because it establishes U.S. citizenship through birthright citizenship, which is then used to obtain, or is the basis for, all other identity documents. By itself, the birth certificate is usually only considered proof of citizenship but not proof of identity, since it is issued without a photograph at birth, containing no identifying features. A birth certificate is normally produced along with proof of identity, such as a driver's license or the testimony of a third party, to establish identity or entitlement to a service.A child born abroad to two U.S. citizen parents, or one citizen parent and one non-citizen, also typically has citizenship from birth. Such births are registered with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. If the embassy or consulate determines the child acquired citizenship at birth, it issues a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, also known as Form FS-240. A birth certificate will also be issued locally in the country where the child was born. The consular report is proof of U.S. citizenship and may be used to obtain a passport for the child and register the child for school, among other purposes.
Social Security card
The Social Security number and card are issued by the Social Security Administration. Almost all parents voluntarily apply for a Social Security number shortly after the birth of a child. In the absence of a national identity card, the Social Security number has become the de facto national identifier for a large variety of purposes, both governmental and non-governmental.The SSN was created to ensure accurate reporting of a worker's wages to the Social Security Administration. Prior to 1986, it was common to apply for a SSN shortly before it might be needed, most often when a teenager. Tax reform acts of 1986, 1988, and 1990 required parents to supply the SSN of children over age 5, 2, or 1 respectively, to receive an income tax deduction for the child. This led to parents applying for their children's SSN at birth.
Because their original purpose was so limited, Social Security cards were not designed with the rigorous security measures typically expected of identity documents. They do not have a photograph or physical description of the bearer, nor are they required to be renewed. Therefore, the Social Security card is not usually considered proof of identity, only proof that the person named on the card holds the number indicated on the card. It is normally used in conjunction with other documents, such as a photo ID, to prove that the person holding the card is legally present in the U.S. and has the right to work in the U.S..
Many organizations, universities, and corporations historically used SSNs to uniquely identify their customer or student populations. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, also known as the Buckley Amendment, required changes that eliminated the use of the SSN as an identifier for a student. Educational institutions now request the SSN at first contact as required by other federal laws and assign their own unique number to each person to maintain the individual's privacy as required. Other laws require the SSN be associated with interest-bearing accounts, interest-paying loans, most public assistance programs, and state-issued identification, e.g. driver's licenses. To reduce the incidence of identity theft, several states have passed laws that require institutions using the SSN to assign their own identifier numbers to individuals, and prohibit them from using the SSN as a primary key.
State-issued driver's license/ID card
A driver's license is issued by each state's department of motor vehicles, which is required to drive. Each state's DMV can also issue a state identification card. It does not contain any endorsements to operate vehicles and can be used as official identification where asked for or needed.In addition to verifying driving privileges, drivers' licenses are used to purchase automobile insurance or during a police traffic stop and serve as the primary form of identity for American adults. They are widely used by both government entities and private businesses to verify identity or age, such as in entering secure government facilities, boarding a commercial airliner, business transactions, or in the purchase of age-restricted items such as alcoholic beverages or cigarettes.
Drivers' licenses issued in any state are recognized as valid identity documents in all other states under a variety of legal principles like comity and the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution. However, if a person permanently moves to another state as a resident, state laws usually give a period of time, such as 60 days, in which a person must surrender his out-of-state license for the license of his new home state.
Driver's licenses include a gender marker, typically either "M" or "F". This has been changing in the early 21st century. As of September 2019, at least 14 states and the District of Columbia offer a third, gender-neutral option beyond "male" and "female" to serve people with nonbinary gender identities.
Requirement to carry identification
There is no legal requirement that American residents must carry their licenses when not operating a vehicle. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada that states are permitted to require people to truthfully state their name when a police officer asks them, and more than half of the states have enacted some variant of stop and identify statutes requiring compliance with such police inquiries. In some states, such as California, failure to produce an identification document upon citation for any traffic infraction is sufficient justification for full custodial arrest.REAL ID Act
Prior to 2005, each state designed its own driver's license according to its own standards. In 2005, the U.S. Congress passed a bill known as the REAL ID Act, which established uniform standards for the design and content of state drivers' licenses and delegated authority to the Department of Homeland Security to implement and regulate compliance with the Act. One aspects of the Act involves requirements for linking of license and ID card databases.Passport and passport card
s are issued by the U.S. Department of State. Applications for passports are most often filed at United States Postal Service offices or local county or municipal clerk's offices. For many years, passports were not required for U.S. citizens to re-enter from countries near the United States In light of this, and given the country's immense size and the great distances which the average citizen lives from an international border, passport possession in the United States had remained relatively low. Indeed, most Americans normally did not obtain passports or carry them regularly unless traveling abroad, and as of 2006, only 60 million had passports. As of 2011, approximately 37% of Americans have passports or passport cards.However, in response to recommendations in the 9/11 Commission Report, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security now requires proof of citizenship for people entering the United States from neighboring countries. This requirement is known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, and was implemented in stages:
- On January 23, 2007, a passport, U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner's Document, or NEXUS card became mandatory when re-entering from those locations when traveling by air, with a few exceptions.
- On January 31, 2008, officers at land and sea ports of entry stopped taking oral declarations of citizenship from travelers; all individuals entering the U.S. are now required to present documentary proof of identity and citizenship.
- Beginning July 1, 2009, people entering the United States by land or sea must present a passport, passport card, or other document proving citizenship or permanent resident status.