Can You Get a Passport Without an ID? Witnesses and Secondary Documents

You can get a U.S. passport without an ID by applying in person with a combination of secondary documents that together establish who you are, or by bringing an identifying witness who signs a sworn affidavit vouching for you at the acceptance facility. Federal regulations at 22 CFR 51.23 build both paths into the process, so the absence of a driver’s license or state ID is a solvable problem, not a dead end.¹ Expect more preparation than a standard application, and plan to apply in person.

Two Ways to Prove Identity Without a Photo ID

The Department of State recognizes two workarounds when you don’t have a primary photo ID such as a valid driver’s license, U.S. or foreign passport, military ID, government employee ID, permanent resident card, or a Trusted Traveler card like Global Entry.²

The first is documentary: bring a combination of at least two secondary documents that consistently point to the same person. The second is testimonial: bring someone who knows you and will swear to your identity on the record. You can use either, and if your documentary trail is thin, you can combine both.

Applying With Secondary Documents

None of your secondary documents has to be a photo ID on its own. The point is to assemble a paper trail that lines up. Accepted secondary documents include:²

Social Security card
Voter registration card
Employee work ID
Student ID
School yearbook with an identifiable photograph
Selective Service (draft) card
Medicare or other health insurance card
Out-of-state driver’s license with photo
Expired driver’s license
Learner’s permit or temporary driver’s license, even without a photo
In-state or out-of-state non-driver ID

Bring the physical originals plus a photocopy of each. The acceptance agent keeps the copies but has to see the originals in hand; photocopies alone won’t work.² Two is the minimum. Three or four is safer, especially when none of your documents has a photograph on it.

Applying With an Identifying Witness

If you can’t pull together enough secondary documents, you can bring an identifying witness. This is a person who knows you and is willing to sign Form DS-71 in front of the acceptance agent, affirming your identity under oath. The witness cannot be someone you are paying to help with your application.³

Your witness has to come with you to the acceptance facility. They must bring their own valid primary identification and complete Form DS-71 in the agent’s presence. The form records the witness’s name, contact information, and their relationship with you. You both take an oath affirming that everything on the form is true, and the statement is made under penalty of perjury. Anyone you ask should know what they’re signing before they agree.

Form DS-71 is only available in person at an acceptance facility or passport agency. You cannot download it in advance or send it in by mail.² The witness path is the fallback for applicants who have lived without traditional documentation for years, and it works, but choose someone credible; the Department of State can follow up.

You Still Have to Prove Citizenship

Solving the ID problem does not solve the citizenship problem. They are separate requirements, and applicants who focus only on the ID question sometimes arrive without the right paperwork on the citizenship side.

If you were born in the United States, the standard document is a certified birth certificate from the city, county, or state where you were born. It must show your full name, date and place of birth, both parents’ full names, the registrar’s signature, and an official seal or stamp. Hospital souvenir certificates and commemorative certificates don’t qualify.⁴

If you were born outside the United States, acceptable evidence includes a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a Certificate of Naturalization, or a Certificate of Citizenship. A previously issued, undamaged U.S. passport also works for either category.⁴

If no birth certificate exists on file, request a Letter of No Record from the state registrar and submit it along with early public or private records from the first five years of your life, such as a baptism certificate, hospital birth record, census record, early school record, or doctor’s record of post-natal care. Private records also require Form DS-10, a birth affidavit.⁴

How to Submit the Application

Anyone applying without primary identification has to submit Form DS-11 in person at a passport acceptance facility. These are usually post offices, public libraries, or local government offices such as a clerk of court.⁵ Mailed renewals through Form DS-82 aren’t an option here, because that route is reserved for people who already have a recent passport to send in.

Bring everything you plan to rely on: your secondary documents with photocopies, your citizenship evidence, your passport photo, and your witness if you’re using one. If your witness is coming, they need to arrive with you, bring their own primary ID, and be ready to sign DS-71 in front of the agent.

A Note on Minors

The rules above are for adult applicants. Children under 16 don’t need their own ID at all; both parents or legal guardians appear with the child and present their own photo IDs, along with the child’s citizenship evidence and proof of the parental relationship.⁶ Applicants who are 16 or 17 without an acceptable photo ID can have a parent or legal guardian who does have one sign the application with them.⁷

1
eCFR. 22 CFR 51.23 – Identity of Applicant
2
U.S. Department of State. Get Photo ID for a U.S. Passport
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GovInfo. 22 CFR 51.24 – Affidavit of Identifying Witness
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U.S. Department of State. Get Citizenship Evidence for a U.S. Passport
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U.S. Department of State. Make an Appointment at a Passport Agency or Center
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U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Child’s Passport Under 16
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U.S. Department of State. Apply for Your Passport as a 16-17 Year Old