– U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service ID
– I-327 U.S. Permit to Re-enter Travel
Document
– I-551 Permanent Resident Card
– I-571 U.S. Refugee Travel Document
– I-766 Employment Authorization
– U.S. passport card
– U.S. passport (not an emergency passport)
– Verication letter from Washington State
Department of Children, Youth, and Families
for foster youth
A-List
• Driver license, photo instruction permit, ID card
issued by U.S. state or territory expired 1 - 6
years
• U.S. Certicate of Citizenship or Naturalization
(when bearer’s signature and photo are not
readily identiable)
• U.S. passport (book or card) expired not more
than 1 year. An emergency passport is not
acceptable
• U.S. Visa
• Electronic verication letter if you are under
supervision by one of these agencies:
– WA Dept. of Corrections (DOC)
– U.S. Federal Corrections
– DCYF Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration
(JRA)
• WA DOC oender ID badge
• Federally recognized Indian tribal enrollment
card or U.S. Bureau of Indian Aairs ID card with
signature and photo
• Foreign passport with one of the following:
– Valid U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(USCBP) entry form I-94/I-94W
– Valid temporary I-551 ADIT stamp
– Valid U.S. Visa with the text “upon
endorsement serves as temporary I-551
evidencing permanent residence for one
year” and a valid DHS admission stamp
– With I-551 annotation that is expired on
the visa, but less than 1 year since date of
admission on the DHS admission stamp
• El Salvador ID card
• Guatemala Consulate ID card
• Guatemala Identity card
• Honduras Matricula Consular ID card
• Honduras ID card
• Peru National ID Document
• Japan Driver License
• Mexico Matricula Consular ID card
• Mexico Federal Electoral card issued 1991 or
later with identiable photo
B-List
Documents that establish name and date of birth
• Birth certicate, U.S. or foreign, certied (Puerto
Rico birth certicates must have an issue date of
July 1, 2010, or later to be accepted)
• Birth registration card, certied
• Consular report of birth abroad
• Court-issued adoption papers
• Ward of the court decree/Order of dependency
• Driver license, photo instruction permit, ID card
issued by U.S. state or territory expired more
than 6 years
• Veriable foreign driver license or ID card,
expired not more than 6 years
• U.S. passport (book or card), expired more than
1 year
Proof of identity
To prove identity, show us any of the following:
• One choice from the Stand-Alone List of
documents
• Two documents from the A-List
• One A-List document and two documents from
the B-List
• At least four B-List documents, including:
– One document must establish name and
date of birth
Document acceptance criteria
• We accept only original documents or certied
copies. Documents are certied by the issuing
authority with an original embossed or ink seal.
The documents listed may change without
notice. Unless otherwise noted, all documents
must be valid. A document is invalid if it is
expired, invalidated, voided, or in a condition
that obscures information or security features
Stand-Alone List
• Driver license, photo instruction permit, or ID
card issued by U.S. state or territory, valid or
expired not more than 1 year
• Refugee verication packet
• U.S. armed services/military ID card
• U.S. B1/B2 Visa Border Crossing card
• U.S. Certicate of Citizenship or Naturalization
(bearer’s signature and photo are readily
identiable)
• Foreign passport, valid or expired not more than
6 years
• WA concealed weapons permit
• NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST Border Crossing
Card
• U.S. Merchant Mariner’s card, valid or expired
not more than 6 years
• Military DD-214
Documents that show name and date of birth or
signature or photo
• School yearbook or copy certied by the school
• School transcript or record with date of birth,
school biographical data sheet with photo, or
forms I-20 or DS-2019 for foreign exchange
students
• Mexican school record with seal and photo at
age when issued
• Clearance letter/ADR from another state’s DMV
issued within the last 30 days
• Marriage license or certicate, certied by the
issuing government authority
• Divorce decree with name and signature,
certied by the issuing government authority
• Medicare card with name and signature (Not
DSHS medical card)
• Professional license (nursing, physician,
engineer, etc.)
• Police Employee ID card issued by WA state,
city or county
• Transportation worker ID credential (TWIC)
• Veteran Administration ID card
• Federal or state agency employee ID card with
signature and photo
• Selective Service card
• Social Security card, signed
This brochure will assist you in meeting the requirements to obtain a standard driver license,
identication (ID) card, or instruction permit. Additional documents are required to get an
enhanced driver license (EDL) or enhanced identication card (EID), original commercial learners
permit (CLP) or commercial driver license (CDL). For more information about these requirements
visit our website at www.dol.wa.gov
When you go to the driver licensing oce, you will need to present proof of identity, and provide
your Social Security number if you are applying for a driver license. You must provide your current
Washington residential address and mailing address, if dierent.
dol.wa.gov
Persons needing access to DOL programs and services
should contact (360) 902-3900, or 711 relay for persons
who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Or contact us by
email at [email protected].
DLE-520-451 (R/3/23)
Applicants age 25 and younger may meet ID
requirements by providing:
• Parent or guardian with proof of identity from
Stand-Alone list
• A document from the A-List, or a document from
the B-List that establishes name and date of
birth of the applicant
• Relationship document connecting the parent
or guardian to the applicant such as a birth
certicate or adoption papers
Customers 18 years of age or older who have been
assigned court guardians due to mental or physical
impairment may meet ID requirements by providing:
• Court assigned guardian with proof of identity
from Stand-Alone list
• Court document assigning guardianship
• A document from the A-List, or a document from
the B-List that establishes name and date of
birth of the applicant
Customers enrolled in Job Corps may meet ID
requirements by providing:
• A document from the A-List, or a document from
the B-List that establishes name and date of
birth of the applicant
• Job Corps ID card of the applicant
Social Security Number
You must provide your Social Security number when
you apply for a driver license. If you have not been
issued one, you may sign a declaration form when
you visit our oce.
We will verify your number with the Social Security
Administration.
It will not appear on your driver license. We cannot
issue a commercial driver license if you don’t have a
Social Security number.
42 USC 405 and 666(a) (13), RCW 26.23.150,
49 CFR 383.153, RCW 46.25.070
Your Photograph
Your new photo document will show a full front view
of your face. Before we take your picture, we will ask
you to remove anything covering your face or head
(like a hat or sunglasses). If you choose not to, your
license will be marked “Not Valid for Identication.”
Exceptions will be made for medical and religious
reasons.
Foreign Documents
We will make every eort to translate them. If
no bilingual sta is available, we may ask you to
provide a certied English translation provided by
a certied translator with the original documents.
Some examples of a certied translator include
DSHS certied translators, Washington State Court
certied translators, Federal Court Translators, foreign
government entity, consulate or embassy, etc. For
more information, visit our website at www.dol.wa.gov
ID Review
If you’re unable to provide identifying documentation
as specied in this ID brochure, you may request that
the department review other available documentation
in order to conrm identity. The department may waive
the requirement if it nds that other documentation
clearly establishes your identity. Advise DOL sta of
your lack of required documentation, and request an
ID review be discussed as an option.
Teens
If you’re under 18, have parental permission, and
are applying for a driver license, you must also have
completed an approved trac safety education
course. Your trac safety education school will send
us proof. For more information, visit our website at
www.dol.wa.gov
Change of Name or Address
If your name has changed, you must come to a
driver licensing oce within 10 days and get a new
license. Bring your current license or ID card and any
Stand- Alone documents or a marriage certicate/
license certied by the issuing government authority,
court order, divorce decree, or evidence of other legal
action changing your name.
If your address has changed, you must update your
record within 10 days. Visit our website at www.dol.
wa.gov to update online, or visit a driver licensing
oce.
IDENTIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS
REAL ID
Washington State complies with the federal REAL
ID Act by oering U.S. citizens an Enhanced Driver
License (EDL) or Enhanced ID card (EID). Not only
is it a REAL ID compliant document, it is a federally
approved alternate travel document to a passport
for reentry into the U.S. from land and seaports
in Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.
It provides an easy and convenient document for
Washington State residents who are U.S. citizens
traveling across our borders by land or sea.
In order for WA to fully comply with the federal
REAL ID Act, all standard (non-enhanced) WA driver
licenses, ID cards, and instruction permits will be
marked with “Federal Limits Apply” to indicate they
are not valid for federal identication. You may
continue to use your marked or unmarked card for
boarding airplanes and accessing secure federal
facilities that do not require a REAL ID compliant
document until May 7, 2025.
Additional documents are required to get an EDL or
EID. For more information, visit our website at:
www.dol.wa.gov
2025