What the card is, who issues it, and which version you want.
What a state ID card is
A state ID card is a photo identification card issued by the state you live in. It carries your name, your date of birth, your photo, and your address, and it is accepted anywhere a driver license would be accepted as identification.
It does not let you drive. That is the only difference that matters day to day. If you want to drive, you want a driver license instead, and the two are separate applications with separate fees.
Every state issues one. What each state calls it varies. Pennsylvania calls it a photo identification card, California calls it an ID card, and Texas calls it an identification certificate. They are the same kind of document.
Which office issues it
The office that issues driver licenses issues the ID card as well. In California that is the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), in Pennsylvania the Department of Transportation (PennDOT), in New Jersey the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), and in Washington the Department of Licensing (DOL).
This is useful to know for two reasons. The document list is often the same one used for a driver license, so material written about licenses usually applies. And the offices are the same offices, with the same waiting times and the same appointment systems.
Real ID or standard
States issue two versions of the ID card. The Real ID version carries a star and is accepted by TSA at airport security. The standard version is not, and a reader who has neither a Real ID nor a passport in hand will be stopped at the checkpoint.
The Real ID version asks for more. States that accept a substitute document for the standard card often require the original for the Real ID version. Pennsylvania is explicit about this: substitutes for the Social Security card are accepted only for a standard card, and a Real ID application requires the card itself.
If you already hold a valid passport, the standard card still covers everyday identification, and your passport stays your flight document. Most people applying for their first card want the Real ID version anyway, because it removes the need to carry a passport to the airport.
The star is the tell
A Real ID card has a star printed in the top corner. If your card has no star, TSA will not accept it on its own at the checkpoint.
If your immigration status has an end date
This is the rule that surprises people. In several states the ID card does not last the usual number of years. It expires when your immigration document expires.
Pennsylvania states it plainly: for an applicant with temporary immigration status, the expiration date on the first Real ID product matches the expiration date on the immigration documentation. California ties a limited-term card to the same document, and asks for a legal presence document valid 60 or more days out before it will extend one.
Plan for this. A card tied to an I-94 or an Employment Authorization Document expires when that document does, and a renewal means another visit with another set of documents. Your own state page carries the rule for your state, with the quote from the agency that set it.
Getting the documents right is what turns three visits into one.
The documents you bring
Every state asks for the same four things in some form: who you are, that you are lawfully present, that you live in the state, and your Social Security Number or a reason you do not have one.
Proof of identity for someone who is not a US citizen means the document Homeland Security issued for your status. An unexpired foreign passport with an approved I-94 arrival record, a Permanent Resident Card, or an Employment Authorization Document are the usual three. Pennsylvania requires originals and does not accept copies at the counter.
Proof of address usually means two documents carrying your name and your street address in that state. A lease, a pay stub, a utility bill for your phone or electricity, and post-marked mail are all commonly accepted.
The exact list is set by your state, and it is on your state page with the source that publishes it.
Living with someone else
If nothing is billed in your name, you still need proof of address. Pennsylvania accepts the person you live with coming to the office with you, carrying their own license or photo ID, plus one document addressed to you at that address.
The Social Security Number question
If you have a Social Security Number, bring the card. Every state asks for it and most want the card itself rather than a document that shows the number.
If you are not eligible for one, the answer depends entirely on your state, and the two states we have researched most closely disagree. Pennsylvania requires a letter from the Social Security Administration confirming that you are ineligible, and requires it at every application. California exempts you from the requirement instead: if you are legally present but ineligible for a number, the rule does not apply to you.
That is why a friend in another state is not a reliable source on this one. Read your own state page, which carries your state rule and the agency wording behind it.
Not sure whether you are eligible for a Social Security Number?
What the visit involves, and the part that can add weeks.
How you apply
Most states take the application in person, and several let you start it online and finish it at a counter. California takes the application online and then requires an office visit to complete it. Pennsylvania accepts the form by post as well as in person.
There is no test. That is the practical difference from a driver license: no written exam, no road test, no permit stage. You bring documents, you pay, you have your photo taken.
Fees are set by the state. Pennsylvania charges $43.50 for a first card and California charges $40. Your state page carries your number, quoted from the fee schedule that sets it.
The status check that can take weeks
States verify immigration documents electronically through a federal system called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE), run by US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Most checks clear while you are standing at the counter.
When a check does not clear, it goes to a second and sometimes a third level of verification. Pennsylvania publishes what that costs in time: 30 or more federal working days for SAVE to respond.
This matters if you have a deadline. A recently issued document, a name that does not match across your documents, or a status recently changed are the situations where the first check is most likely to fail.
Make your names match
A name spelled differently across your passport, your immigration document, and your proof of address is one of the common reasons a check does not clear the first time. Bring the document that connects the two spellings, such as a marriage certificate or a name change order.
What the card does for you
The card is accepted as identification for opening a bank account, signing a lease, collecting a package, buying age-restricted goods, and entering buildings that check ID. With the Real ID star it also clears airport security for domestic flights.
What it does not do is prove your immigration status to an employer. Employment verification has its own document list, and your immigration documents remain the proof there.
Keeping it current
Two things end a card early. Moving to another state means applying again in the new state, because the card is issued by the state you live in. A change of immigration status can shorten or extend the card, since several states tie the expiry date to your immigration document.
When you move within the same state, states generally require you to report the new address. Pennsylvania allows a non-commercial address change online or by post rather than at a counter.