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Washington state ID card

Get a Washington ID card so you can stop carrying your passport.

The short answer

Getting a Washington ID card means proving who you are in person at a driver licensing office.1, 2 The card costs $61 for 6 years, or $81 for 8 years.3 You can get one if you do not already hold a valid Washington driver's license.4 Your work permit card (Form I-766) or your foreign passport with an I-94 proves who you are.5, 6 If you have no Social Security Number, you sign a sworn statement saying so.7

How it goes

  1. 1
    You arriveYou have moved to Washington and you need ID you can carry.
  2. 2
    Your documentsYou gather proof of who you are, where you live, and your status.
  3. 3
    You applyYou take them to the office that issues ID cards.
  4. 4
    Your cardYour ID card is issued, and your passport stays at home.

What it costs

Standard ID card, valid 6 years3$61
Standard ID card, valid 8 years3$81
Standard ID card if you qualify for the reduced fee8$5
ID card if you are experiencing homelessness, one per lifetime9No cost

Whether you can get one

Who the card is issued to

You can get a Washington ID card if you do not already hold a valid Washington driver's license.4

You must also prove who you are, and pay the fee.10

You must give a Washington home address when you apply. The form asks for your full name, your mailing address, your Washington home address, and your phone number.11

The same application rules cover the driver's license, the learner permit, and the ID card.12

If you are not a US citizen

Washington accepts your work permit card (Form I-766) on its own as proof of who you are.5

Your green card also works on its own as proof of who you are.13

Your foreign passport together with your I-94 proves who you are. The passport must carry your signature and your photo.6

The enhanced ID card is only for US citizens. If you are not a US citizen, ask for the standard ID card.14

A standard Washington ID card is not a REAL ID. It does not meet the federal rules for a REAL ID document.15

Your standard ID card will say FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY on it. Every standard Washington card says this. It is normal.16

Documents you need

  • How much proof is enough
    • You must show at least one identity document. It must have your signature and your photo on it.1
    • Your foreign passport with an I-94, an ADIT stamp, or a temporary I-551 stamp is an A-list document.17
    • One way to prove who you are is with 4 B-list documents. At least 1 of them must show both your name and your birth date.18
  • Proof of who you are
    • An immigration form from USCIS counts as an identity document under Washington law.19
    • If you are a student, your Form I-20 or your DS-2019 counts as a B-list document.20
    • A Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571) works on its own as proof of who you are.21
  • What makes a document count
    • The office can ask you for more documents. It can also check that the documents you brought are real.22
    • If the clerk cannot decide from your documents, they must send you to an in-office document reviewer. You can ask for this.23
  • If no bill is in your name
    • If you have no address of your own, ask a shelter, a community group, or a church if you can use their mailing address.24
    • There is a route for people with no permanent home address. You give a temporary mailing address, and your ID card is posted there.25
    • This no-address route is only for people under the age of 18. You must also apply in person.26

Your Social Security Number

What proves your number

Washington checks your Social Security number directly with the Social Security Administration.27

If the law does not require your Social Security number, you can still give it. It helps the office confirm who you are.28

Your Social Security card also counts as a B-list identity document.29

If you cannot get a number yet

If you have no Social Security number, you sign a sworn statement saying you do not have one. You sign it under penalty of perjury.7

After you sign that statement, the office can ask you for more papers proving your Washington address.30

If your status has an end date

When your card expires

Your ID card expires on your birthday, on the eighth anniversary of your birthdate after it is issued.31

Where to go

How to apply

You apply in person. You go to a driver licensing office.2

For an enhanced ID card, gather your documents first. Then book an appointment at a driver licensing office near you.32

If you are homeless and applying for an ID card, you do not need an appointment.33

Later, you may be able to renew your ID card by post or online. You cannot do that two times in a row.34

Washington also runs a mobile unit called DOL2Go. It brings licensing services out to communities.35

Washington checks your photo against its own photo system. This is to make sure you do not already hold a card under a different name.36

Office locations

Washington lists its offices on the page called "Find a driver licensing office" at dol.wa.gov/driver-licenses-and-permits/driver-licensing-offices.37

Other states

Sources

Every numbered fact above is quoted from the page that publishes it, in the words it uses.

  1. 1

    “A driver's license or identicard applicant must provide the department with at least one of the following pieces of valid identifying documentation that contains the signature and a photograph of the applicant:”

    app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  2. 2

    “You'll need to visit a driver licensing office”

    dol.wa.gov/id-cards/id-help-unhoused

    Checked August 25, 2026

  3. 3

    “$61 for 6 years or $81 for 8 years†”

    dol.wa.gov/…/driver-licensing-fees

    Checked August 25, 2026

  4. 4

    “(a) Does not hold a valid Washington driver's license;”

    app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  5. 5

    “Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766)”

    dol.wa.gov/…/documents-proof-identity

    Checked August 25, 2026

  6. 6

    “A foreign country's passport, containing the signature and a photograph of the individual, that has with it a valid United States Immigration and Naturalization entry form (I-94);”

    apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  7. 7

    “the person must submit a sworn affidavit, under penalty of perjury, stating that they do not have a Social Security number.”

    apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  8. 8

    “†You may qualify for a reduced fee ID card. If you are eligible, your cost for a standard ID card is $5.”

    dol.wa.gov/…/driver-licensing-fees

    Checked August 25, 2026

  9. 9

    “If you are experiencing homelessness, you're eligible for a no-cost ID (one per lifetime)”

    dol.wa.gov/id-cards/id-help-unhoused

    Checked August 25, 2026

  10. 10

    “(b) Proves the applicant's identity as required by RCW 46.20.035; and”

    app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  11. 11

    “(1)(a) The person's full name, current mailing and Washington residential address, and telephone number;”

    apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  12. 12

    “A person applying for a driver's license, instruction permit, or identification card must provide the following information:”

    apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  13. 13

    “Permanent Resident Card (Green Card)”

    dol.wa.gov/…/documents-proof-identity

    Checked August 25, 2026

  14. 14

    “You must be a U.S. citizen and provide:”

    dol.wa.gov/id-cards/real-id

    Checked August 25, 2026

  15. 15

    “A standard Washington driver license or ID card does not meet the federal requirements to be a REAL ID-approved document.”

    dol.wa.gov/id-cards/real-id

    Checked August 25, 2026

  16. 16

    “Beginning July 1, 2018, except for enhanced drivers' licenses and identicards issued under RCW 46.20.202, the department shall mark all issuances made pursuant to chapter 46.20 RCW with the phrase "FEDERAL LIMITS APPLY."”

    apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  17. 17

    “Foreign passports with I-94, I-551 Alien Documentation, Identification, and Telecommunication (ADIT) stamp, or temporary I-551”

    dol.wa.gov/…/documents-proof-identity

    Checked August 25, 2026

  18. 18

    “4 B-list documents, 1 of which must list both your name and birth date”

    dol.wa.gov/…/documents-proof-identity

    Checked August 25, 2026

  19. 19

    “(f) A citizenship and immigration services service form;”

    app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  20. 20

    “School transcript or Forms I-20 or DS-2019 for foreign exchange students”

    dol.wa.gov/…/documents-proof-identity

    Checked August 25, 2026

  21. 21

    “Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)”

    dol.wa.gov/…/documents-proof-identity

    Checked August 25, 2026

  22. 22

    “the department may request supplemental identifying documentation, or may undertake an investigation to verify the validity of any documentation presented, in order to ascertain identity.”

    apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  23. 23

    “If the licensing services representative assisting the applicant is unable to ascertain identity from the documents presented, the applicant shall be referred to an in-office document reviewer for further assistance.”

    apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  24. 24

    “If you are living outside and connected to a shelter, community organization or church, ask if you can use their mailing address.”

    dol.wa.gov/id-cards/id-help-unhoused

    Checked August 25, 2026

  25. 25

    “(iv) Provides a temporary mailing address where the identicard can be mailed;”

    apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  26. 26

    “(i) Is under the age of 18;”

    apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  27. 27

    “We verify your Social Security number with the Social Security Administration and use it to help enforce child support laws.”

    dol.wa.gov/…/documents-proof-identity

    Checked August 25, 2026

  28. 28

    “If the person's Social Security number is not required by state or federal law, the person may voluntarily provide their Social Security number in order to assist the department in verifying identity.”

    apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  29. 29

    “Social Security card”

    dol.wa.gov/…/documents-proof-identity

    Checked August 25, 2026

  30. 30

    “provide additional documentation satisfactory to the department establishing the person's Washington residence address.”

    apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  31. 31

    “(ii) Except as provided in subsection (7) of this section, expire on the eighth anniversary of the applicant's birthdate after issuance.”

    app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  32. 32

    “After you've collected your documents, make an appointment to apply at a driver licensing office near you.”

    dol.wa.gov/…/get-enhanced-id-card-eid

    Checked August 25, 2026

  33. 33

    “You don't need to make an appointment”

    dol.wa.gov/id-cards/id-help-unhoused

    Checked August 25, 2026

  34. 34

    “(b) Mail or electronic commerce, if permitted by rule of the department and if the applicant did not renew the identicard by mail or by electronic commerce when it last expired; or”

    app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx

    Checked August 25, 2026

  35. 35

    “DOL2Go is an exciting new program supporting communities around Washington”

    dol.wa.gov/…/dol2go-mobile-unit

    Checked August 25, 2026

  36. 36

    “to ensure each applicant does not have another driver license or ID issued under a different identity.”

    dol.wa.gov/…/facial-recognition

    Checked August 25, 2026

  37. 37

    “Find a driver licensing office”

    dol.wa.gov/id-cards/enhanced-id-card-eid

    Checked August 25, 2026

Applying for a state ID card in Washington?

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