Do I need a driver's license to re-enter the US from a visit to the UK

February 25, 2011 2:03 PM

Do I need a driver's license to re-enter the US from a visit to the UK?

I have a valid passport. I just have not owned a car in over two years, so I let my driver's license expire. I heard somewhere that one needs two forms of ID in some cases, and I'm trying to figure out if I need to go to the trouble of getting a driver's license before my trip.

posted by eustacescrubb to travel & transportation (12 answers total)

No, a driver's license is not required. A passport if sufficient.
posted by shoesietart at 2:06 PM on February 25, 2011 [6 favorites]

One official photo ID issued by a state/federal government agency should be enough.

But - you might think about getting a State ID (issued by the DMV) anyway at some point in the future. It's inconvenient to carry your passport around with you as your main ID, and it's much more of a hassle to replace if your wallet gets stolen or you lose it. State IDs are cheap (though you still have to deal with the DMV to get one).
posted by peachfuzz at 2:07 PM on February 25, 2011

No. Your passport is fine and is the standard, sole form of ID required. Or even requested.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:09 PM on February 25, 2011

One official photo ID issued by a state/federal government agency should be enough.

This should be a passport if you don't want any trouble. Although the airline is unlikely to allow you to board a plane without one.
posted by grouse at 2:11 PM on February 25, 2011

My wife and I both do not have driver's licenses and neither of us had any problem coming back to the states from the UK with just our passports. This was in August 2009.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:16 PM on February 25, 2011

That's absolutely ridiculous. Your passport is, above all, proof of citizenship. Any other state-issued document is only proof you were able to get a state-issued document.
posted by jedrek at 2:20 PM on February 25, 2011 [5 favorites]

I heard somewhere that one needs two forms of ID in some cases

I think that's just flat-out false; I wonder if you heard a garbled version of the still-pending-and-unlikely-to-happen proposal to change existing law so that a "green card" alone would no longer be sufficient for CAN-->US or MX-->US border crossings?

In any case, a valid passport stands on its own as a document of citizenship; no supporting document is required.
posted by Sidhedevil at 2:36 PM on February 25, 2011

If you did, it would mean that having a drivers license is constitutionally mandatory for citizens who intend to leave the country.

It would also mean that you would have been asked to present your drivers license while crossing an international border (that isn't part of the EU or is the canada/us border), which of course - you haven't.
posted by Kololo at 3:01 PM on February 25, 2011

No.
posted by defcom1 at 3:41 PM on February 25, 2011

Crap, link didn't work.
No.
You require only ONE of the documents listed (passport is of course at the top of the list)
posted by defcom1 at 3:44 PM on February 25, 2011

Forget about any other form of ID. All you need is a passport (and good luck boarding a flight leaving the UK without one).
posted by caek at 4:38 PM on February 25, 2011

I've never had a second form of ID requested by immigration coming back into the US from *anywhere.* Adding my voice to the chorus of "Your passport is the only form of ID you need."
posted by sonika at 5:44 PM on February 25, 2011