ID in New York

May 15, 2004 8:11 AM

New York id question.

Hi there , I've just been told that the id i need for the place i'll be staying in in new york requires two types of i.d. , a passport and a drivers licence.

seeing as i dont drive , a drivers licence is going to be rather hard to come by .

I'm not able to get in touch with them directly so my question is : has anyone had similar experiences with being asked for this type of identification and was an alternative like a birth certificate sufficient ?

what acceptable alternative forms of i.d. in New York ?

posted by sgt.serenity to law & government (17 answers total)

oh , and if anyone wants to buy some of these kittens i've just had i'd be very grateful : )
posted by sgt.serenity at 8:16 AM on May 15, 2004

While I have no specific information for you, every state offers some form of ID card for non-drivers. My assumption would be that the request for a "driver's license" would be filled nicely by an alternate form of government issued ID.
posted by o2b at 8:58 AM on May 15, 2004

I don't know about NY ID, but I'd like a kitten.
posted by Grod at 9:31 AM on May 15, 2004

Boy, I thought this was going to be a Freudian question.

I think a passport will be fine. As a shocking number of Americans don't even have passports, are you sure they weren't aiming at a domestic audience and saying a passport OR a driver's license?
posted by CunningLinguist at 9:36 AM on May 15, 2004

well im staying at a place that belongs to nyu and my friend thats putting me up says the guys at the door of said establishment will need a passport AND a driving licence , so i guess i need some sort of equivalent.
posted by sgt.serenity at 10:41 AM on May 15, 2004

Can you call up the place itself directly? That way you can explain to them exactly what forms of ID you do and don't have. I'm guessing they're primarily looking for two forms of government-issued ID with your picture on them.
posted by Vidiot at 11:10 AM on May 15, 2004

You also may want to point out to them that a passport normally counts as two forms of ID (at the DMV, for work, etc.).

Also, email me, if you like. I'll be in France while you're here, so if you are worried about getting screwed, you could line up my place as a fallback. It is in Brooklyn, though.
posted by dame at 11:31 AM on May 15, 2004

sarge: You need something with your address on to make certain. I've ended up being the one who signs up for hotel rooms & the like as I have a passport & DL & my travelling companion only has a passport.

See you in a couple of weeks...
posted by i_cola at 11:40 AM on May 15, 2004

sarge, here's what I suggest, do you have any other photo ID? If so, get a photocopy of it with your address printed on the same page (merge the two in a copier), take it to a notary, and get it notarized. That will count as photo ID, as long as you bring that photo ID and say a utility bill along with you.
posted by riffola at 11:44 AM on May 15, 2004

Also another thing you can do is find a place in your city that let's you take passport photos, etc, and ask them if they make photo IDs, if yes, get one with your address on it, it should count as a valid ID too, as long as the address on it matches the address on the passport.
posted by riffola at 11:46 AM on May 15, 2004

Most states, including New York, can issue official Non-driver photo IDs.
posted by zsazsa at 12:13 PM on May 15, 2004

Actually sarge, you might want to skip coming to the US...they're all a bit mental at the moment
posted by i_cola at 12:17 PM on May 15, 2004

as long as the address on it matches the address on the passport.

Eh? I don't think this address matching is an option. My US passport and, IIRC, most if not all EU passports don't list your place of residence; just name, date & place of birth, issue & expiry date, & issuing agency. The holder can pencil in their address on a specified page, but that's more for instances of loss than ID. Then again, I've got the old skool laminated passport, which is peeling at the edges and gives me lots of fun passing through customs, but I don't remember seeing residence listed on the new holographic ones either.
posted by romakimmy at 12:39 PM on May 15, 2004

Most states, including New York, can issue official Non-driver photo IDs.

You have to be a resident of that state. You also have to produce a US Social Security number.

It seems like the door guys are looking for the passport to prove your identity and the DL to prove your home address. Things like this have always been a bit of a problem in the US where the vast majority of people carry a photocard DL with them all the time. However, the whole place has gone slightly paranoid, which has resulted in severe inflexibility problems from some security people, even when they are aware that the requirements are unreasonable or impossible.

(This is the very reason that I keep my US driver's license valid. I have had my American passport rejected on several occasions while traveling in the States, and the DL demanded instead. Stupid, but since I have what they want, most of the time it pays to give it to them rather than to get into an argument about why a passport is a legal ID.)

If you have any other photo ID that includes your address, bring it along. Even if it doesn't have the address, bring it anyway. Also bring one or two pieces of correspondence from some official UK gov't agency which are addressed to you. If you've got a printed itinerary or e-ticket receipt showing your address, that may help you out as well (after all, US immigration accepts those, and you might point that fact out to these people if they start giving you a hard time). If it were me, I would show up with these things and expect that the security guys will not have a problem when they actually see the documents. However, I would also have a backup plan in case they turn into complete and utter asses.
posted by Tholian at 2:24 PM on May 15, 2004

I'm an NYU student and can help you out more specifically if you can tell me where you're staying (one of the dorms, I'm guessing). The guards require "government issued photo ID," but as long as your resident friend hasn't been insanely evil to them, something less official will probably be OK.

The guest policy does tend to get much more draconian over the summer and during holiday breaks but at the end of the day your entry to the building is dependent upon the building manager, who is generally a graduate student and a nice person. Have your resident friend talk to the building manager (CDE - Community Development Educator, in NYU speak) and explain the situation and something will certainly be worked out.

Feel free to drop me a line via AIM ('hotel one actual') if you have any other questions or if I've misread your situation.
posted by mmcg at 4:19 PM on May 15, 2004

Generally I'd recommend the most "normal" ID you've got, with a photo. I've had plenty of places which claimed to require only a 'government-issued photo ID' refuse my National Archives researcher card (which required me to go through a metal detector and produce two forms of photo ID, and, IIRC, to give fingerprints, to receive, and which does have my photo). Security droids want to see something they're familiar with.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 10:46 PM on May 15, 2004

thanks a lot for your help and advice guys , i feel more able to enjoy a kitten free trip. : )

see you soon i cola !

(will you be bringing your morris dancing outfit ?)
posted by sgt.serenity at 7:44 PM on May 16, 2004