I have a passport question
 

My younger brother (he is 18) may go to Italy with us this December. He does not have a passport and he does not yet have a drivers license. I printed the U.S. passport information to give to him, and I was reading about the proof of identity. We thought a State I.D. card may work as proof of identity (this can be attained at our local DMV office), but now that I am reading this, I don't know if this would qualify. It does mention goverment identification cards, but it seems like they are referring to government employee I.D. cards only. Does anyone have any information about this?

Thanks!
Tracy

You need a birth certificate with a raised seal. ((b))

I believe a birth certificate is enough as long as it says your born in the US.

Hi tc,

He should get a certified copy of his birth certificate.

I'm looking at the U.S. passport information at http://travel.state.gov/passport_services.html, and it looks as if an original birth certificate and proof of identity must be provided. Is this not correct?

At the age of 18, your brother is an adult. He will need a certified copy of his birth certificate and a second piece of ID. A State-issued ID card, in lieu of a driver's license, would be fine.

Thanks Barbara. That's exactly what I needed to know!

Tracy

Since you aren't traveling until December, I would strongly recommend just spending the $65 (or higher now?) fee to get a passport. It will be good for 10 years and he won't have to deal with a birth certificate and all other potential security issues when traveling. You can get a passport quite fast these days and if you are in a rush, it can be expedited to arrive within 4 days. Local post offices that handle passport processing are best for this.

Tracy, since you have the passport information, read it very carefully. A certified copy of the birth certificate will not cut it. You need an "original" from the bureau of vital statistics that has a "raised seal."

Additionally, my wife got her's returned because the pictures didn't have a white or cream background, and the digital quality/pixel was not sufficient. And, these photos were taken by "someone who was supposed to know the requirements." Good luck. ((b))

You definately need a certified copy. Give yourself plenty of time because my whole family applied for passports at the same time. My husband's was the only one that was delayed because he did not have a driver's license - he had a state issued ID. He did receive the passport with no additional ID required.

Hi tc,

You might find this link helpful

U.S. Department of State
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Budman, the copy you get with the raised seal is a certified copy.

Huitres, he is going to get a passport. The discussin is about what type of ID he needs to provide.

Yes definitely use the link and read it carefully. A certified copy of a birth certificate is what you need, a certified copy will have a raised seal.
For other forms of ID, I beleive if a person does not have a driver's license, gov't/military ID, etc they can use a social security card, credit card, library card, etc PLUS have someone who is a US citizen and has known you at least two years who can vouch for you and they must fill out and sign some form.

Here's a listing by state of where to get the cerified copy and information on how to do it:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/howto/w2w/w2welcom.htm

I don't mean to sound judgemental but whenever I see a post on this topic I wonder why some people seem to have such an aversion to getting a passport. Yes in some cases a "raised seal" birth certificate and Government issued photo ID will ge you in and out of many countries but travelling with a passport, especially in this day and age, is so much easier. Passports are almost as easy to obtain as a replacement birth certiicate, are good for 10 years at a cost less than $8 US per year (less than the cost of a good deli sandwich). Many people mistakenly think "I'm only going out of the country just this once so why get a passport". The reality is that once you get the foreign travel bug you'll want to visit many other exotic destinations. Just my $.02!

Sunnyboy, perhaps if you re-read the original post, slowly, you'll notice that there is no aversion to getting a passport. Indeed, getting a passport is exactly what they are doing.

Sunnyboy, my point exactly! If an original passport is hard to obtain, you could always call the city of birth, records office. Several years ago we tried to help a relative get a passport and they only had a copy of their birth certificate, not the original. We had to call the records office in the city where he was born (out of state) and paid a nominal fee ($7) for them to send an original copy. We took it to the passport office for processing, along with a local, government issued photo id. All original documents are returned to you with the processed passport so nothing is lost.

Most times US Govt instructions can be very confusing (like 60 thousand pages of regulations for federal income tax). The instructions for applying for a passport are one of the exceptions. The address given by ira at 1:22 pm gives very clear instructions.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get_first.html

Take a deep breath. Do as Barbara suggested. Read the original post. They know he needs a passport. They're going to get a passport. They're not trying to go to Italy without a passport. They just want to know what ID is needed to get a passport.

I didn't mean you, jsmith. (We were psting at the same time.) I meant the posters who are lecturing on the need for a passport.