How to Fill Out and Submit the NYC ID Application (IDNYC)

To apply for an IDNYC card, gather identity and residency documents worth at least four points under the program’s verification system, fill out the application online or on paper, and bring your originals to an in-person appointment at an enrollment center. The card is free, available to any New York City resident age 10 or older regardless of immigration status, and typically arrives by mail about 14 business days after your visit.¹

Check That You’re Eligible

Any New York City resident who is at least 10 years old can apply. There is no citizenship or immigration status requirement, and people experiencing homelessness or formerly incarcerated individuals are explicitly eligible.²

Age changes the process in one way. Children 10 to 13 must apply with a caretaker. Applicants 14 and older can apply on their own if they have a photo ID; those between 14 and 21 who lack a photo ID or proof of residency can also apply with a caretaker.³ A caretaker has to bring documents proving their relationship to the applicant, and the accepted list varies by the applicant’s age.

Get Your Documents to Four Points

This is the part that trips up most first-time applicants. You need documents adding up to at least four points: three or more for identity, one or more for residency. At least one document has to show your photo, and at least one has to show your date of birth. Only originals or copies certified by the issuing agency are accepted.⁴

Three-Point Identity Documents

A single three-point document covers the entire identity requirement on its own. Options include a current U.S. passport, a machine-readable unexpired foreign passport, a permanent resident card, a U.S. state-issued driver’s license (expired or unexpired), or a current IDNYC card.⁴ With any of these, you just add one residency document and you’re done.

Two-Point Identity Documents

If you don’t have a three-point document, combine a two-point document with a one-point document to reach three identity points. Two-point documents include:

U.S. birth certificate
Social Security card
Expired U.S. passport or passport card (expired within three years)
Consular identification card
Machine-readable foreign driver’s license or national ID card
Expired IDNYC card (expired within three years)
U.S. visa issued by the State Department with a photo
U.S. federal, state, or local government employee photo ID
Veterans ID card or Veterans Health ID card

One-Point Identity Documents

One-point documents are broad, so applicants without standard U.S. ID still have options. They include a foreign birth certificate, a U.S. voter registration card, an EBT card, a school ID showing date of birth, a U.S. school transcript, a Selective Service registration card, an ITIN card, a marriage or divorce certificate, a reduced-fare MetroCard, and employee or union photo IDs. Some self-attestation options also carry one point, including attestation of birth in the five boroughs and attestation of release from Department of Correction custody within the last five years.³

Residency Documents

You need at least one point of residency proof, and most residency documents are worth exactly one point. Accepted documents include a utility bill dated within the last 60 days, a residential lease, and a bank statement dated within the last 60 days, among others.⁴ Whatever document you use, its address has to match the New York City address you put on the application.

If You Don’t Have a Fixed Address

The program has dedicated pathways for people without a lease or utility bill, including domestic violence survivors. Any of the following works for the residency requirement:

A “care-of” letter from a city-funded nonprofit or religious institution serving homeless individuals or DV survivors, dated within 14 days, confirming you’ve received services for the past 60 days and can use the organization’s address for mail. The card will show a “Care Of” address.
A letter from a city agency, nonprofit, or religious institution serving people without a home address or DV survivors, dated within 30 days. No address appears on the card.
A letter from a NYC hospital or health clinic, dated within 30 days.
Self-attestation that you reside in a homeless shelter or have received services from an agency serving homeless individuals.³

Fill Out the Application

You can complete the form online through the IDNYC portal before your appointment, or fill out a paper form when you arrive. The application is available in more than 30 languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Bengali, Korean, Haitian Creole, Polish, Urdu, and Yiddish. Downloadable PDFs are on the IDNYC Application Materials page.⁵

Enter your full legal name exactly as it appears on your highest-point identity document. If your documents show different names because of a legal name change through marriage, divorce, or court order, bring the marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order proving the change. Without that proof, the program cannot accept documents with inconsistent names.⁶ If your highest-point document abbreviates or truncates your name, you’ll need at least one additional point of identity documentation showing your full name.

The form asks you to select a gender designation: Female, Male, X (neither male nor female), or Not Designated to leave the field blank. It’s self-designated, and no supporting documentation is required.⁶ You’ll also decide whether to include emergency contact information and an organ donor designation, both of which print on the finished card.

If you served in the U.S. Armed Forces, you can add a veteran designation. You need one of: a DD-214, a DD Form 2 (Retired), a VA hospital identification card (VIC or VHIC), a New York State DMV license or non-driver ID with a veteran designation, an existing IDNYC card that already carries the designation, or an attestation from the Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs confirming your service.⁷

Book Your Enrollment Center Appointment

Even after filling out the form online, you have to appear in person. The online portal lets you complete the application, list your documents, and book a slot; you’ll get a confirmation number and receipt to bring with you.⁸

New appointments open every Friday for the following Monday through Friday. Schedule online at the IDNYC portal or by calling 311. Pick your borough, date, time of day, and enrollment center. If a location doesn’t appear, its slots are full for that date.⁹ Book only one appointment per person, and cancel if you can’t make it rather than no-showing.

Walk-in service is available on a first-come, first-served basis at a small number of locations on specific days:

East New York (2400 Fulton Street, 5th Floor), Tuesdays
Bronx Monterey, Wednesdays
Manhattan Union Square, Thursdays
Queens Public Library at Central (89-11 Merrick Boulevard), Fridays

Every other enrollment center requires an appointment.⁹ The map at maps.nyc.gov/idnyc shows the closest center.

Your Visit to the Enrollment Center

Bring the original documents you listed and your printed confirmation receipt. A counselor reviews your paperwork, scans the originals, and hands them back to you at the counter. Nothing is kept. The counselor then takes your photo and captures a digital signature, both of which appear on the card. A final review checks for inconsistencies or gaps.

If something is wrong, the application is denied and a letter goes to the address on file explaining why.⁶ The usual reasons: documents that don’t add up to four points, names that don’t match without proof of a legal change, or residency documents older than 60 days.

When the Card Arrives

If you’re approved, the card arrives by mail about 14 business days after your appointment.¹ If it hasn’t shown up by then, call 311 and a representative will forward your information to IDNYC for follow-up.¹⁰

There is no fee for the first card. Cards for holders 16 and older are valid for five years from the approval date. Cards for holders under 16 are valid for two years.² Replacing a lost or stolen card costs $10.⁶ Renewals are free, and you can renew starting 60 days before the expiration date and up to six months after it expires. Past that six-month window, you’ll need to apply for a new card from scratch.

What the Card Does and Doesn’t Cover

IDNYC is accepted for interacting with city agencies, NYPD, and entry to city buildings. Cardholders also receive free one-year memberships at over 35 cultural institutions, and several banks and credit unions accept the card as a primary form of identification for opening accounts, each with its own additional requirements.¹¹

The card has real limits at the federal level. It is not on the TSA’s list of acceptable identification for airport security, so it cannot be used to board a domestic flight.¹² It also does not appear on the list of acceptable documents for Form I-9, so employers cannot accept it as proof of identity or work authorization when you’re hired.¹³

1
NYC311. IDNYC Municipal ID Card
2
NYC.gov. About IDNYC
3
NYC.gov. Document Calculator – How to Apply – IDNYC
4
New York City Municipal Code Library. The Rules of the City of New York – 6-04 Proof of Identity and Residency
5
IDNYC. Application Materials
6
NYC.gov. Frequently Asked Questions
7
NYC.gov. The IDNYC U.S. Veteran Designation
8
NYC.gov. Start Your IDNYC Application
9
NYC.gov. Make an Appointment – IDNYC
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NYC311. IDNYC Complaints, Status, and Questions
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NYC.gov. Benefits – IDNYC
12
Transportation Security Administration. Acceptable Identification at the TSA Checkpoint
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents