Virginia Voter ID Requirements: Accepted Forms and Free Photo ID

To vote in Virginia, you need to show one acceptable form of identification, and the list is wide: a Virginia driver’s license works even if it has expired, and non-photo documents like a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or government check also qualify. If you arrive without any of them, you can still cast a regular ballot by signing an ID Confirmation Statement affirming your identity under penalty of felony prosecution. Virginia’s voter ID requirements are set by VA Code § 24.2-643.¹

What Counts as Acceptable ID

You only need one item from the following categories:

Voter confirmation documents, including the registration card mailed to you when you registered.
A Virginia driver’s license, U.S. passport, or any other ID issued by Virginia, a Virginia locality, or the federal government. The expiration date on a Virginia driver’s license does not matter for voting.
A valid student ID from any college, university, or private school located in Virginia.
A valid student ID with your photo from a college or university in another U.S. state or territory.
An employee ID card with your photo, issued by your employer in the ordinary course of business.
A current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document showing your name and residential address.

One point trips people up often enough to flag: the address on your ID does not have to match the address in the pollbook. Election officers use the ID to confirm who you are, not where you live, so an old address on your license is fine.²

What Is Not Accepted

Two documents that look like valid ID will be turned away at the polls.

Virginia driver privilege cards and identification privilege cards are explicitly excluded. They resemble a standard Virginia driver’s license but carry a “Federal Limits Apply” label on the front, a restriction code of “9,” and a “Limited Duration” notation on the back.¹

Virginia’s mobile driver’s license, the digital ID stored on your smartphone, is also not accepted at polling places. The DMV treats the mobile ID as a companion to your physical card, and polling locations are not on the list of places that accept it.³

If You Show Up Without ID

You can still vote a regular ballot. Ask for an ID Confirmation Statement, a written declaration that you are the registered voter you claim to be. It’s available whether you forgot your ID at home or don’t own one at all.¹

Signing the statement falsely is election fraud under VA Code § 24.2-1016, a Class 5 felony that can carry prison time.⁴

One Exception for First-Time Voters

Under the federal Help America Vote Act, first-time voters in a federal election who originally registered by mail and did not include a copy of ID with their registration cannot use the ID Confirmation Statement. They must show either a current photo ID or a document displaying their name and address. Without one, they are offered a provisional ballot. The restriction disappears after that first federal election and does not apply to anyone who verified their identity during registration.¹

Getting a Free Voter Photo ID

If you don’t have any of the accepted documents and don’t want to rely on the Confirmation Statement each election, you can get a free voter photo identification card from any general registrar’s office in Virginia. There is no charge for the photo or the card, and staff will take your picture during the visit. The card is mailed to your registered address.⁵

Early Voting and Absentee by Mail

Early in-person voting uses the same ID rules as Election Day. Show an acceptable ID or sign the Confirmation Statement. If you do neither, you cast a provisional ballot.⁶

Mail-in absentee voting works differently. When you apply through the Citizen Portal, you provide your name, date of birth, last four digits of your Social Security number, driver’s license or state ID number, and your locality. That information verifies your identity for the mail-in process.⁶

The HAVA exception shows up here too. First-time federal voters who registered by mail without ID will get a notice with their absentee ballot explaining that they need to include a copy of a photo ID or a name-and-address document (such as a utility bill or voter registration card) with the returned ballot. If they don’t, the ballot is treated as provisional and only counts if they get a copy of the ID to the electoral board by the deadline.⁶

If You Cast a Provisional Ballot

A provisional ballot is what you get if you don’t show acceptable ID and also decline to sign the Confirmation Statement. You aren’t turned away, but your ballot only counts if you follow up.

You have until noon on the Friday after the election to deliver a copy of acceptable ID or a signed Confirmation Statement to your local electoral board. You can submit it by fax, email, in person, USPS, or a commercial delivery service. A Friday postmark alone will not save the ballot; the documentation has to physically arrive at the electoral board office by noon that Friday.⁷

This is where many provisional ballots fail. If there’s any chance you’ll end up voting provisional, bringing a utility bill or bank statement to the polls is simpler than chasing paperwork after the election.

Name Changes and Nursing Home Residents

If your legal name has changed due to marriage, divorce, or a court order and no longer matches your voter registration, notify the general registrar in the jurisdiction where you’re registered. You can do it in writing, by fax, or electronically, and the registrar will update your records and issue a new voter registration card.⁸ If you haven’t updated your registration by Election Day, you can still vote; the address mismatch doesn’t matter, and the Confirmation Statement handles a name mismatch.

Residents of government-operated nursing homes or assisted living facilities can use an identification card issued by the facility, as long as the facility is a government entity. If a facility ID doesn’t qualify, the resident can sign a Confirmation Statement like any other voter.⁹

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 24.2-643 – Qualified Voter Permitted to Vote; Procedures at Polling Place; Voter Identification
2
Virginia Department of Elections. Understanding Acceptable ID Rules When Checking in Voters
3
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Virginia Mobile ID
4
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 24.2-1016 – False Statements; Penalties
5
Virginia Department of Elections. Voter Photo Identification Card Application
6
Virginia Dept. of Elections. Absentee and Early Voting
7
Virginia Dept. of Elections. Voting on Election Day
8
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 24.2-423 – Notice of Change of Name of Registered Voter
9
Virginia Department of Elections. Voter Identification Chart