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I'm going to the Seattle passport office to replace my lost US passport. The passport application form says I need to bring photo ID. (This is proof of identity for the passport, not security for entering the building.) But I live in Canada, and the only photo ID I have available is my Canadian driver's license. Will the American passport office accept a Canadian driver's license as photo ID?

All the instructions I've found just say "driver's license," without specifying if they need to be issued by a US state.

I also have a photocopy of my missing passport, several credit cards, library card, gym card, etc. — will having that make the passport officer more likely to accept my foreign ID.

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  • If you live in Canada, how are you planning to get to Seattle without a passport? Do you have an enhanced driver's license?
    – phoog
    Commented Jun 1, 2015 at 22:20
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    I lost the passport while travelling in the U.S. So I'm already in Seattle
    – Evan
    Commented Jun 1, 2015 at 22:46
  • @Evan Where will you be mailing your passport since you live in Canada?
    – Karlson
    Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 15:06
  • Several people on the internet said they got a same-day passport from the Seattle office, so that was plan A. Plan B was a friend's house.
    – Evan
    Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 15:15

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If the Canadian license is not sufficient, you fall into "secondary identification" territory, where you should submit as many pieces of identification as possible. So the obvious thing to do is what you plan: bring everything you can. Show the license first.

One site I found said listed "fully valid" US passport as an acceptable proof of identity while another said it could be expired, but must have been issued in the last 15 years. From this I conclude that the quality of the information in these lists is low. This is another reason to bring as much proof of your identity as possible. It is better to be safe than sorry.

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  • The recent but expired passport was dropped from the accepted list recently.
    – Andrew Lazarus
    Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 0:23
  • @AndrewLazarus so what does one do to renew a passport that is, say, one week past expiration? I looked around for 15 or 20 minutes and couldn't find an answer.
    – phoog
    Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 7:00
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    Thanks, everyone. My lost passport turned up late last night, and I didn't have to go to the passport office. So I'm not able to report back with a definitive answer as to whether they'd take my licence.
    – Evan
    Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 15:13
  • @AndrewLazarus: What's your source for that? The instructions for form DS-11 that I just printed yesterday say that acceptable proof of ID include "previous or current U.S. passport book; previous or current U.S. passport card." The way I read that, current means the non-expired passport you're using now, and previous means the expired passport before that one.
    – Evan
    Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 15:27
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    Ah, I now remember my confusion. Expired passports are no longer allowed to prove eligibility for employment (I-9). They are still allowed for renewal, if it is an adult passport and less than 15 years old.
    – Andrew Lazarus
    Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 18:03

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