Identity documents in the United States

There is no true national identity card in the United States of America, in the sense that there is no federal agency with nationwide jurisdiction that directly issues such cards to all American citizens for mandatory regular use. Instead, since the United States is a federal republic, citizens are identified by a patchwork of documents issued by both the federal government as well as individual state and local governments. All legislative attempts to create a national identity card have failed due to tenacious opposition from liberal and conservative politicians alike, who regard the national identity card as the mark of a totalitarian society.

At present, the only national photo identity documents are the passport and passport card, which are issued to U.S. nationals only upon voluntary application. The driver's license, which is issued by each individual state, operates as the de facto national identity card due to the ubiquity of driving in the United States.

The birth certificate is the initial identification document issued to parents shortly after the birth of their child. Birth certificates are typically issued by local governments, usually the city or county where a child is born. The birth certificate is an important record, often called a "feeder document," because it establishes U.S. citizenship, which is then used to obtain, or is the basis for, all other identity documents. By itself, the birth certificate is usually only considered proof of citizenship but not proof of identity, since it is issued without a photograph at birth, containing no identifying features. A birth certificate is normally produced along with proof of identity, such as a driver's license or the testimony of a third party (such as a parent), to establish identity or entitlement to a service.

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