Proof of Identity

The Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division accepts the following documents as proof of full legal name and age for people applying for a Montana driver license or identification card.

Primary Documents

Note: Please pay careful attention to the type of document needed, especially where it is noted that documents must be certified copies, original, valid or current, not expired.

You must provide two documents—either two primary documents, or one primary and one secondary document listed-to an examiner at a Montana driver license station:

• a color photo driver's license or identification card, not expired for more than four years, issued by a U.S. or Canadian jurisdiction
• a certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a U.S. or Canadian jurisdiction
• a certified copy of a birth certificate issued by the U.S. department of state or a U.S. embassy as a report of birth abroad of a U.S. citizen
• a digital identification card issued to the applicant by a federally recognized Indian tribe whose reservation is located in Montana, that contains the applicant's digitized image, date of birth and tribal enrollment number
• an un-expired military identification card issued by the U.S. department of defense (active duty, reserve, retired personnel or dependent of active duty personnel) that contains a color photo or digitized image of the applicant and the applicant's date of birth
• a valid, un-expired passport issued by the U.S. state department or the Canadian government
• a valid, un-expired passport issued by a jurisdiction other than the U.S. or Canada and either:
  • an attached U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) record of arrival and departure, form I-94 (same name with an un-expired endorsement of the alien's nonimmigrant status) or
  • an un-expired resident alien I-551 stamp
• one of the following valid, un-expired documents issued by the INS:
  • certificate of naturalization, form N-550, N-570, N-578
  • certificate of citizenship, form N-560, N-561, N-645
  • Northern Mariana card, form I-551 with "Northern Mariana" imprinted instead of "resident alien"
  • American Indian card, form I-551 with "American Indian" imprinted instead of "resident alien"
  • U.S. citizen identification card, form I-179 or I-197
  • resident alien card, form I-551
  • temporary resident identification card, form I-688
  • U.S. re-entry permit, form I-327
  • refugee travel document, form I-571
  • employment authorization card, form I-688A, I-688B or I-766, or
  • record of arrival and departure, stamped "refugee", form I-94 without a valid passport but stamped "refugee" with a photo affixed
• a U.S. or Canadian-issued instruction, learner's driving permit or receipt of driver's license or permit, if it is current and contains the applicant's photo and date of birth
• a prison inmate identification card issued to the applicant by the Montana Department of Corrections that contains a photo or digitized image of the applicant and the applicant's date of birth and adult offender number
• an emergency identification photo issued and certified by the driver licensing authority of U.S. or Canadian jurisdiction that includes the applicant's name and date of birth - not acceptable for mail renewals or mail duplicates

Secondary Documents

You must provide two documents—either two primary documents, or one primary and one secondary document listed—to an examiner at a Montana driver license station:

• a second primary document
• an original U.S. social security card or Canadian social insurance card
• a certified copy of a marriage certificate or license issued by a government jurisdiction
• a U.S. or Canadian driver's license or identification card that has been expired for more than one year but not more than five years
• a current U.S. or Canadian government jurisdiction employee photo identification card
• a U.S. or Canadian driver's license or identification card that is current but does not have a color photograph
• a certified copy of a court order or judgment from a U.S. or Canadian court of competent jurisdiction containing the applicant's full legal name and date of birth
• any INS document approved as a primary document, but that is not expired for more than one year
• a certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a jurisdiction other than by a state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a province or territory of Canada
• a certification of release of discharge issued by the U.S. department of defense
• a Medicare, Medicaid or health insurance card with the applicant's name and individual Medicare, Medicaid or health insurance identification number
• an un-expired, color photo firearm or concealed weapon permit issued by a chief of police in an organized, full-time police department or the county sheriff in a local jurisdiction within the U.S.
• a current pilot's license issued by the U.S. department of transportation, federal aviation administration
• a certified copy of school records or a transcript containing the applicant's full name and, preferably, date of birth and issued by an elementary, secondary or postsecondary school
• a certificate of completion of a Montana department-approved traffic or driver's education course containing the applicant's name and date of birth
• a current school photo identification card with the student's name and student identification number
• a certified copy, fax or photocopy of a certified copy of the birth certificate of the applicant's child, if the certificate lists the applicant's name and date of birth as parent