Evidence of U.S. Citizenship

You must submit one of the following original documents as primary evidence of U.S. citizenship (photocopies are not acceptable):

• Certified U.S. Birth Certificate (must meet all of the following requirements):
  
  • Issued by City, County, or State of birth
  • Lists bearer’s full name, date of birth, and place of birth
  • Lists parent(s) full names
  • Has date filed with registrar’s office (must be within one year of birth)
  • Has registrar’s signature
  • Has embossed, impressed, or multicolored seal of registrar
• Previous U.S. Passport (may be expired, must be undamaged)
• Consular Report of Birth Abroad
• Certificate of Naturalization/Citizenship

If you were born in the United States and cannot obtain a certified birth certificate that meets all the requirements listed above, you will need to submit a combination of documents as secondary evidence of U.S. citizenship, such as:

• Delayed birth certificate (filed after one year of birth)
• Hospital records
• Religious records (certificate of baptism, communion, blessing, family bible, etc.)
• Early school records

If you have never had a birth certificate filed, see required documents at www.travel.state.gov

If you have previously been issued a passport or Consular Report of Birth Abroad, and it is not available to submit with your application, you may request a file search.

If you were born outside the United States and have U.S. citizenship by birth to one or more U.S. citizen parents, or derive U.S. citizenship through the naturalization of parents, and do not have a Certificate of Citizenship, see required documents at www.travel.state.gov

Photo Identification

When you submit your application, you must present one of the following primary photo identification documents, and submit a photocopy of that document:

• Valid Driver’s License (plus a second ID if issued in a different state than where you apply)
• Undamaged U.S. Passport (if issued less than 15 years ago)
• Certificate of Naturalization
• Valid government ID (city, state, or federal)
• Valid Military ID

If you do not have any of the above documents, you will need to submit a combination of secondary identification documents with a photo and signature, such as:

• Expired Driver’s License
• State-issued ID Card
• Student ID Card
• Employment ID Card

If your name or gender is different on your evidence of citizenship and/or ID, you may need to submit additional documents ,go to www.travel.state.gov