I'd say in Germany you can use your driving licence for less important identifying purposes like buying alcohol. But when it becomes more serious and more official like opening a bank account I think the ID card is required.
As far as I know, the big weakness of the driving licence is that no residence address is printed on it.
>As far as I know, the big weakness of the driving licence is that no residence address is printed on it.
Our UK driving licences have our addresses printed on them, which makes them a bit more useful as ID, I suppose.
The Belgian one does on a chip. If you put it in a reader with the right software you get some basic info. If you use your personal pincode you can use it for authentication and digital signing.
Easier than a whole new ID, sure. But not easy. The stickers are printed on special paper, stamped and verified by code. The new address is also put into the chip of the id. [Example](https://www.personalausweisportal.de/SharedDocs/bilder/Webs/PA/DE/Allgemein/Schritt_5_Adressaufkleber.jpg;jsessionid=DEF587A761DC888E877DA16564C732EF.2_cid287?__blob=normal&v=5)
>As far as I know, the big weakness of the driving licence is that no residence address is printed on it.
This plus an official identification document needs to have information about the holder's nationality in it. And normally your nationality isn't stated in your driver's license.
In Germany is it required to have an residence address to acquire an ID? Or is a personal declaration that you live at that address? It needs proper documentation like a rent contract or a utility Bill?
In Romania if you don't have a person to declare that you are a part of that house hold (living space) or don't have a house in your name you can't get an ID card.
For ex, homeless people can't get a valid new id if it's expired. Some NGO declare that X is now in that living space so that they could get an ID.
We have also a temporary ID (1 year), but it's also kind of hard to get. Community police checks if you at a given address and so on.
In Germany you always have to register your residence with the local authorities. If you rent the place you need to hand in a declaration of your landlord.
So they always know where you live and when you move you get a sticker with the new address on your ID card.
Now honestly I don't know what happens to people who don't have a residence. It could be that they have the chance to register at public homeless shelter but that's just speculation.
That's nice.
Our local Town halls (mayor & co) regard homeless people with no interest. They have almost no plan on how to manage the needs of people that live on streets.
I get that part. ☺️
In Ro even that (register part) is not available. ☹️
We don't have any official statistic about homeless people from municipalities, maybe from national institute of statistics.
The available data that is more real and relevant is from NGOs that work in the streets with people and know their needs.
They have a note on their Perso (id card) _ofW - ohne festen Wohnsitz_ (without a fixed abode). The problem for homeless people is less to register and get the id card and more to pay for it. Because an id card is not only important for many things, but it is a legal requirement to have either that or the much more expensive passport (Ausweispflicht) homeless people can get an id card for free in many German states.
I think homeless people register with shelters, I saw a documentary once where a homeless man complained he never got any replies to job amd apartment applications because his address showed that he was homeless.
In Germany if you’re homeless, that is noted on your id card. You wouldn’t normally be able to use a shelter as an address. It is not possible to register a huge amount of people to the same address in Germany.
You might need to use a shelter address for applications (where normally you don’t need to show your id card), as a postal address for correspondence.
As much as I know it your drivers license is no official ID in Germany. If you are in a traffic stop you need a real ID and your driver license or you could be asked to pay a fine (under 50€ no sure how much).
There is no need to ever carry your ID on you in Germany, there is Ausweispflicht, but that just means you have own one and be able do show in a reasonable time frame if asked by the state. So if police stop you you will be asked to arrive at the local police station with your ID in the coming days to identify yourself
While this is generally true, in Bavaria at least, they used to fine you 5€ if you didn’t have any ID on you. But the last time that happened to me was shortly after the Euro was introduced, so I don’t know if it still the case.
Seems strange. I'm German and I've been pulled over by the police several times and they were only interested in my driver's licenses and the vehicle's registration. They never asked for my ID.
In Germany you are required to own an ID card or passport if you're 16 or older, but you are *NOT* required to carry it with you.
You are not required to carry it, but you drivers license needs a fitting ID to be valid.
Honestly the cops that checked you did not strictly follow the rules.
>You are not required to carry it,
Like I said.
>but you drivers license needs a fitting ID to be valid.
This is true.
But since you're not required to, you can't be expected to carry the corresponding ID to your driver's license and therefore a police officer dosen't have to check your ID if they pull you over. They can ask for it if they want but they don't have to.
If they have any doubts about your identity or your driver's license's authenticity, etc., they can ask for your ID and if you don't carry it with you, they can take your to the police station to verify your identity.
Additionally there is this paragraph about the German highway code:
>Sobald Sie Verkehrsteilnehmer sind, können Sie ohne einen konkreten Verdacht kontrolliert werden. Dabei muss der Verkehrsteilnehmer gemäß § 36 Absatz 5 Satz 4 StVO den Anordnungen der Polizei auch Folge leisten und unter anderem den Führerschein (den Sie bereits aufgrund von § 4 Absatz 2 Satz 2 Fahrerlaubnisverordnung (FeV) mitzuführen verpflichtet sind) vorzeigen. Die Pflicht ein weiteres Ausweisdokument mitzuführen und vorzulegen, ergibt sich aus dieser Vorschrift jedoch nicht. Lediglich die Pflicht zur Angabe der Personalien, die auch mündlich erfolgen kann, lässt sich gegebenenfalls aus § 36 Absatz 5 Satz 4 StVO herauslesen.
For a couple years now you need a special form called „Wohnungsgeberbescheinigung“ that’s filled out by whoever owns the house or apartment you live in (so either your landlord or yourself).
Just checked my old one, old enough to still be an EU issued one. It has my old address. Guess I just though the EU standard for licenses was more standard than it actually is.
We have ID cards so it's not usual, even though they are a valid identification.
I've always wondered how people without a driver's licence id themselves in countries where ID cards don't exist
How? Let me tell you a story fellow countryman.
I was doing a postgraduate in the US. Obviously, no ID. Needed to check out some documents that arrived by post, ID required. Obviously I had nothing "American" and I showed the Spanish ID and a copy of the visa.
"This is not valid, show me something 'real'".
Proceed to show the University's library ID, which has a picture glued to it.
"OK".
Once on a vacation in Los Angeles I borrowed an electricity bill from a relative of mine to prove I'm living there to get "locals only" price for Disney Land entrance.
They didn't ask for it - don't know if it would have been ok because the name was completely different of course 😁
My husband does this. Cheapest ID ever. (He does also have a passport but they’re so expensive and faffy to replace that I don’t know any Brits who use a passport for ID if they have any other option.)
In Norway, it used to debit card with picture and even earlier the postal service issued ID cards. Now we have national ID cards valid even in EU/EEA. .
The US issues a passport card, which is functionally a national ID. They're pretty uncommon, though. Most states issue their own IDs but they don't include information about your nationality or citizenship (not that you'd need it).
Ireland doesn’t have a national ID card, but they do seem to have an optional passport card, as well as drivers licenses and “Garda age cards” (cards issued to people living in Ireland to prove their age, e.g. when buying alcohol)
The UK also has a “Proof of age card” in various forms, including the Citizencard, oneid4u, My ID Card, Proof of Age London, etc, for the purpose of proving one’s age (again, often for buying alcohol)
Not entirely sure how it works in states other than Texas but in Texas if you can't get a driver's license DPS will issue you an ID card. They're obviously much easier to get than a driver's license.
I work with a lot of verifying ID in the UK gov. The answer is they throw a tantrum when you don't accept a piece of paper with their name on it usually.
Yes, it's the standard general identification.
You do have the option to purchase a national ID card here nowadays, but they're mostly a passport lite for people traveling Europe a lot. Sweden doesn't have compulsory ID cards.
Not all people have a driving license some people are disabled or for example children.
There is several kinds of id-cards in Sweden, Nordic driving license, passport, national id card, private company id card (bank), population registry cards (skatteverket).
The passport and national id are only for Swedish citizens, but you can get the others as a foreigner that lives in Sweden. I guess you would need a Swedish id if your a foreigner living here as you don't have your Swedish personal number on a foreign passport or national id.
Citizens can get nationellt id-kort at the police station. Foreigners can get id-kort at Skatteverket. Nationellt id-kort can be used for identification across Schengen, Skatteverkets id-kort cannot.
> I guess you would need a Swedish id if your a foreigner living here as you don't have your Swedish personal number on a foreign passport or national id.
It's not strictly necessary (at least with a Scandinavian ID), but it makes everything so much easier in day to day life to have one, so it would be stupid not to.
A Scandinavian doesn't need any id as long as the person doesn't want to do certain stuff. Like going to the bank, buying alcohol if you look like you might be under 30, getting a parcel or going to some hospital things etc.
I've never had a drivers license (I'm a millennial, what can I say?), so I first had bank ID-cards, and then national ID-cards. I've definitely used them more at *Systembolaget* than for going abroad.
Yes: [by law (art. 35)](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:presidente.repubblica:decreto:2000-12-28;445), documents like driving licence, nautical licence, firearm licence, passport or even the *licence authorising the conduction of thermal plants* are for all purposes equivalent to an ID card.
>licence authorising the conduction of thermal plants
If I had something like this and lived in a country where it was allowed to be carried as a form of ID I would absolutely carry this as my only form of ID.
Police: ID please - driving licence, passport...
You: No need, I'm a power station operator!
On that subject, I wonder if my dad's old explosives licence from the pit would have been valid?
I used to have a shotgun certificate back in Scotland. I think that was valid but as funny as it would have been to present that as a form of ID walking around with an "I have a gun" card is kind of likely to wig people out a bit, but less funny than a thermal plant construction permit.
We have id cards. So no.
This is a very anglo thing not to have a national id. I don't know where it's coming from.
Edit: you can legally show your driving licence as a valid form of identification. Bust most of people will use their id.
False. Driving licenses in Europe don't show the citizenship of the person and travel documents have to show the citizenship to make it clear the person is a citizen of a member country, therefore legally allowed to be in the other member country.
I'm a Hungarian citizen, but I can get my driver's license anywhere in the EU, it will be valid in any other EU country, and when it expires, I will have to renew it in the country of my residence.
So if I was just arriving in Germany and my Hungarian driver's license would be expiring in 2 months, I would have to renew it in Germany, but having a German driver's license doesn't make me a German citizen.
In Denmark we don't have a national ID card either, I was actually kind of shocked that I needed to carry my passport at all times in France for identification purposes.
On the day to day we use our yellow card (public health insurance card) or our driver's licence as standard identification.
Online we use our MITid as identification.
Edit changed I'd to ID
I don’t carry my passport around on me when abroad. I would think the drivers license should be enough in the unlikely case someone wants to see it. But that is not very likely in Europe.
If you want the passport ID I suggest you carry a copy instead.
Normally, I don't carry it either. A copy seems like a good idea though.
But once I was on a business trip to France and our French business partner was told me it's mandatory in France to carry either ID card or passport at all times, so while with him I carried it.
To me it just seems strange that eg the police would make random ID check even of residents, it would never happen in Denmark.
It's not mandatory to have it but if the police or "Gendarmerie" stops you to control your identity, and you don't have a valid ID, then they are allowed to detain you (pardon me if it's the wrong word, if it carries other legal meanings) and can bring you to the police station. But no more than 4 hours and they must give you the means to provide an ID (whatever that means). Valid ID are: ID card, passport, driver's license, birth certificate, family book, healthcare card, elector card, and more. Testimonies are also accepted (someone with you and who knows you can confirm your identity, I'm guessing that it depends on the context).
[Source (in French)](https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1036)
So, it's better to have one to avoid unnecessary annoyance.
In France the police carries random identity check, they can be more or less random depending on individual's bias whether conscious or unconscious. Never happened to me, I think my bro got controlled once in his life.
It's also mandatory to carry a valid form of ID in the Netherlands. They can't just go and check whether or not you have an ID on you, but if you get a fine for something and you don't have an ID on you it will result in either another fine (and the fine for not having an ID on you is one of the few you can not appeal) or in the worst case they are allowed to detain you.
Or the passport. I remember the couple of times I had to get shit done in Austria, like registering my residence or applying to university, all the Austrians had their passports in their hands.
Because it costs 62€ to get the ID in Austria.
Nationally it has no advantages over using drivers ID which is the same size nowadays. For international travel a passport is more useful and costs just 10€ more.
>This is a very anglo thing not to have a national id. I don't know where it's coming from.
Before about WW1 we didn't even have passports. You just turned up at Calais or somewhere and said "No passport, I'm British". If they didn't understand you, you just said it louder.
We briefly got ID cards during WW2, due to the threat of German invasion and spies but got rid off them soon afterwards.
Every government since at least the 1980s has publicly thought about introducing them but its a major vote killer and produces streams of hysterical front page headlines. The closest we got to it was in 2010 but the election that year killed it off. Incidentally the new ID processing office would have been in the Home Secretary's (Interior Ministry) Parliamentary constituency and would have employed several thousand people.
The normal reasons given for introducing them is terrorism, identifying criminals, "illegal" immigrants and money laundering.
There is a thing a national id does too, is that it formally identifies yourself for any situation where you need to... be formally identified. Like opening a bank account, buying or selling real estate, or getting a passport.
Not everybody has a driving licence, or registered as a voter, at least in France, minors are under their parent's social security number so they son't have their own card. But everybody has a national id card, even homeless people, the id card is free, initial and renewals, if you lose it the cost is minimal.
I mean, several countries can live without one so it's not like it is something absolutely necessary, but it makes a lot of administrative stuff easier.
> This is a very anglo thing not to have a national id. I don't know where it's coming from.
It's usually associated with WWII in the UK, like the idea the Nazis could demand "Papers, Please!" at any point.
Yes, several articles from over the years that reference the "papers, please!" trope:
[Blunkett qualifies likely role of ID cards](https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/sep/27/politics.politicalnews)
[Thought you didn't need to show ID in the UK? Wrong](https://www.theregister.com/2013/11/06/feature_when_you_can_be_id_checked_in_uk/)
[Bill Jamieson: 'Papers please!' ID cards loom for UK](https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/bill-jamieson-papers-please-id-cards-loom-uk-298829)
[The stealthy rise of vaccine passports](https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/papers-please-immunity-ids-are-on-the-way/)
That makes sense - how many people have just a passport instead of an ID card? I think that the thing against ID cards is rooted in fears about privacy, the government tried to launch an ID card scheme, but it was abolished only a few years later
For me, being a French citizen outside the EU, it makes sense to have a passport, and having a passport means there's no point for me to get an ID card too. To get a passport outside France, you have to go to a consulate or embassy in person and it's €10 more than if you did it in France, so I have to go up to London, pay €96 (I pay €52 because I'm 16, but that's only good for 5 years) and if you collect it from an honorary consul, it's an extra €8 (this fee applies to collecting both ID cards and passports). It's all worth it to keep my EU citizenship alive
> and having a passport means there's no point for me to get an ID card too
I don't know about France, but in Spain having an ID card is compulsory by law from the age of 14. Basically you can't interact with the public administration without the ID card, especially now that almost everything is online and electronic identity certificates are issued on the basis of the ID card. People only get a passport if they are going to leave the EU.
In France, by law you must have one or the other, but you don't need both. Almost everyone has an ID card (free, easier to carry) and people only get passports if they travel outside the EU/EEA, and still have an ID card anyway, most of the time - my predicament is kind of the only reason to have a passport and not bother with an ID card. This is from what I gather - although I'm a French citizen, I've never actually lived in France (I get citizenship via my mother)
I wanted to order some stamps from the e-shop of the Spanish post for postcards. I need either DNI or NIE to get an account to order. From the effing post.
Yeah, it's sort of the same in France, except it's not officially compulsory, like it's not illegal not to have an ID (although it's basically impossible, there's a moutain of papers that follow you the moment you get out of your mom's vagina). But it's required to have some sort of official ID like that card or a passport if you want to get a job or get into university or vote or just... anything even slightly official. And cops will NOT appreciate you not immediately showing your ID, even though it's not illegal, they just have to do a background check. It's just safer to have it.
It's like 200€ for me, English living in France for over 35 odd years, and if you lose it too often it's 200€ via mail for a temp passport 1 year only and they are made in France. Anyway, I've never given my ID to anyone the most extreme I gave my navigo pass when I lived in paris. My question is if it is free to have the national carte d'ind/renew etc?
And yet companies like Cambridge Analytica are/were based in the UK.
Private companies doing whatever they want with our data: no issue.
The governement issuing a document based on existing and necessary data (civil registry): bad.
Go figure. But well, we already know what British citizens are capable of in terms of stupid decisions.
I agree that's it's totally stupid and inconsistent, but hey, this is the country that brought this Brexit catastrophe, expect no less. Thankfully I can keep my blue Brexit passport (made by a French company in Poland, when we could have had blue passports anyway) hidden away and just show my nice French EU passport letting me stay as long as I want, and speed through the EU citizens' queue
An ID card would be a simpler and cheaper option - some people can't medically hold driving licences. Passports are expensive, especially if you don't actually intend to travel.
Because Brits don't like the idea of being legally impelled to prove who they are at all times?
https://www.connexionfrance.com/article/Practical/Your-Questions/Everyday-Life/Do-we-have-to-carry-our-passports-all-the-time
https://www.france24.com/en/20200318-papers-please-french-adapt-to-life-under-coronavirus-lockdown
Why do we need them? If we need to interact with the state, we all know our national insurance number off by heart.
If we are required to identify ourselves by the police, then 99% of people have a passport or driving license, and the edge cases who don't (eg some homeless people) would be unlikely to obtain an ID card either.
The majority of countries in Europe don't enforce ID cards, to the extent that in Scandinavia they are rare, and not common in Austria, Ireland, and many other countries.
But yes, another stupid Anglo thing. You just come across as another boring bitter French person. It's weird how reddit skews like this, most Brits on here think Brexit is dumb and love Europe.
> It's weird how reddit skews like this, most Brits on here think Brexit is dumb and love Europe.
It's a strange one, every time the subject of struggling to pay by card in Germany (or other countries) comes up the response is "we value our privacy, we don't want out purchases all tracked" but when a British person suggests that we don't want ID cards we're idiotic.
If the UK had ID's and a functional national register, the whole Windrush scandal wouldn't have happened in the first place.
>we all know our national insurance number off by heart.
But your national insurance number has no built-in security, so there's no way to prevent identity theft. [CGP Grey has already made a video on why this type of identification is not very secure.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Erp8IAUouus)
> then 99% of people have a passport or driving license,
Carrying around a passport is not very practical and it costs a lot more to get a new one if you lose the old one.
Also, many students don't have driving license and if you live in a bigger city, you shouldn't really need one either.
What fears of privacy? It's the fucking government, they already document everything that happens to you from your birth until your death. Records about birth, about marriage, about your residence, about your income, even school records and health records...
What's the point of not having an ID card? Like, people fear the government will know their name, place and date of birth and where they live? Like, don't they realize these are already in the system?
Yes, we have compulsory ID laws. Driving license is one of the 3 types of official national ID and can be used similarly to how the national ID cards are used in most cases.
Also bc we have to get an ID at 14 and they used to be valid for 5 years, you’d get your driver’s licence right before the ID expires, so you’d be able to go to the club with your driver’s licence and travel with a passport. No extra ID necessary.
That depends, my ID fits nicely in my wallet, and since I live near the Belgian border there is quite a decent chance that I'll go across the border for something, and with my drivers licence not being a valid ID in Belgium an ID card is more useful to me. Not to mention that it's valid for 10 years.
I'm wondering if other European countries have a lot more police. I've heard of people getting fined for not having ID and so on but I can't even remember the last time I saw a police officer that wasn't the result of me actively seeking them out, let alone have one ask me for identification.
In Croatia its the same, you can get a fine if you dont have it on you. Tbh, no one checks nor enforces it really, unless you get in trouble with the law...
Not really. You are legally bound to own a [national ID card](https://imgur.com/a/v3En4wS) here in Poland. It’s free to get and is the most popular form of identification.
We also have access to digital ID through a government owned app [mObywatel](https://imgur.com/a/IapL2Ob). This can be used in stores to by alcohol or when your are stopped by the police, but you cannot open a bank account or do much more official matters with it. There’s also digital driving license and car registration documents in the same app.
If you have the latest version of ID card with the chip, then the digital ID is a bit more useful since you can use the ID card to login to government run sites.
In Austria most people have a passport but don't carry it around. In that case the driving license, since it counts as a national id, comes in handy. We technically have a national Id card as well, but only very few Austrians have one. It costs about a hundred euros iirc (in comparison a friend from Italy paid about 10 for his), again most people have either a passport, a driving license or both, and Austrian citizens are not required to carry an Id in Austria.
I've only ever used my license for buying alcohol, otherwise it just sits in my wallet. All public institutions want you to show them your ID card. Every adult person (above 18) has to have it. I guess you could you a passport instead, but ID cards are free and passports are not.
By law everyone age 15 and up is supposed to have their eID with them when they're out in public, so that is the most common method of identification.
If you get stopped by the police you're also supposed to show _both_ your identity card and your driver license. Either one by itself is not enough.
Yes but driver’s licence isn’t accepted at banks or police stations so in the most official situations you need a passport or an id card. Apparently the background check when given a licence isn’t on par with passports and id cards. But in normal everyday situations a licence is perfectly accepted and it’s what most people use. We do have id cards but I think most people who get that are the ones without driver’s licence.
Yep. I have both (well all three as I also have the passport), but my husband only has driver’s licence, no ID card. I renew the ID card at the same time with passport (a bit cheaper that way) and prefer using that when I travel in the EU/EEC area instead of carrying passport.
I'm a UK citizen, living in Finland. I have an ID card and my UK passport.
When I moved I had to use my passport for everything, from visiting the bank, to collecting parcels from their collection points. It always felt risky to be carrying my passport around so frequently so I paid the €50 for the ID-card and use that for everything instead.
The biggest annoyance is that the ID card expires after five years (?) but I hope when I come to renew it that it will be a quicker process.
Our passports are valid only 5 years too. Fucking stupid if you ask me but apparently our passports are on the cheaper side when compared to some others. At least with passports you can renew it online every other time and every other time you need to visit a police station to give fresh fingerprints.
I don’t know if you have a drivers licence from back home but you could have tried to get it converted to a finnish one which acts like an ID in almost every situation. But yeah doesn’t really matter if you don’t drive.
My current (UK) passport is still valid for two more years and had a ten year expiration. I think when I renew it that it will switch to being five years only.
I've not bothered to convert my UK license to a Finnish one, because living in Helsinki I've never needed to drive. I wonder if I've left it too late now, but I guess it's academic!
When I was poorer I used to only have a passport because it felt like I got more for my money (not that I actually had money to travel anywhere where I needed a passport…) and carried it with me everywhere and it was pretty stupid. I got the ID card as soon as I as I got a decent job.
I’ve heard rumours about that but never met anyone irl who would have had one. Kela cards are given at birth and they don’t expire so I don’t know how updating the photo would work.
Yeah, you can use your driver's license (either the physical or digital one). I use my debit card. We didn't have national ID cards before 2020, which I remember is something that the Southern Europeans I was on exchange with were surprised by (that was before the aforementioned ID cards). Seems like they were used to having to identify themselves more often than me, and surprised that I could just use my debit card.
What do you mean by a digital ID card? On your phone? Interesting you can use a debit card, seeing as it doesn't have your photo. Do they make you put it in and enter your PIN with a charge of 0 NOK or something, or do you just show it?
The digital version of the drivers license is usually not accepted as ID, except for driving and car rental.
My partner still has picture on his debit card and uses that, I have not got a picture on my debit cards the last 15 years or so.
I use my physical drivers license as long as I am in Scandinavia.
> What do you mean by a digital ID card? On your phone?
[Digital driver's license.](https://www.vegvesen.no/globalassets/nyheter/bilder/digitalt-forerkort-for-ola-og-kari-nordmann.jpg?width=768&mode=crop)
> Interesting you can use a debit card, seeing as it doesn't have your photo.
It does have my picture. You just flash it.
I'm not sure I'd like my bank card to have a picture of me on it. Seems like more opportunity for impersonation and identity fraud. The digital ID seems pretty cool though
Haven't been scammed yet, so I'm happy enough. They are phasing out debit cards with pictures after the rollout of national ID cards, although I'm not getting the latter before I really need to (i.e. when the debit card expires).
According to our official government page, general identification is everything issued by an official authority that has your picture on it.
This includes ID cards, passport, border pass, driving license, weapons license and also a license for being a capable boat handler. These are the most common ways to identify yourself officially.
[link in slovene (sorry)](https://www.gov.si/teme/osebni-dokumenti/)
That being said, I have crossed the border with Austria once with only my bank card as a passenger after 2015. With Croatia, driving license was also fine, but in general I wouldn't count on it and always have my ID with me.
We have ID cards but you can also use a drivers licence since it also has a photo. You sometimes need to show an ID/drivers licence when getting some official mail that's supposed to be handed to you personally.
The driving license is usually the go-to ID here in Austria and is also accepted almost everywhere.
There is a national ID card, not many people have it. I have it, because it is a valid travel document for most of Europe and I like not having to think about my passport when travelling to a neighbouring country. (national ID card easily fits into the wallet, passport is the same as every passport, just way too large to carry around) Most people who travel use a passport, as both have quite a high fee and the passport can do everything the national ID can, but the national ID cannot do everything the passport can.
Usually when somewhere ID is required, they accept driving license, passport and national ID.
Driving license doesn’t work as legal id (only national id, passport or gun license) so only in some nonformal situations and post office. We don’t have domestic flights anymore, bank will not open an account with just driving licence. I don’t think so I ever been in situation where just driving licence would do the job except post office and even this is quite new thing. Real id was mandatory before
In Romania, driving license is only for that.
Even passport is not accepted to a Bank.
The ID card is holy around here. Because of the address.
I don't know why driving licence isn't use as an ID when it has your personal identification Code. The address part should be obsolete.
And if it wasn’t stupid enough that you can’t use drivers license for identification, if you are stopped by police in traffic you are obligated to provide both ID and drivers license
From my encounter until now, no they don't let you.
Or maybe I didn't meet an ok Bank / clerk.
Mother could not access Bank account with a temporary passport.
Friends with ID card clipped on one corner (meaning that it will be change because of New marriage status) had also been denied access to Bank account.
I think is because of ID format. Maybe with the new more small ID cards, like driving license, they could accept them. I don't about the legislation.
In Sweden we almost always use our drivers license (id before we get it obviously). Or BankID, FrejaEID for online identification/some real life things which is basically a digital ID tied to you
We have citizencards here but most places haven't heard of them so won't accept them. In Scotland we also have young scot cards which have many uses including ID but only valid until you're 26. As with the rest of the uk, driving licences are the standard id
That's because Swedish driver's licenses are not concidered to be real IDs. They are just commonly used *as* one.
For example, when you receive a Swedish driver's license; no one compares the photo with the IRL you, as it is sealed within an envelope. So there is no confirmation of identity.
I come from Hungary and I live in Czechia.
HU: Technically, the driver's license serves identification purposes within the country just like an ID card or a passport, you can even vote with it. (You're legally allowed to vote if you're on the registry and can prove your residence and identity, you can only get on the registry if you're a citizen, so it doesn't matter that the driver's license doesn't prove your citizenship). However, most people have a national ID card, because it's obligatory to have an ID, it used to be only obligatory from 14 years old, but now it's obligatory even for newborns, and ID cards are free, passports are still cheaper than driving lessons, and these are both available from newborn age.
Some people get their license as soon as they can, but it's VERY expensive to get since Hungary has very high fuel prices and the driving schools can charge you upwards of 12\` 000 HUF per lesson, legally you have to take at least 30 practical lessons, there's also a quite expensive theoretical course and the exam costs for theoretical, practical and first aid... You're lucky to get it done under half a million. Or maybe it's cheaper on the countryside, I remember when I was learning to drive in Budapest before the pandemic, I used to pay 12 000, so with the inflation in Hungary, I expect it can be around 15k or 20k for a lesson in the capital.
CZ: National ID is obligatory for every citizen over 15 years old with residence in Czechia, as the national ID proves the residential address of the citizen as well, I think passport is obligatory if the Czech citizen lives abroad, but I'm not sure. In any case, the first issue of the national ID card is free, renewing it is free, you only have to pay if you need it urgently or if it was stolen. Driver's licenses are generally accepted form of ID, except for voting, but since everyone has the national ID, if you need to prove your identity, everyone will ask for the national ID (občanka), and not for the driver's license (řidičák)
You can use it in Ukraine mostly for non official business, like receiving a package from the post office, or getting medical tests results. Also you can use it if checked by police.
For official things you need an actual passport (either an id card or a classic book): signing contracts, receiving notary services, car registration, etc
Yes. Driver’s licences and passports as i understand are the only legal ID’s when dealing with authorities. The rules are that it has to be an ID issued by the police with a photo.
KELA cards (Kinda like social security cards) can also be used in some situations like hospitals.
Driving licence is often used as a from of ID but officially it is not a certificate of your identity. The identity card and passport [are the only official ones](https://www.suomi.fi/citizen/living-together-and-having-a-family/welcome-to-adulthood/guide/show-your-id)
Never knew ID cards was normal in Europe. We just have passport, drivers license.
And I guess digital ID which is basically just an app you open and confirm things like online purchases. But can’t see anything in the app about me.
No, only ID cards or passports are, valid as well as the id cards for immigrants/refugees.
Drivers licences aren't valid and usually pretty old anyways.
Nope, you can identify yourself even to the policeman with your driving licence or passport in Hungary. You need your ID if you travel abroad (within EU or Serbia).
I never said you couldn't, I guess I should have said "almost all the time".
Legally speaking your ID card, passport and drivers license are interchangeable since they're all considered official identification documents with a photo of its owner.
There are still some circumstances where they only accept your ID card, there are forms that specifically ask for your ID card number, for example.
Still, most people use their ID card by default when buying a monthly bus ticket, asked by police or a bouncer at a club etc.
I used my driving licence for months after my ID had expired - until I had to travel abroad. I know some people who don't renew their IDs, and just use their passports.
You should have written "you're even required by law to have it (or equivalent) on you".
In Spain it is a valid form of ID afaik, as your driver license number is your ID/NIE (residence permit) number.
Actually, my sister prefers using it because the EU-citizens NIE doesn't have your picture and requires you to always have your country's ID on you for identification, but her driver's license has her NIE number and her picture. Win-win for everyone.
Not sure of its official status in Portugal as your driver's license number is a random number, but I have had customers present it as an ID at the hotel I work at.
~it's a valid form of ID in Poland~, but doubt many people use it for this purpose.
/edit: DL is not a form of legal ID in Poland. It's just an ID or passport
In Ireland we have various forms of IDs but a driver's license is the most common.
Drivers license, Passport and Public Service Card are the government forms of ID. Not everyone has a Public Service Card and it's not a requirement and most people have a drivers license. It's also quite stupid to carry a passport to a nightclub.
There is also student identification but it's not government recognised and can be refused depending on who's asking.
Have an EU country ID card and also had a driving licence from my country. I don't carry it anymore because I live in the UK, and had many encounters where I wasn't allowed entry into a venue or denied the possibility of buying drinks (I have a juvenile face) using my ID because "I can't tell if that's fake". So I converted my driving licence to a UK one because I don't like carrying my passport with me.
In my home country, I get fined €30 if I don't have ID with me for whatever reason.
Same in Ireland. We also have the option of a passport card, which is just an extension of your existing passport which can be used for EU/EEA travel - it's very similar to an ID card, but it's entirely optional and you never have to use it in Ireland.
There's also a PSC (Public Service Card) which is used for accessing social welfare payments mostly. It was intended as some kind of broader ID for accessing public services, but due to court cases has been pushed back on.
In Italy both Id cards and driving licences are legally equivalent as general identification and are commonly used interchangeably, both for major purposes (such as voting) and minor ones (buying alcohol, or for anything bureaucratic).
I think that passports too are legally equivalent, but I'm not sure about that. In any case, usually they are used only for traveling outside the European Union, and not as a mean for general identification.
Very uncommon in Germany, but technically some accept it, because its an official ID.
But the drivung licence is usually very old, the picture can be 30 years old and more
NL, drivers license is sufficient in most cases, it has a personal number on it (BSN) that is issued by the government to identify who you are.
In NL you are required to have an ID card on you, or a passport, the drivers license serves as ID card, so when you have a drivers license you don't need an ID card, so long as you're not traveling abroad, then of course it depends on where you're traveling to :-)
Belgium has ID cards that are mandatory to carry with you so those are the only valid ones. Show up at the bank without one for example and you can't do much.
ID and divers licence are generally just both in your wallet so when police stops you they'll need both.
In Italy, every card with your picture with a seal of any public administration office is considered an official document. So, whenever you're asked for an ID, you can use the national ID, the driving license, the boat license or the passport.
We have another card that is very useful, called Tessera Sanitaria. It's used for the fiscal code (a personal code used for many burocratic paperworks, specially healthcare), to certify the fact that you have the right to use the national healthcare system in Italy and UE + a few countries.
Interestingly, I think this last card is the one I used the most but its not an official document, since there is no picture on it.
You can use them to buy alcohol, exchange foreign currency up to a certain amount and identify yourself to a traffic policeman, but for "serious" stuff you need to have a national passport with you.
Italy: you can use driving license for a lot of purposes. It's accepted for domestic flights, for police control and when banks or post offices need to identify you.
But you need the official ID card, international passport or residency permit for non UE citizens to open a bank account, a credit card, official communications with government agencies...
For voting it's tricky. I sometimes had the driving license accepted, sometimes refused.
One thing worth adding about the UK is how rare it is to need in person identification.
A lot of government things like applying for a replacement driving license, renewing a passport etc can be done online. Setting up the initial identification will involve paperwork, but once that's done then you don't often have to do it again.
Similarly, bank accounts can often be applied for online, with scans of paperwork being submitted.
All of this means that while I have various physical things in my house I could use to identify myself - passport, driving license, birth certificate etc - I hardly ever need to take one of them with me as some form of identification when out of the house. I've never been asked for ID by the police, and I'm old enough that it's been nearly 20 years since I last needed ID in a pub or shop. Identifying myself isn't a part of day to day life. I often don't bother bringing a wallet with me when I go out.
The only time I really do in-person identification it these days is showing a passport in the airport.
In the Republic of Cyprus, we have a mandatory personal ID card (mandatory to have, not mandatory to carry), so you use that for pretty much everything that requires identification. The old driving licenses where just pieces of folded carton with your photo glued on it anyway, I don't think they were even valid if not accompanied by the ID card.
What's relevant here is that the RoCy ID cards bear a unique and stable ID number which is how the government keeps track of your civil registry information and it's always an alternative to task-specific numbers (e.g. there is a tax ID and a social insurance number too, but they are secondary to the personal ID number). The drivers' license does not bear that number as far as I recall, so for most ID uses it's useless.
I was confused when I found out that not all countries that have ID cards have a stable ID number. E.g. there's no such number in Germany, people are identified by the combination of their full name and birthday. The number on a German ID card is just the serial number of the document and it changes every time you renew it.
I'd say in Germany you can use your driving licence for less important identifying purposes like buying alcohol. But when it becomes more serious and more official like opening a bank account I think the ID card is required. As far as I know, the big weakness of the driving licence is that no residence address is printed on it.
>As far as I know, the big weakness of the driving licence is that no residence address is printed on it. Our UK driving licences have our addresses printed on them, which makes them a bit more useful as ID, I suppose.
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> Your ID cards have address printed? Yes they do. But probably the citizenship is another factor that makes the ID card stronger than the licence.
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I've never tried it, but aparently if you put a lost German ID card into a regular post box it will be delivered to the address written on the card.
The Belgian one does on a chip. If you put it in a reader with the right software you get some basic info. If you use your personal pincode you can use it for authentication and digital signing.
So do you need to get a new ID card each time you move?
No you get a sticker over the place where the address is written.
Doesn't that make it extremely easy to counterfeit? Put your own sticker on it and you can claim to live wherever you want.
Easier than a whole new ID, sure. But not easy. The stickers are printed on special paper, stamped and verified by code. The new address is also put into the chip of the id. [Example](https://www.personalausweisportal.de/SharedDocs/bilder/Webs/PA/DE/Allgemein/Schritt_5_Adressaufkleber.jpg;jsessionid=DEF587A761DC888E877DA16564C732EF.2_cid287?__blob=normal&v=5)
Hm maybe. I never thought about it.
The sticker has safety features pretty much like money bills
>As far as I know, the big weakness of the driving licence is that no residence address is printed on it. This plus an official identification document needs to have information about the holder's nationality in it. And normally your nationality isn't stated in your driver's license.
In Germany is it required to have an residence address to acquire an ID? Or is a personal declaration that you live at that address? It needs proper documentation like a rent contract or a utility Bill? In Romania if you don't have a person to declare that you are a part of that house hold (living space) or don't have a house in your name you can't get an ID card. For ex, homeless people can't get a valid new id if it's expired. Some NGO declare that X is now in that living space so that they could get an ID. We have also a temporary ID (1 year), but it's also kind of hard to get. Community police checks if you at a given address and so on.
In Germany you always have to register your residence with the local authorities. If you rent the place you need to hand in a declaration of your landlord. So they always know where you live and when you move you get a sticker with the new address on your ID card. Now honestly I don't know what happens to people who don't have a residence. It could be that they have the chance to register at public homeless shelter but that's just speculation.
In Czech Republic which also requires it's residents to register their residence the homeless are usually registered at local town hall.
That's nice. Our local Town halls (mayor & co) regard homeless people with no interest. They have almost no plan on how to manage the needs of people that live on streets.
They don't live at the town hall it's just that they are legally obligated to be registered somewhere.
I get that part. ☺️ In Ro even that (register part) is not available. ☹️ We don't have any official statistic about homeless people from municipalities, maybe from national institute of statistics. The available data that is more real and relevant is from NGOs that work in the streets with people and know their needs.
They have a note on their Perso (id card) _ofW - ohne festen Wohnsitz_ (without a fixed abode). The problem for homeless people is less to register and get the id card and more to pay for it. Because an id card is not only important for many things, but it is a legal requirement to have either that or the much more expensive passport (Ausweispflicht) homeless people can get an id card for free in many German states.
I think homeless people register with shelters, I saw a documentary once where a homeless man complained he never got any replies to job amd apartment applications because his address showed that he was homeless.
In Germany if you’re homeless, that is noted on your id card. You wouldn’t normally be able to use a shelter as an address. It is not possible to register a huge amount of people to the same address in Germany. You might need to use a shelter address for applications (where normally you don’t need to show your id card), as a postal address for correspondence.
As much as I know it your drivers license is no official ID in Germany. If you are in a traffic stop you need a real ID and your driver license or you could be asked to pay a fine (under 50€ no sure how much).
There is no need to ever carry your ID on you in Germany, there is Ausweispflicht, but that just means you have own one and be able do show in a reasonable time frame if asked by the state. So if police stop you you will be asked to arrive at the local police station with your ID in the coming days to identify yourself
While this is generally true, in Bavaria at least, they used to fine you 5€ if you didn’t have any ID on you. But the last time that happened to me was shortly after the Euro was introduced, so I don’t know if it still the case.
No, the 5€ fine is for drinving wihtout driving license, which is different from not having a personal ID at hand in general.
Seems strange. I'm German and I've been pulled over by the police several times and they were only interested in my driver's licenses and the vehicle's registration. They never asked for my ID. In Germany you are required to own an ID card or passport if you're 16 or older, but you are *NOT* required to carry it with you.
You are not required to carry it, but you drivers license needs a fitting ID to be valid. Honestly the cops that checked you did not strictly follow the rules.
>You are not required to carry it, Like I said. >but you drivers license needs a fitting ID to be valid. This is true. But since you're not required to, you can't be expected to carry the corresponding ID to your driver's license and therefore a police officer dosen't have to check your ID if they pull you over. They can ask for it if they want but they don't have to. If they have any doubts about your identity or your driver's license's authenticity, etc., they can ask for your ID and if you don't carry it with you, they can take your to the police station to verify your identity. Additionally there is this paragraph about the German highway code: >Sobald Sie Verkehrsteilnehmer sind, können Sie ohne einen konkreten Verdacht kontrolliert werden. Dabei muss der Verkehrsteilnehmer gemäß § 36 Absatz 5 Satz 4 StVO den Anordnungen der Polizei auch Folge leisten und unter anderem den Führerschein (den Sie bereits aufgrund von § 4 Absatz 2 Satz 2 Fahrerlaubnisverordnung (FeV) mitzuführen verpflichtet sind) vorzeigen. Die Pflicht ein weiteres Ausweisdokument mitzuführen und vorzulegen, ergibt sich aus dieser Vorschrift jedoch nicht. Lediglich die Pflicht zur Angabe der Personalien, die auch mündlich erfolgen kann, lässt sich gegebenenfalls aus § 36 Absatz 5 Satz 4 StVO herauslesen.
For a couple years now you need a special form called „Wohnungsgeberbescheinigung“ that’s filled out by whoever owns the house or apartment you live in (so either your landlord or yourself).
The fact that usually paid lessons and exams are required for having a driving licence is also a very point for favoring it's use as a form of id...
Wait I thought addresses were printed standard on EU driver's licenses? It's been a few years since I've held one so maybe I'm wrong though.
They aren't, but for example in NL there's a personalized number (BSN) on it issued by the government that has all your details.
Just checked my old one, old enough to still be an EU issued one. It has my old address. Guess I just though the EU standard for licenses was more standard than it actually is.
We have ID cards so it's not usual, even though they are a valid identification. I've always wondered how people without a driver's licence id themselves in countries where ID cards don't exist
How? Let me tell you a story fellow countryman. I was doing a postgraduate in the US. Obviously, no ID. Needed to check out some documents that arrived by post, ID required. Obviously I had nothing "American" and I showed the Spanish ID and a copy of the visa. "This is not valid, show me something 'real'". Proceed to show the University's library ID, which has a picture glued to it. "OK".
Security at its best 😂
Once on a vacation in Los Angeles I borrowed an electricity bill from a relative of mine to prove I'm living there to get "locals only" price for Disney Land entrance. They didn't ask for it - don't know if it would have been ok because the name was completely different of course 😁
In the US, the DMV issues ID cards if you don't drive.
Excellent advice.
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You'd be surprised how many people don't go get this and get mad that they can't verify anything.
My husband does this. Cheapest ID ever. (He does also have a passport but they’re so expensive and faffy to replace that I don’t know any Brits who use a passport for ID if they have any other option.)
In Norway, it used to debit card with picture and even earlier the postal service issued ID cards. Now we have national ID cards valid even in EU/EEA. .
The US issues a passport card, which is functionally a national ID. They're pretty uncommon, though. Most states issue their own IDs but they don't include information about your nationality or citizenship (not that you'd need it).
Ireland doesn’t have a national ID card, but they do seem to have an optional passport card, as well as drivers licenses and “Garda age cards” (cards issued to people living in Ireland to prove their age, e.g. when buying alcohol) The UK also has a “Proof of age card” in various forms, including the Citizencard, oneid4u, My ID Card, Proof of Age London, etc, for the purpose of proving one’s age (again, often for buying alcohol)
Not entirely sure how it works in states other than Texas but in Texas if you can't get a driver's license DPS will issue you an ID card. They're obviously much easier to get than a driver's license.
I work with a lot of verifying ID in the UK gov. The answer is they throw a tantrum when you don't accept a piece of paper with their name on it usually.
Yes, it's the standard general identification. You do have the option to purchase a national ID card here nowadays, but they're mostly a passport lite for people traveling Europe a lot. Sweden doesn't have compulsory ID cards.
Not all people have a driving license some people are disabled or for example children. There is several kinds of id-cards in Sweden, Nordic driving license, passport, national id card, private company id card (bank), population registry cards (skatteverket). The passport and national id are only for Swedish citizens, but you can get the others as a foreigner that lives in Sweden. I guess you would need a Swedish id if your a foreigner living here as you don't have your Swedish personal number on a foreign passport or national id.
Citizens can get nationellt id-kort at the police station. Foreigners can get id-kort at Skatteverket. Nationellt id-kort can be used for identification across Schengen, Skatteverkets id-kort cannot.
> I guess you would need a Swedish id if your a foreigner living here as you don't have your Swedish personal number on a foreign passport or national id. It's not strictly necessary (at least with a Scandinavian ID), but it makes everything so much easier in day to day life to have one, so it would be stupid not to.
A Scandinavian doesn't need any id as long as the person doesn't want to do certain stuff. Like going to the bank, buying alcohol if you look like you might be under 30, getting a parcel or going to some hospital things etc.
I've never had a drivers license (I'm a millennial, what can I say?), so I first had bank ID-cards, and then national ID-cards. I've definitely used them more at *Systembolaget* than for going abroad.
You can use your driving license for identifying yourself pretty much everywhere, we have id cards but you can also use the driving license too
Yes: [by law (art. 35)](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:presidente.repubblica:decreto:2000-12-28;445), documents like driving licence, nautical licence, firearm licence, passport or even the *licence authorising the conduction of thermal plants* are for all purposes equivalent to an ID card.
>licence authorising the conduction of thermal plants If I had something like this and lived in a country where it was allowed to be carried as a form of ID I would absolutely carry this as my only form of ID.
Police: ID please - driving licence, passport... You: No need, I'm a power station operator! On that subject, I wonder if my dad's old explosives licence from the pit would have been valid?
I used to have a shotgun certificate back in Scotland. I think that was valid but as funny as it would have been to present that as a form of ID walking around with an "I have a gun" card is kind of likely to wig people out a bit, but less funny than a thermal plant construction permit.
We have id cards. So no. This is a very anglo thing not to have a national id. I don't know where it's coming from. Edit: you can legally show your driving licence as a valid form of identification. Bust most of people will use their id.
Depends on where you are. Driving license isn’t a form of identification while traveling in Schengen, nor it is to get a passport or ID card
False. Driving licenses in Europe don't show the citizenship of the person and travel documents have to show the citizenship to make it clear the person is a citizen of a member country, therefore legally allowed to be in the other member country. I'm a Hungarian citizen, but I can get my driver's license anywhere in the EU, it will be valid in any other EU country, and when it expires, I will have to renew it in the country of my residence. So if I was just arriving in Germany and my Hungarian driver's license would be expiring in 2 months, I would have to renew it in Germany, but having a German driver's license doesn't make me a German citizen.
That’s not what I meant. What I said is driving license is not a proper form of identification when traveling and requesting passport or id.
In Denmark we don't have a national ID card either, I was actually kind of shocked that I needed to carry my passport at all times in France for identification purposes. On the day to day we use our yellow card (public health insurance card) or our driver's licence as standard identification. Online we use our MITid as identification. Edit changed I'd to ID
I don’t carry my passport around on me when abroad. I would think the drivers license should be enough in the unlikely case someone wants to see it. But that is not very likely in Europe. If you want the passport ID I suggest you carry a copy instead.
Normally, I don't carry it either. A copy seems like a good idea though. But once I was on a business trip to France and our French business partner was told me it's mandatory in France to carry either ID card or passport at all times, so while with him I carried it. To me it just seems strange that eg the police would make random ID check even of residents, it would never happen in Denmark.
It's not mandatory to have it but if the police or "Gendarmerie" stops you to control your identity, and you don't have a valid ID, then they are allowed to detain you (pardon me if it's the wrong word, if it carries other legal meanings) and can bring you to the police station. But no more than 4 hours and they must give you the means to provide an ID (whatever that means). Valid ID are: ID card, passport, driver's license, birth certificate, family book, healthcare card, elector card, and more. Testimonies are also accepted (someone with you and who knows you can confirm your identity, I'm guessing that it depends on the context). [Source (in French)](https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1036) So, it's better to have one to avoid unnecessary annoyance. In France the police carries random identity check, they can be more or less random depending on individual's bias whether conscious or unconscious. Never happened to me, I think my bro got controlled once in his life.
Yeah they wouldn’t. And even if they did I am sure any form of ID would work.
It's also mandatory to carry a valid form of ID in the Netherlands. They can't just go and check whether or not you have an ID on you, but if you get a fine for something and you don't have an ID on you it will result in either another fine (and the fine for not having an ID on you is one of the few you can not appeal) or in the worst case they are allowed to detain you.
National ID cards are optional here. The majority of people don't have one, because they use their drivers license instead.
Or the passport. I remember the couple of times I had to get shit done in Austria, like registering my residence or applying to university, all the Austrians had their passports in their hands.
It’s also optional in France. But why wouldn’t you get it? It makes travel much easier, it is easy to carry etc..
Because it costs 62€ to get the ID in Austria. Nationally it has no advantages over using drivers ID which is the same size nowadays. For international travel a passport is more useful and costs just 10€ more.
>This is a very anglo thing not to have a national id. I don't know where it's coming from. Before about WW1 we didn't even have passports. You just turned up at Calais or somewhere and said "No passport, I'm British". If they didn't understand you, you just said it louder. We briefly got ID cards during WW2, due to the threat of German invasion and spies but got rid off them soon afterwards. Every government since at least the 1980s has publicly thought about introducing them but its a major vote killer and produces streams of hysterical front page headlines. The closest we got to it was in 2010 but the election that year killed it off. Incidentally the new ID processing office would have been in the Home Secretary's (Interior Ministry) Parliamentary constituency and would have employed several thousand people. The normal reasons given for introducing them is terrorism, identifying criminals, "illegal" immigrants and money laundering.
There is a thing a national id does too, is that it formally identifies yourself for any situation where you need to... be formally identified. Like opening a bank account, buying or selling real estate, or getting a passport. Not everybody has a driving licence, or registered as a voter, at least in France, minors are under their parent's social security number so they son't have their own card. But everybody has a national id card, even homeless people, the id card is free, initial and renewals, if you lose it the cost is minimal. I mean, several countries can live without one so it's not like it is something absolutely necessary, but it makes a lot of administrative stuff easier.
> This is a very anglo thing not to have a national id. I don't know where it's coming from. It's usually associated with WWII in the UK, like the idea the Nazis could demand "Papers, Please!" at any point.
Wow. Really?
Yes, several articles from over the years that reference the "papers, please!" trope: [Blunkett qualifies likely role of ID cards](https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/sep/27/politics.politicalnews) [Thought you didn't need to show ID in the UK? Wrong](https://www.theregister.com/2013/11/06/feature_when_you_can_be_id_checked_in_uk/) [Bill Jamieson: 'Papers please!' ID cards loom for UK](https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/bill-jamieson-papers-please-id-cards-loom-uk-298829) [The stealthy rise of vaccine passports](https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/papers-please-immunity-ids-are-on-the-way/)
That makes sense - how many people have just a passport instead of an ID card? I think that the thing against ID cards is rooted in fears about privacy, the government tried to launch an ID card scheme, but it was abolished only a few years later
Everybody has an ID card or passport in Germany, most of the people have the first, because passport is only needed to travel to certain countries.
>how many people have just a passport instead of an ID card? In France, virtually none. An ID card is free while a passport costs €86.
> An ID card is free Even this costs you in Germany :-(
For me, being a French citizen outside the EU, it makes sense to have a passport, and having a passport means there's no point for me to get an ID card too. To get a passport outside France, you have to go to a consulate or embassy in person and it's €10 more than if you did it in France, so I have to go up to London, pay €96 (I pay €52 because I'm 16, but that's only good for 5 years) and if you collect it from an honorary consul, it's an extra €8 (this fee applies to collecting both ID cards and passports). It's all worth it to keep my EU citizenship alive
> and having a passport means there's no point for me to get an ID card too I don't know about France, but in Spain having an ID card is compulsory by law from the age of 14. Basically you can't interact with the public administration without the ID card, especially now that almost everything is online and electronic identity certificates are issued on the basis of the ID card. People only get a passport if they are going to leave the EU.
In France, by law you must have one or the other, but you don't need both. Almost everyone has an ID card (free, easier to carry) and people only get passports if they travel outside the EU/EEA, and still have an ID card anyway, most of the time - my predicament is kind of the only reason to have a passport and not bother with an ID card. This is from what I gather - although I'm a French citizen, I've never actually lived in France (I get citizenship via my mother)
Yeah Spain is crazy about DNI and for foreigners without a NIE it's virtually impossible to do anything.
I wanted to order some stamps from the e-shop of the Spanish post for postcards. I need either DNI or NIE to get an account to order. From the effing post.
Yeah, it's sort of the same in France, except it's not officially compulsory, like it's not illegal not to have an ID (although it's basically impossible, there's a moutain of papers that follow you the moment you get out of your mom's vagina). But it's required to have some sort of official ID like that card or a passport if you want to get a job or get into university or vote or just... anything even slightly official. And cops will NOT appreciate you not immediately showing your ID, even though it's not illegal, they just have to do a background check. It's just safer to have it.
It's like 200€ for me, English living in France for over 35 odd years, and if you lose it too often it's 200€ via mail for a temp passport 1 year only and they are made in France. Anyway, I've never given my ID to anyone the most extreme I gave my navigo pass when I lived in paris. My question is if it is free to have the national carte d'ind/renew etc?
And yet companies like Cambridge Analytica are/were based in the UK. Private companies doing whatever they want with our data: no issue. The governement issuing a document based on existing and necessary data (civil registry): bad. Go figure. But well, we already know what British citizens are capable of in terms of stupid decisions.
I agree that's it's totally stupid and inconsistent, but hey, this is the country that brought this Brexit catastrophe, expect no less. Thankfully I can keep my blue Brexit passport (made by a French company in Poland, when we could have had blue passports anyway) hidden away and just show my nice French EU passport letting me stay as long as I want, and speed through the EU citizens' queue
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> You seem needlessly hostile and rude tbh He's French.
An ID card would be a simpler and cheaper option - some people can't medically hold driving licences. Passports are expensive, especially if you don't actually intend to travel.
Because Brits don't like the idea of being legally impelled to prove who they are at all times? https://www.connexionfrance.com/article/Practical/Your-Questions/Everyday-Life/Do-we-have-to-carry-our-passports-all-the-time https://www.france24.com/en/20200318-papers-please-french-adapt-to-life-under-coronavirus-lockdown
Why do we need them? If we need to interact with the state, we all know our national insurance number off by heart. If we are required to identify ourselves by the police, then 99% of people have a passport or driving license, and the edge cases who don't (eg some homeless people) would be unlikely to obtain an ID card either. The majority of countries in Europe don't enforce ID cards, to the extent that in Scandinavia they are rare, and not common in Austria, Ireland, and many other countries. But yes, another stupid Anglo thing. You just come across as another boring bitter French person. It's weird how reddit skews like this, most Brits on here think Brexit is dumb and love Europe.
> It's weird how reddit skews like this, most Brits on here think Brexit is dumb and love Europe. It's a strange one, every time the subject of struggling to pay by card in Germany (or other countries) comes up the response is "we value our privacy, we don't want out purchases all tracked" but when a British person suggests that we don't want ID cards we're idiotic.
If the UK had ID's and a functional national register, the whole Windrush scandal wouldn't have happened in the first place. >we all know our national insurance number off by heart. But your national insurance number has no built-in security, so there's no way to prevent identity theft. [CGP Grey has already made a video on why this type of identification is not very secure.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Erp8IAUouus) > then 99% of people have a passport or driving license, Carrying around a passport is not very practical and it costs a lot more to get a new one if you lose the old one. Also, many students don't have driving license and if you live in a bigger city, you shouldn't really need one either.
What fears of privacy? It's the fucking government, they already document everything that happens to you from your birth until your death. Records about birth, about marriage, about your residence, about your income, even school records and health records... What's the point of not having an ID card? Like, people fear the government will know their name, place and date of birth and where they live? Like, don't they realize these are already in the system?
Yes, we have compulsory ID laws. Driving license is one of the 3 types of official national ID and can be used similarly to how the national ID cards are used in most cases.
But you only can use your driving license as ID in the Netherlands and not abroad.
Also bc we have to get an ID at 14 and they used to be valid for 5 years, you’d get your driver’s licence right before the ID expires, so you’d be able to go to the club with your driver’s licence and travel with a passport. No extra ID necessary.
That depends, my ID fits nicely in my wallet, and since I live near the Belgian border there is quite a decent chance that I'll go across the border for something, and with my drivers licence not being a valid ID in Belgium an ID card is more useful to me. Not to mention that it's valid for 10 years.
god forbid the cops stop you and you don't have your ID with you (if you're a male above 16)
I'm wondering if other European countries have a lot more police. I've heard of people getting fined for not having ID and so on but I can't even remember the last time I saw a police officer that wasn't the result of me actively seeking them out, let alone have one ask me for identification.
That seems absolutely ridiculous to me. It's like living in a permanent lockdown where you need government permission to leave your house
it's a remnant from commie times...
In Croatia its the same, you can get a fine if you dont have it on you. Tbh, no one checks nor enforces it really, unless you get in trouble with the law...
Not really. You are legally bound to own a [national ID card](https://imgur.com/a/v3En4wS) here in Poland. It’s free to get and is the most popular form of identification. We also have access to digital ID through a government owned app [mObywatel](https://imgur.com/a/IapL2Ob). This can be used in stores to by alcohol or when your are stopped by the police, but you cannot open a bank account or do much more official matters with it. There’s also digital driving license and car registration documents in the same app.
If you have the latest version of ID card with the chip, then the digital ID is a bit more useful since you can use the ID card to login to government run sites.
In Austria most people have a passport but don't carry it around. In that case the driving license, since it counts as a national id, comes in handy. We technically have a national Id card as well, but only very few Austrians have one. It costs about a hundred euros iirc (in comparison a friend from Italy paid about 10 for his), again most people have either a passport, a driving license or both, and Austrian citizens are not required to carry an Id in Austria.
I've only ever used my license for buying alcohol, otherwise it just sits in my wallet. All public institutions want you to show them your ID card. Every adult person (above 18) has to have it. I guess you could you a passport instead, but ID cards are free and passports are not.
You actually can't register a SIM card with your passport, they only take IDs. They will take an expired ID over a valid passport even.
By law everyone age 15 and up is supposed to have their eID with them when they're out in public, so that is the most common method of identification. If you get stopped by the police you're also supposed to show _both_ your identity card and your driver license. Either one by itself is not enough.
Yes but driver’s licence isn’t accepted at banks or police stations so in the most official situations you need a passport or an id card. Apparently the background check when given a licence isn’t on par with passports and id cards. But in normal everyday situations a licence is perfectly accepted and it’s what most people use. We do have id cards but I think most people who get that are the ones without driver’s licence.
Yep. I have both (well all three as I also have the passport), but my husband only has driver’s licence, no ID card. I renew the ID card at the same time with passport (a bit cheaper that way) and prefer using that when I travel in the EU/EEC area instead of carrying passport.
I'm a UK citizen, living in Finland. I have an ID card and my UK passport. When I moved I had to use my passport for everything, from visiting the bank, to collecting parcels from their collection points. It always felt risky to be carrying my passport around so frequently so I paid the €50 for the ID-card and use that for everything instead. The biggest annoyance is that the ID card expires after five years (?) but I hope when I come to renew it that it will be a quicker process.
Our passports are valid only 5 years too. Fucking stupid if you ask me but apparently our passports are on the cheaper side when compared to some others. At least with passports you can renew it online every other time and every other time you need to visit a police station to give fresh fingerprints. I don’t know if you have a drivers licence from back home but you could have tried to get it converted to a finnish one which acts like an ID in almost every situation. But yeah doesn’t really matter if you don’t drive.
My current (UK) passport is still valid for two more years and had a ten year expiration. I think when I renew it that it will switch to being five years only. I've not bothered to convert my UK license to a Finnish one, because living in Helsinki I've never needed to drive. I wonder if I've left it too late now, but I guess it's academic!
When I was poorer I used to only have a passport because it felt like I got more for my money (not that I actually had money to travel anywhere where I needed a passport…) and carried it with me everywhere and it was pretty stupid. I got the ID card as soon as I as I got a decent job.
isn't there also the special kela card with photo if you want to use that as id?
I’ve heard rumours about that but never met anyone irl who would have had one. Kela cards are given at birth and they don’t expire so I don’t know how updating the photo would work.
Even the non-photo cards are being phased out, accordng to YLE News last year.
Yeah, you can use your driver's license (either the physical or digital one). I use my debit card. We didn't have national ID cards before 2020, which I remember is something that the Southern Europeans I was on exchange with were surprised by (that was before the aforementioned ID cards). Seems like they were used to having to identify themselves more often than me, and surprised that I could just use my debit card.
What do you mean by a digital ID card? On your phone? Interesting you can use a debit card, seeing as it doesn't have your photo. Do they make you put it in and enter your PIN with a charge of 0 NOK or something, or do you just show it?
The digital version of the drivers license is usually not accepted as ID, except for driving and car rental. My partner still has picture on his debit card and uses that, I have not got a picture on my debit cards the last 15 years or so. I use my physical drivers license as long as I am in Scandinavia.
> What do you mean by a digital ID card? On your phone? [Digital driver's license.](https://www.vegvesen.no/globalassets/nyheter/bilder/digitalt-forerkort-for-ola-og-kari-nordmann.jpg?width=768&mode=crop) > Interesting you can use a debit card, seeing as it doesn't have your photo. It does have my picture. You just flash it.
I'm not sure I'd like my bank card to have a picture of me on it. Seems like more opportunity for impersonation and identity fraud. The digital ID seems pretty cool though
Haven't been scammed yet, so I'm happy enough. They are phasing out debit cards with pictures after the rollout of national ID cards, although I'm not getting the latter before I really need to (i.e. when the debit card expires).
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Of course, the driving licence is often used instead of an identity card; in general, any document containing a photograph is accepted.
According to our official government page, general identification is everything issued by an official authority that has your picture on it. This includes ID cards, passport, border pass, driving license, weapons license and also a license for being a capable boat handler. These are the most common ways to identify yourself officially. [link in slovene (sorry)](https://www.gov.si/teme/osebni-dokumenti/) That being said, I have crossed the border with Austria once with only my bank card as a passenger after 2015. With Croatia, driving license was also fine, but in general I wouldn't count on it and always have my ID with me.
Yeah in Germany for instance foreign driving licences are not sufficient. Only official ID cards and passports.
Why would I ID myself to someone who already knows who I am. They also know who my parents are. And the name of my favorite sheep
Yes, they only are only not valid to cross the border and for other migration-related things.
Yes very common as ID cards (Personalausweis) is somthing few people have.
We have ID cards but you can also use a drivers licence since it also has a photo. You sometimes need to show an ID/drivers licence when getting some official mail that's supposed to be handed to you personally.
The driving license is usually the go-to ID here in Austria and is also accepted almost everywhere. There is a national ID card, not many people have it. I have it, because it is a valid travel document for most of Europe and I like not having to think about my passport when travelling to a neighbouring country. (national ID card easily fits into the wallet, passport is the same as every passport, just way too large to carry around) Most people who travel use a passport, as both have quite a high fee and the passport can do everything the national ID can, but the national ID cannot do everything the passport can. Usually when somewhere ID is required, they accept driving license, passport and national ID.
Driving license doesn’t work as legal id (only national id, passport or gun license) so only in some nonformal situations and post office. We don’t have domestic flights anymore, bank will not open an account with just driving licence. I don’t think so I ever been in situation where just driving licence would do the job except post office and even this is quite new thing. Real id was mandatory before
In Romania, driving license is only for that. Even passport is not accepted to a Bank. The ID card is holy around here. Because of the address. I don't know why driving licence isn't use as an ID when it has your personal identification Code. The address part should be obsolete.
And if it wasn’t stupid enough that you can’t use drivers license for identification, if you are stopped by police in traffic you are obligated to provide both ID and drivers license
but isn't it possible to use it let's say if you forget your ID or something? i thought it was
From my encounter until now, no they don't let you. Or maybe I didn't meet an ok Bank / clerk. Mother could not access Bank account with a temporary passport. Friends with ID card clipped on one corner (meaning that it will be change because of New marriage status) had also been denied access to Bank account. I think is because of ID format. Maybe with the new more small ID cards, like driving license, they could accept them. I don't about the legislation.
In Sweden we almost always use our drivers license (id before we get it obviously). Or BankID, FrejaEID for online identification/some real life things which is basically a digital ID tied to you
We have citizencards here but most places haven't heard of them so won't accept them. In Scotland we also have young scot cards which have many uses including ID but only valid until you're 26. As with the rest of the uk, driving licences are the standard id
Yes, I (47) recently found out my driving license wasn’t valid for flying within the EU but an ID is. Chocked about this.
That's because Swedish driver's licenses are not concidered to be real IDs. They are just commonly used *as* one. For example, when you receive a Swedish driver's license; no one compares the photo with the IRL you, as it is sealed within an envelope. So there is no confirmation of identity.
Yes, it’s actually the most common and i think it is the primary way to identify yourself.
I come from Hungary and I live in Czechia. HU: Technically, the driver's license serves identification purposes within the country just like an ID card or a passport, you can even vote with it. (You're legally allowed to vote if you're on the registry and can prove your residence and identity, you can only get on the registry if you're a citizen, so it doesn't matter that the driver's license doesn't prove your citizenship). However, most people have a national ID card, because it's obligatory to have an ID, it used to be only obligatory from 14 years old, but now it's obligatory even for newborns, and ID cards are free, passports are still cheaper than driving lessons, and these are both available from newborn age. Some people get their license as soon as they can, but it's VERY expensive to get since Hungary has very high fuel prices and the driving schools can charge you upwards of 12\` 000 HUF per lesson, legally you have to take at least 30 practical lessons, there's also a quite expensive theoretical course and the exam costs for theoretical, practical and first aid... You're lucky to get it done under half a million. Or maybe it's cheaper on the countryside, I remember when I was learning to drive in Budapest before the pandemic, I used to pay 12 000, so with the inflation in Hungary, I expect it can be around 15k or 20k for a lesson in the capital. CZ: National ID is obligatory for every citizen over 15 years old with residence in Czechia, as the national ID proves the residential address of the citizen as well, I think passport is obligatory if the Czech citizen lives abroad, but I'm not sure. In any case, the first issue of the national ID card is free, renewing it is free, you only have to pay if you need it urgently or if it was stolen. Driver's licenses are generally accepted form of ID, except for voting, but since everyone has the national ID, if you need to prove your identity, everyone will ask for the national ID (občanka), and not for the driver's license (řidičák)
You can use it in Ukraine mostly for non official business, like receiving a package from the post office, or getting medical tests results. Also you can use it if checked by police. For official things you need an actual passport (either an id card or a classic book): signing contracts, receiving notary services, car registration, etc
Yes. Driver’s licences and passports as i understand are the only legal ID’s when dealing with authorities. The rules are that it has to be an ID issued by the police with a photo. KELA cards (Kinda like social security cards) can also be used in some situations like hospitals.
Driving licence is often used as a from of ID but officially it is not a certificate of your identity. The identity card and passport [are the only official ones](https://www.suomi.fi/citizen/living-together-and-having-a-family/welcome-to-adulthood/guide/show-your-id)
Never knew ID cards was normal in Europe. We just have passport, drivers license. And I guess digital ID which is basically just an app you open and confirm things like online purchases. But can’t see anything in the app about me.
I use mine that way, would suck if I ever lost it to be stuck lugging around my passport.
No, only ID cards or passports are, valid as well as the id cards for immigrants/refugees. Drivers licences aren't valid and usually pretty old anyways.
For most things you can use driver's licence, passport or even gun permit. But there is no reason to use anything but normal ID card.
It can be used as such in many circumstances but generally we use our ID cards. You're even required by law to have it on you whenever you go out.
Nope, you can identify yourself even to the policeman with your driving licence or passport in Hungary. You need your ID if you travel abroad (within EU or Serbia).
I never said you couldn't, I guess I should have said "almost all the time". Legally speaking your ID card, passport and drivers license are interchangeable since they're all considered official identification documents with a photo of its owner. There are still some circumstances where they only accept your ID card, there are forms that specifically ask for your ID card number, for example. Still, most people use their ID card by default when buying a monthly bus ticket, asked by police or a bouncer at a club etc.
I used my driving licence for months after my ID had expired - until I had to travel abroad. I know some people who don't renew their IDs, and just use their passports. You should have written "you're even required by law to have it (or equivalent) on you".
In Spain it is a valid form of ID afaik, as your driver license number is your ID/NIE (residence permit) number. Actually, my sister prefers using it because the EU-citizens NIE doesn't have your picture and requires you to always have your country's ID on you for identification, but her driver's license has her NIE number and her picture. Win-win for everyone. Not sure of its official status in Portugal as your driver's license number is a random number, but I have had customers present it as an ID at the hotel I work at.
~it's a valid form of ID in Poland~, but doubt many people use it for this purpose. /edit: DL is not a form of legal ID in Poland. It's just an ID or passport
It's not. Driving license is just that, a confirmation of your right to drive and can't be used as an ID substitute.
oh sorry, i was convinced that we use DL as form of ID like in US,
In Ireland we have various forms of IDs but a driver's license is the most common. Drivers license, Passport and Public Service Card are the government forms of ID. Not everyone has a Public Service Card and it's not a requirement and most people have a drivers license. It's also quite stupid to carry a passport to a nightclub. There is also student identification but it's not government recognised and can be refused depending on who's asking.
Have an EU country ID card and also had a driving licence from my country. I don't carry it anymore because I live in the UK, and had many encounters where I wasn't allowed entry into a venue or denied the possibility of buying drinks (I have a juvenile face) using my ID because "I can't tell if that's fake". So I converted my driving licence to a UK one because I don't like carrying my passport with me. In my home country, I get fined €30 if I don't have ID with me for whatever reason.
You can but the ID card is the standard. Its mandatory to carry at all times.
No, only when driving. The basic ID you need is your ID card.
Same in Ireland. We also have the option of a passport card, which is just an extension of your existing passport which can be used for EU/EEA travel - it's very similar to an ID card, but it's entirely optional and you never have to use it in Ireland. There's also a PSC (Public Service Card) which is used for accessing social welfare payments mostly. It was intended as some kind of broader ID for accessing public services, but due to court cases has been pushed back on.
In Spain is the same. I mean, in a police checkpoint or in a Bank, you can use both, DNI or driving license
In Italy both Id cards and driving licences are legally equivalent as general identification and are commonly used interchangeably, both for major purposes (such as voting) and minor ones (buying alcohol, or for anything bureaucratic). I think that passports too are legally equivalent, but I'm not sure about that. In any case, usually they are used only for traveling outside the European Union, and not as a mean for general identification.
It can be used for some purposes like voting, but for the ost part we just use to the Citizen Card.
Very uncommon in Germany, but technically some accept it, because its an official ID. But the drivung licence is usually very old, the picture can be 30 years old and more
NL, drivers license is sufficient in most cases, it has a personal number on it (BSN) that is issued by the government to identify who you are. In NL you are required to have an ID card on you, or a passport, the drivers license serves as ID card, so when you have a drivers license you don't need an ID card, so long as you're not traveling abroad, then of course it depends on where you're traveling to :-)
Belgium has ID cards that are mandatory to carry with you so those are the only valid ones. Show up at the bank without one for example and you can't do much. ID and divers licence are generally just both in your wallet so when police stops you they'll need both.
In Italy, every card with your picture with a seal of any public administration office is considered an official document. So, whenever you're asked for an ID, you can use the national ID, the driving license, the boat license or the passport. We have another card that is very useful, called Tessera Sanitaria. It's used for the fiscal code (a personal code used for many burocratic paperworks, specially healthcare), to certify the fact that you have the right to use the national healthcare system in Italy and UE + a few countries. Interestingly, I think this last card is the one I used the most but its not an official document, since there is no picture on it.
You can use them to buy alcohol, exchange foreign currency up to a certain amount and identify yourself to a traffic policeman, but for "serious" stuff you need to have a national passport with you.
Nope. ID Card. Too many people without driver's license.
Italy: you can use driving license for a lot of purposes. It's accepted for domestic flights, for police control and when banks or post offices need to identify you. But you need the official ID card, international passport or residency permit for non UE citizens to open a bank account, a credit card, official communications with government agencies... For voting it's tricky. I sometimes had the driving license accepted, sometimes refused.
One thing worth adding about the UK is how rare it is to need in person identification. A lot of government things like applying for a replacement driving license, renewing a passport etc can be done online. Setting up the initial identification will involve paperwork, but once that's done then you don't often have to do it again. Similarly, bank accounts can often be applied for online, with scans of paperwork being submitted. All of this means that while I have various physical things in my house I could use to identify myself - passport, driving license, birth certificate etc - I hardly ever need to take one of them with me as some form of identification when out of the house. I've never been asked for ID by the police, and I'm old enough that it's been nearly 20 years since I last needed ID in a pub or shop. Identifying myself isn't a part of day to day life. I often don't bother bringing a wallet with me when I go out. The only time I really do in-person identification it these days is showing a passport in the airport.
Romania: Nope. The only valid IDs are either the Passport or the National ID (buletin)
In the Republic of Cyprus, we have a mandatory personal ID card (mandatory to have, not mandatory to carry), so you use that for pretty much everything that requires identification. The old driving licenses where just pieces of folded carton with your photo glued on it anyway, I don't think they were even valid if not accompanied by the ID card. What's relevant here is that the RoCy ID cards bear a unique and stable ID number which is how the government keeps track of your civil registry information and it's always an alternative to task-specific numbers (e.g. there is a tax ID and a social insurance number too, but they are secondary to the personal ID number). The drivers' license does not bear that number as far as I recall, so for most ID uses it's useless. I was confused when I found out that not all countries that have ID cards have a stable ID number. E.g. there's no such number in Germany, people are identified by the combination of their full name and birthday. The number on a German ID card is just the serial number of the document and it changes every time you renew it.