What identification will I have to show at the test center?
When you arrive at the test center, you'll be required to show acceptable identification before being admitted to test. The ID you present must be original, not a photocopy or reproduction. Only the following forms of identification are acceptable. If it's not on this list, it's not acceptable, and you will not be admitted to test.
Acceptable forms of identification:
- Current (not expired) official photo ID: Must be issued by your school, employer, or city/state/federal government (such as driver's license or passport) on which both your name and photo appear.
- Recently published individual photo: Recognizable individual photograph of you in a recent (within the last two years) publication, such as a newspaper or school yearbook, with your first and last names in the caption. All but yearbooks will be sent to us for our files and will not be returned. Group photos are not acceptable.
- School letter or transcript: Letters must meet all of the following requirements:
- The letter must be on school letterhead and include your name and physical description including age, gender, height, race, and hair and eye color, or an attached recognizable recent photo with school seal or official's signature across a portion of the photo.
- Form letters reproduced on school letterhead and then individually completed and signed in ink are acceptable.
- If school letterhead is computer-generated or photocopied, a school seal is required.
- Transcripts may be used only if they include a recent photo as described above and are signed as described below.
- You must sign the letter or transcript in ink in the presence of the school official (who may not be a relative), and that official also must personally sign the letter or transcript in ink. Printed, stamped, or photocopied signatures are not acceptable.
- Notarized statement with photo: If you do not have acceptable photo ID or your school does not have letterhead stationery, contact a notary public (who must not be a relative). Attach a current photo of yourself to a sworn statement that includes your name. You must sign this statement in ink in the presence of the notary public, who must affix the notary seal or stamp to a portion of the photo.
Note: If you present a school letter, transcript, or notarized statement, you must sign it again in the presence of test center staff on test day. They will send it to us for our files and it will not be returned.
Unacceptable Identification:
You will not be admitted if you try to present any forms of ID other than those listed as acceptable.
The following are examples of unacceptable identification:
- ACT admission ticket
- Learner's driving permit, if it doesn't include a photo
- Passport or other photo so old that the person presenting it cannot be identified
- Charge, bank, check cashing, or credit cards with or without photo
- Photo ID issued by a business for promotional purposes (e.g., amusement parks)
- Birth certificate
- Social Security card
- Report card or diploma
- Organization membership card
- Police report of a stolen purse or wallet
- Traffic ticket, even with a physical description and signature
- Phone call to the test center to identify the examinee
- Photo ID of parents
- Graduation picture or family portrait
- Fishing or hunting license
- ChildFind ID card
- Web page with photo
- Photo with student's name embossed or printed on the photo by a photographer