Let's Talk About Passport Cards!
 

I've read a good bit about passport cards (and own one) and wanted to talk a little about them and how they can be improved. I came across a few interesting things on the internet I'd like to share.

The first is a State Department memo about the Passport Card Travel Enhancement Act, which would have opened up its use to air travel. What I found interesting here is the Canadian government advocated allowing its use for flights to Canada.

https://assets.documentcloud.org/doc.../c05762501.pdf

The second is a report by the Government Accountability Office. This is a very interesting review of the card and its security features. It talks about its near-compliance with ICAO 9303 standards. The only field it's missing is the signature. I would like for the State Department to add this. I understand their point about it not adding that much to the security of the document, but it still would be nice to have something other than just the photograph on it that connects it to the bearer.

http://www.gao.gov/assets/310/305134.pdf

Two countries besides the United States have issued cards designated a "passport card"- Ireland and Ukraine. Even though Ukraine's is called a passport card and says IP in the machine readable zone, it appears to be just a regular ID card and is just called a passport card because it replaces their old internal passports. Ireland's is intended to be used for travel to the EU/EEA/Switzerland since Ireland lacks an identity card. Although, the Irish government also mentioned its suitability as an ID.

Another thing the Irish and Ukrainian cards do that the American cards don’t is comply with biometric standards. Making this change wouldn’t require a fingerprint/iris scan/etc.; it could just have a digital photo like the passport book. The U.S. passport has the vicinity read chip with a unique reference number with no personal data and I understand why. Even with Basic Access Control you probably don’t want personal data on a vicinity read chip and the purpose of having it vicinity read is to speed up processing at ports of entry by allowing it to be read before approaching the booth. However, I wonder if it’s possible to have both a vicinity read chip with the unique identifier and a normal chip only readable up close.

To answer your last question, I think it is possible to have both chips. Some credit cards have both the EMV chip and a contactless chip, for example.

In a broader sense, I support making the passport card usable for air travel to certain countries. If a country does not require a paper visa and does not want to stamp you in or out, there is no logical reason that you need a passport book.

The signature thing would be good. I had a Notary reject my passport card since it doesn't have a signature on it.

(I found this stupid, btw, since it has my picture on it. And an injury since I got my DL a long time ago makes signing anything to match it almost impossible. Meanwhile, I asked the Notary for photo ID so that I could validate that she was who she said she was and she refused. Since this was at my office I took her picture, which she didn't like, in case I had any questions later about identity theft and needed to verify that she was who she said she was.)

A passport card should be exactly the same as a passport, except in the form of a card.

Actually, the current version of the card is just called "passport of the citizen of Ukraine" and its first two letters in MRZ are "ID", not "IP". An earlier proposed version had a different appearance and was indeed called "passport card" while having "IP" on the back. I guess in the end they decided to emphasize that this is an ID card first and foremost and that being a travel document would not be its primary purpose. It is, however, 100% compliant with ICAO 9303 standards, so it can be used for travel to foreign countries (currently, Russia and Moldova only, but Turkey is coming up shortly).

Yeah, I totally agree with you. I am still a bit puzzled why the State Department intentionally limited its validity for international travel by not including the signature and a regular RFID proximity chip. Would it be much costlier to implement?

König, thank you for the information on Ukraine. I guess I was reading outdated information.

I understand the point about the signature and RFID chip, but is it not possible for it to be used anyway if countries agree? Not all EU national IDs meet the ICAO standards but they can be used to enter and exit the Schengen zone and, separately, Ireland and the UK. Obviously there are differences because the US isn't in such a close union with any other countries, but it makes no sense to me that you can't use it to fly to Canada. There's not even a realistic possibility that a flight in that case would be diverted to another country where the card won't work.

I think the State Department should bring the cards into compliance going forward and work to expand the usability of the cards (including existing ones). Also, I wonder if it might be a good idea to include some physical description information on the back (height, eye color, etc). König, what do you think?

As an aside, I use my passport card for ID purposes sometimes. I even used it when I got my new job to complete my I-9 and for a couple of short-term temp jobs before then. One HR lady commented that she had never seen one before, but she knew what it was and accepted it without issue.

I use my passport card constantly as an ID: when I need to prove that I'm old enough to buy alcohol, to check into hotels (and even to carry with me at hotels in case my key card suddenly fails), for TSA document checks at airports and also to check luggage for domestic flights, etc. I only show the driver's license when something with motor vehicle laws is involved.

My reason is that I do not want to show my home address to random strangers. This especially includes TSA as it's obvious that I'm going to be away from home if I'm flying from my home airport. I don't want to make it easier for them and their buddies to break in and steal stuff when I'm gone. Maybe it's low probability, but why not keep one's address private when one can easily do so?

I had been using my passport card as an ID for 7 years until the back side pealed off :( Now, I have to use my OR DL when I fly (that is until it becomes useless for air travel and other federal purposes in 2018).

My passport card was rejected a few times -- most notably at the CA DMV, a bank and some retail stores. A DMV supervisor was able to resolve it right away, and a complaint letter to headquarters of the latter two resolved all the issues :) It was never rejected by the TSA though.

The TSA just rejects Global Entry cards. They've also rejected some driver's licenses from places like New Mexico and the District of Columbia that they believe to be foreign countries.

I think if you call the State Department they will send you a new one. It would be with the same thing experation date and I think you would have to mail them a photo, but that's an option. Although, based on the timing, it may be time to renew.

Mine expires in exactly 2 years, so I am not sure if it's worth it. Although considering that I am not a big fan of Real ID driver's licenses, I may try to get a replacement. The only thing I don't like about the renewal/replacement process is that I have to send my passport book too, so I would have to be without the means to travel in the meantime.

I remember that right after they introduced the passport cards, there were a few reports of the TSA not accepting them at some airports. When I started using mine (ca 2009), the TSOs never raised any issue with it.

When I renew my passport, I think I'm going to get one of these cards for domestic air travel. In AZ, my driver's license expires on my 65th birthday, which obviously isn't REAL ID compliant. If I switch to the new one, its every 4 years.

Non-aviation reply to US Passport Card use.

In California, at least, a Passport Card cannot be use as identification at the Department of Motor Vehicles (for acquiring a Drivers License) or as identification to a Notary Public, as it does not have a signature.

I use mine for TSA ID whenever I fly, have never had an issue.

You should be able to go to a Passport Agency rather than doing this by mail.