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 or city/state/federal government (such as driver's license or passport) on which both your name and photo appear.
- Recent 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. Group photos are not acceptable.
Note: This form of identification is NOT accepted at international test centers. - School letter or transcript: Letters must meet all of the requirements below.
- The letter must be on school letterhead and include, an attached recognizable recent photo with school seal or official's signature overlapping a portion of the photo or your name and physical description including age, gender, height, race, and hair and eye color.
Note: Physical descriptions in lieu of photos are not accepted at international test centers. - 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.
- The letter must be on school letterhead and include, an attached recognizable recent photo with school seal or official's signature overlapping a portion of the photo or your name and physical description including age, gender, height, race, and hair and eye color.
- 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 we will keep it.
Unacceptable Identification:
You will not be admitted if you present any forms of ID other than those listed as acceptable.
The following are examples of unacceptable identification:
- ACT admission ticket
- Birth certificate
- Charge, bank, check cashing, or credit cards with or without photo
- ChildFind ID card
- Fishing or hunting license
- Graduation picture or family portrait
- ID issued by an employer
- Learner's driving permit, if it doesn't include a photo
- Organization membership card
- Passport or other photo so old that the person presenting it cannot be identified
- Phone calls to the test center to identify the examinee
- Photo ID issued by a business for promotional purposes (e.g., amusement parks)
- Photo ID of parents
- Photo with student's name embossed or printed on the photo by a photographer
- Police report of a stolen purse or wallet
- Report card or diploma
- Social Security card
- Traffic ticket, even with a physical description and signature
- Web page with photo