Identification Requirements

Required Identification at the Polls

Virginia law requires all voters to provide an acceptable form of photo identification (photo ID) at the polls. Voters arriving to the polls without photo ID will be required to vote a provisional ballot and will have until noon on the Friday after the election to deliver a copy of identification to their locality's electoral board in order for their provisional ballot to be counted. Please see below in "Provisional Ballot Process for Voters Who Arrive Without Identification" for more information on how the provisional ballot process will work for those arriving to the polls without ID.

Virginia's photo ID requirements also apply to absentee voters who vote in-person in all elections.

Acceptable forms of identification for in-person voting include the following:

• Valid Virginia Driver's License or Identification Card
• Valid Virginia DMV issued Veteran's ID card
• Valid United States Passport
• Other government-issued photo identification cards (must be issued by US Government, the Commonwealth of Virginia, or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth)
• Valid college or university student photo identification card (must be from an institution of higher education located in Virginia)
• Employee identification card containing a photograph of the voter and issued by an employer of the voter in the ordinary course of the employer's business
• or a Virginia Voter Photo ID Card obtained through any local general registrar's office

Downloadable List of Acceptable Identification

A voter who does not bring an acceptable photo ID to the polls will be offered a provisional ballot.
Don't have one of these forms of ID?

Any registered voter who does not possess one of the above mentioned forms of photo ID, may apply for a free Virginia Voter Photo Identification from any general registrar's office in the Commonwealth. Voters applying for the Virginia Voter Photo ID Card will have to complete the Virginia Voter Photo Identification Card Application stating they do not have acceptable photo identification for voting purposes, have their picture taken, and sign the digital signature pad. Once the application is processed, the card will be mailed directly to the voter.

Provisional Ballot Process for Voters Who Arrive Without Identification

A voter who arrives at the polling place without an acceptable form of photo identification will be given the opportunity to vote a provisional ballot. After completing the provisional ballot, the individual voting will be given written instructions from the election officials on how to submit a copy of his/her identification so that his/her vote can be counted.

A voter will have until noon on the Friday following the election to deliver a copy of the identification to the local electoral board. Voters may submit a copy of their ID via fax, email, in-person submission, or through USPS or commercial delivery service. Please note that the copy of the ID must be delivered to the electoral board by noon on Friday, or the provisional ballot cannot be counted. A Friday postmark will not be sufficient if the copy of the ID is not delivered to the electoral board by noon on Friday.

The written notice given to the voter will provide the necessary information, including email, fax, and address of where the ID should be delivered.

Also by noon on Friday following the election, the voter may appear in-person in the office of the general registrar, in the locality in which the provisional ballot was cast, and apply for a Virginia Voter Photo ID Card. At the completion of the application process, the voter may request a Temporary Identification Document. This document may be provided to the electoral board to suffice the identification requirement.