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Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning.
Updated on September 04, 2020Proof of U.S. citizenship must be established when dealing with all levels of U.S. government. Documents proving citizenship must be provided when applying for Social Security benefits and when applying for a U.S. passport.
Increasingly, states are requiring proof of citizenship when applying for “enhanced” driver's licenses as required by the federal Real ID Act.
In most cases, documents serving as “primary” proof or evidence of citizenship are required. Documents serving as primary evidence of U.S. citizenship are:
The Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth should be obtained by persons who were born abroad to U.S. citizens.
If you cannot present primary evidence of U.S. citizenship, you may be able to substitute secondary evidence of U.S. citizenship, as described by the U.S. Department of State.
Under the legal principle of “birthright citizenship,” as established in 1868 by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and confirmed by the US Supreme Court in the 1898 case of U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, all persons born in the United States, are already full U.S. citizens. Also, persons born outside of the United States may already be U.S. citizens if one or both of their parents were U.S. citizens—by either birth or naturalization—at the time. People in this category may apply through the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) for a Certificate of Citizenship that will serve as proof of their U.S. citizenship status.
Persons who cannot present primary evidence of U.S. citizenship may submit secondary evidence of U.S. citizenship. Acceptable forms of proof of secondary evidence of U.S. citizenship depend on the appropriate situations as described below.
Persons born in the United States but unable to present primary evidence of U.S. citizenship may submit a combination of early public records as evidence of their U.S. citizenship. Early public records must be submitted with a Letter of No Record. Early public records should show name, date of birth, place of birth, and preferably be created within the first five years of the person’s life. Examples of early public records are:
Early public records are not acceptable when presented alone.
Persons born in the United States but unable to present primary evidence of U.S. citizenship because their U.S. Birth Certificate was not filed within the first year after their birth may submit a Delayed U.S. Birth Certificate. A Delayed U.S. Birth Certificate filed more than one year after your birth may be acceptable if:
If the Delayed U.S. Birth Certificate does not include these items, it should be submitted together with Early Public Records.
Persons born in the United States but unable to present primary evidence of U.S. citizenship because they do not have a previous U.S. passport or a certified U.S. birth certificate of any kind must present a state-issued Letter of No Record showing:
A Letter of No Record must be submitted together with early public records.
Persons born in the United States but unable to present primary evidence of U.S. citizenship, you may submit Form DS-10: Birth Affidavit as evidence of your U.S. citizenship. The birth affidavit:
NOTE: If no older blood relative is available, it may be completed by the attending physician or any other person who has personal knowledge of the person's birth.
Persons who claim citizenship through birth abroad to U.S. citizen parent(s), but are unable to submit a Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth must submit all of the following:
The following will not be accepted as secondary evidence of U.S. citizenship:
Longley, Robert. "Proof of U.S. Citizenship Documents." ThoughtCo, Sep. 8, 2021, thoughtco.com/proof-of-u-s-citizenship-3321592. Longley, Robert. (2021, September 8). Proof of U.S. Citizenship Documents. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/proof-of-u-s-citizenship-3321592 Longley, Robert. "Proof of U.S. Citizenship Documents." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/proof-of-u-s-citizenship-3321592 (accessed September 5, 2024).
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