How Homeless and Unaccompanied Youth Can Get Their Texas

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How Homeless and Unaccompanied Youth Can Get Their Texas Birth

Certificate and Texas ID Card and Texas Driver’s License

Step 1: Get a Certification Form

a. Get a Certification of Homeless Status for Texas Birth Certificate and Texas Identification

Card and Driver’s License form (Certification Form) completed by your school, shelter,

transitional housing or living program. The form lists who can complete the form for you. You

can find the form at TexasFosterYouth.org in the Identification Documents

section.

Step 2: Get Your Birth Certificate – This will only work if you were born in Texas!

a. The Certification Form lets you get your birth certificate without a parent’s signature and you

won’t have to pay for the birth certificate. However, you will still need to provide documents

that show you are the person listed on the birth certificate. Have a caring, older adult help

you figure out what you need to take with you. Texas Vital Statistics has a helpful website

with information:

https://www.dshs.texas.gov/vs/reqproc/Birth-Certificate-for-Foster-or-

Homeless-Youth.aspx#youth.

b. Gather needed documents to show who you are. Texas Vital Statistics has a long list of what

you can use. If you have a Primary Acceptable Document, it is easy. Primary documents are:

1. Driver's license from a U.S. state

2. Federal or state ID card

3. Military ID card

4. U.S. passport

If you have a Primary Acceptable Document, you are ready to go get your birth certificate.

c. If you don’t have a Primary Acceptable Document, you must have:

1. One Secondary Acceptable ID. The type of thing youth might have as a Secondary

Acceptable ID are:

a. Current School or Work ID

b. Social Security - Must be Signed

c. Medicaid card

d. Health Insurance card

2. You will also need two supporting documents. These can include:

a. Official School Transcript

b. Library Card

c. Social Security Letter

d. Recent Medical Record or Bill

e. Recent Paycheck Stub

f. Recent Cell Phone Bill with Current Address

g. Public Benefits Letters or Applications (Examples: SNAP (Food Stamps) letter,

Medicaid letter, TANF letter)

h. Voter Registration Card (You must be 17 and 10 months old to register to vote)

i. Bank Account Statement

j. Lease Agreement or Recent Rent Receipt

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k. Religious Record with Signature of Religious Official (Example: certificate of

baptism)

d. Find out where you can go to get your birth certificate. You can find a list of places at

dshs.texas.gov/vs/local.aspx

. Some counties, cities and districts in Texas can issue your birth

certificate no matter where you were born in Texas. If you were not born in the place where

you live, be sure to select the Local Birth Certificate Issuers so you can find a place near where

you live that will have your birth certificate.

e. Take your documents and the Certification Form to your local birth certificate issuer office.

Having a caring, older adult go with you is also a good idea. You don’t need parental consent,

but they can help you talk to the people at the office and assist if there are any problems.

f. Give the office your documents and the Certification Form. Because you have the

Certification Form, you should not be charged a fee for the birth certificate and don’t need

a parent to sign to apply for it.

g. If there are problems, show them the information on the Certification Form about the laws

that allow you to get your birth certificate. Ask to speak to a Supervisor. Tell them to check

the Texas Vital Statistics website about Birth Certificates for Foster or Homeless Youth

. If

there are still problems, ask them to call the State Vital Statistics office. If you are still denied,

ask them to write down why you were denied and write down the name of the person you

talked to and the date.

h. If you think you are wrongly denied your birth certificate, you can contact the Texas Foster

Youth Justice Project at 877-313-3688 or info@texasfosteryouth.org

for guidance and

possible legal assistance from a lawyer.

Step 3: Get Your Texas ID

a. Gather the documents you need. When you are a homeless/unaccompanied youth and

have a Certification Form, you need the following to get your Texas ID.

1. Certification Form

2. Certified birth certificate (not a photocopy!) from Texas or another U.S. state.

DPS considers this a secondary identity document.

3. Social Security card, IRS W-2 form or 1099 form (tax forms that your employer

gives you in January), or paycheck stub with your name and your Social Security

number on it to prove your Social Security number.

4. At least two supporting identity documents to show your identity, but three is

better in case DPS rejects one of the documents. You must have originals, not

photocopies. DPS has a long list of documents you can use listed here

. Some of

the ones you are most likely to have are:

a. Social Security Card (If you have this, it works as both a document to prove

your Social Security number and support your identity)

b. School ID

c. School report card or transcript

d. Immunization records

e. Medicaid Card

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f. Hospital issued birth record

g. IRS W-2 form or 1099 form (tax forms that your employer gives you in

January) (If you have this than it works as both a document to prove your

Social Security number and support your identity.)

h. Voter registration card (You can register to vote at age 17 and 10 months.)

i. Selective Service card (Males 18 or older who have completed registration)

5. You will not need to bring documents to show your Texas Residency because you

have the Certification Form.

6. You also don’t need your parent to sign the form for you to get the ID card

because you have the certification form.

b. Ask the caring adult who is helping you if you may use their address for your ID. This is where

the ID card will be mailed. Possible addresses are your school, the shelter, or the home of a

caring adult who agrees you can use their address for mail. If you are using someone else’s

address be sure to list “c/o” followed by the person’s name in the first line of the mailing

address on the application. For example: If your name is Jane Doe and you are staying with

your friend and her mother, Maria Garcia, when you put the address where the ID should be

sent, it should look like this:

Jane Doe

c/o Maria Garcia

1234 Privet Drive

Austin, TX 78705.

c. If you have a Certification Form, you do not have to pay the fee for the ID.

d. Find a DPS office at dps.texas.gov/DriverLicense/

e. Go to the DPS office with a caring older adult; you will need them with you to help explain

that you are a homeless youth and that there are laws that make it simpler for you to get

your ID card. Print out and take with you or have ready on your phone a copy of the DPS

Homeless Child or Youth Identification Card Fact Sheet. You can find it under

Identification

Documents on TexasFosterYouth.org.

f. If there are problems, show them the information about the laws on the Certification Form

under Texas Identification Cards and Driver’s Licenses and the DPS Homeless Child or Youth

Identification Card Fact Sheet If there are still problems, ask to speak to a supervisor. If you

are still denied, ask them to write down why you were denied and write down the name of

the person you talked to and the date.

g. If you think you were wrongly denied your Texas ID card, you can contact the Texas Foster

Youth Justice Project at 1-877-313-3688 or info@texasfosteryouth.org

for guidance and

possible legal assistance from a lawyer.

Step 4: Get Your Texas License/Learner’s Permit

a. If you have a Certification Form, you will need the same identity documents you needed to

get your Texas ID including the following:

1. Certification Form

2. Certified birth certificate (not a photocopy!) from Texas or another U.S. state.

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3. Social Security card, IRS W-2 form or 1099 form (tax forms that your employer

gives you in January), or paycheck stub with your name and your Social Security

number on it to prove your Social Security number.

4. At least two supporting identity documents to show your identity, but three is

better in case DPS rejects one of the documents. You must have originals, not

photocopies. DPS has a long list of documents you can use listed here

. Some of

the ones you are most likely to have are:

a. Social Security Card (If you have this, then it works as both a document to

prove your Social Security number and support your identity)

b. School ID

c. School report card or transcript

d. Immunization records

e. Medicaid Card

f. Hospital issued birth record

g. IRS W-2 form or 1099 form (tax forms that your employer gives you in

January) (If you have this than it works as both a document to prove your

Social Security number and support your identity.)

h. Voter registration card (You can register to vote at age 17 and 10 months.)

i. Selective Service card (Males 18 or older who have completed registration)

5. You will not need to bring documents to show your Texas Residency because you

have the Certification Form.

b. If you are under 18, you will need an adult to go with you and sign for you to obtain the

license. This adult does not need to be your parent. Until you are 18, this adult will also have

the authority to notify DPS to take away your license.

c. Ask the caring adult who is helping you if you may use their address for your license This is

where the license will be mailed. Possible addresses are your school, the shelter, or the home

of a caring adult who agrees you can use their address for mail. If you are using someone

else’s address, be sure to list “c/o” followed by the person’s name in the first line of the

mailing address on the application. For example: If your name is Jane Doe and you are staying

with your friend and her mother, Maria Garcia, when you put the address where the license

should be sent, it should look like this:

Jane Doe

c/o Maria Garcia

1234 Privet Drive

Austin, TX 78705.

d. Print out and take with you or have ready on your phone a copy of the DPS Homeless Child or

Youth Driver’s License Fact Sheet. You can find it under Identification Documents

TexasFosterYouth.org.

e. If you have the Certification Form, you do not have to pay the fee for the license.

f. There are many other requirements for a driver’s license. Visit

dps.texas.gov/DriverLicense/ApplyforLicense.htm

for more information. If you are under 18,

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you must also visit dps.texas.gov/DriverLicense/teenDriver.htm. Have a caring, older adult

help you figure out what you will need to do to get the license.

g. When you go to get your license, if there are problems, show them the information about the

laws on the Certification Form under Texas Identification Cards and Driver’s Licenses and the

DPS Homeless Child or Youth Driver’s License Fact Sheet If there are still problems, ask to

speak to a supervisor. If you are still denied, ask them to write down why you were denied

and write down the name of the person you talked to and the date.

h. If you think you were wrongly denied your license, you can contact the Texas Foster Youth

Justice Project at 1-877-313-3688 or info@texasfosteryouth.org

for guidance and possible

legal assistance from a lawyer.

How Homeless and Unaccompanied Youth Can Get Their Texas Birth Certificate and Texas ID Card and Texas

Driver’s License

ver. 9-23-2020

Developed by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid-Texas Foster Youth Justice Project

TexasFosterYouth.org

Certification of Homeless Status

for Texas Birth Certificate and Texas

Identification Card and Driver’s License

Full Name of

Homeless Child/Youth:_______________________________________

Date of Birth: _______________

I________________________________________________________

certify, to the best of my knowledge and belief, that on the date listed below, the above-named

individual is a homeless child or youth, as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11434a, the McKinney-

Vento Homeless Assistance Act. I provide this certification in my capacity as (check one below):

 A designated district liaison with the school district where the child/youth listed

above is enrolled

 The director of an emergency shelter or transitional housing program funded by the

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

 The director of a basic center for runaway and homeless youth

 The director of a transitional living program

Signature: __________________________________ Date: ________

Title: ____________________________________________________

Employer: ________________________________________________

Email: ________________________ Phone Number: ______________

Address: _________________________________________________

City: ____________________ State: __________Zip Code: ________

Definition of Homeless Child or Youth,

as Defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11434a,

the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act

The term “homeless children and youths”––

• means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence

• Includes––

(i) children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing,

economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or

camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in

emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;

(ii) children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private

place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human

beings;

(iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings,

substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and

(iv) migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this part because the

children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii) above.

Birth Certificates

Effective September 1, 2019: Texas Health and Safety Code §191.0049: State and Local Registrars and County Clerks shall

provide birth records (birth certificates) to homeless children and youths as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11434a, the

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, without fee or parental consent. See here

(https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/vs/reqproc/Birth-Certificate-for-Foster-or-Homeless-Youth.aspx) for more information.

Texas Identification Cards and Driver’s Licenses

Effective September 1, 2019: Texas Transportation Code §521.1015 states that a homeless child or youth, as defined by

42 U.S.C. Section 11434a, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, may provide a copy of their birth certificate as

proof of their identity and U.S. citizenship, provide a letter from one of the entities listed on this form, certifying the child or

youth is homeless and does not have a residence or domicile, and obtain a personal identification certificate (Texas ID)

without the signature, presence of or permission from the parent or guardian of the child or youth and be exempt from

payment of the ID card fee. Texas Transportation Code §521.1811 waives the fee for a driver’s license for a homeless

youth. See DPS Homeless Child or Youth Driver’s License Fact Sheet.

Additional Information

How Homeless and Unaccompanied Youth Can Get Their Texas Birth Certificate, and Texas ID Card and Texas Driver’s License

under Identification Documents on TexasFosterYouth.org

DPS Homeless Child or Youth Driver’s License Fact Sheet under Identification Documents on TexasFosterYouth.org.

DPS Homeless Child or Youth Identification Card Fact Sheet under Identification Documents on TexasFosterYouth.org.

Certification of Homeless Status for Texas Birth Certificate and Texas Identification Card and Driver’s License Form ver. 9-23-2020

Developed by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid-Texas Foster Youth Justice Project TexasFosterYouth.org