Editing Identity document (section)

{{Short description|Document used to identify a person}}
{{hatnote|Several terms redirect here. For a list of national identity cards, see [[List of national identity card policies by country]]. For other uses of "Identity Card" see [[Identity Card (disambiguation)]]. For other uses of "ID", see [[ID (disambiguation)]].}}
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{{Multiple image
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| image1            = Biometric Argentine DNI for Citizens-Foreigners Falkland Islands Seal.png
| image2            = The renewed hungarian ID.jpg
| image3            = ZA Smart ID Front.png
| image4            = Căn cước công dân gắn chíp mặt trước.jpg
| footer            = Examples of identity documents (cards) from [[Documento Nacional de Identidad (Argentina)|Argentina]], [[Hungarian identity card|Hungary]], [[South African identity card|South Africa]] and [[Identity document#National policies#Vietnam|Vietnam]]
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An '''identity document''' (abbreviated as '''ID''') is a [[documentation|document]] proving a person's [[Identity (social science)|identity]].

If the identity document is a [[plastic card]] it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). When the identity document incorporates a photographic [[portrait]], it is called a ''[[Photo identification|photo ID]]''.<ref name="Alice5" /> In some countries, identity documents may be [[List of national identity card policies by country#Countries with compulsory identity cards|compulsory]] to have.

The identity document is used to connect a person to information about the person, often in a [[database]]. The connection between the identity document and database is based on personal information present on the document, such as the bearer's [[full name]], [[birth date]], [[Address (geography)|address]], an identification number, card number, gender, [[citizenship]] and more. A unique [[national identification number]] is the most secure way, but some countries lack such numbers or do not show them on identity documents.

In the absence of an explicit identity document, other documents such as [[driver's license]] may be accepted in many countries for [[Identity verification service|identity verification]]. Some countries do not accept driver's licenses for identification, often because in those countries they do not expire as documents and can be old or easily forged. Most countries accept [[passport]]s as a form of identification. Some countries require all people to have an identity document available at all times. Many countries require all foreigners to have a passport or occasionally a national identity card from their home country available at any time if they do not have a residence permit in the country.
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