Effective November 29, 2018, the Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles’ (DMV) policies make clear that DMV offices will now accept tribal identification (ID) cards for proof of identity. When getting a Colorado driver’s license, permit, or ID card, you generally must prove your full legal name, identity, date of birth, lawful presence in the United States, social security number, and proof of residential address. For more information see www.Colorado.gov/DMV. Until this change, some DMV offices have not been accepting tribal ID cards for proof of identity. But now, with this recent change, DMV offices should now accept your tribal ID card as proof of your identity. Keep in mind that if you do use your tribal ID card, the photo must be no more than 20 years old and the name and date of birth on your tribal ID must match the other documents you present to the DMV for proof of name, age, and lawful presence.

In addition to your tribal ID card, you must also provide other acceptable documents to further prove your lawful presence, name, and date of birth. For example, other documents that you may present include, a U.S. birth certificate, U.S. passport (expired less than 10 years), out-of-state driver’s license or ID card (expired less than 10 years), among others. After providing the sufficient documentation to prove your identity, you must then provide the necessary documents to prove your social security number and proof of residential address to get your Colorado driver’s license or ID card. Visit https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dmv/identification-card for information on the acceptable documents.

If you encounter any issues with using your tribal ID card when trying to get a Colorado driver’s license or ID card, please contact the Director of Tribal Information Services, Edna Frost at 970-563-2250, or email, efrost@southernute-nsn.gov, who can then follow-up with the State to try and resolve the issue.