📝 ID Recovery Checklist

• Contacted prison reentry office
• Confirmed ID was submitted
• Verified mailing address
• Visited Texas DPS
• Requested temporary paper ID
• Applied for replacement Social Security card
• Ordered birth certificate (if needed)
• Contacted nonprofit for fee assistance

1️⃣ Go to Texas DPS Yourself

Even if they told you it would be mailed, you can apply directly.

Bring:

• Release paperwork
• Prison ID (even if expired)
• Social Security card (if available)
• Birth certificate (if available)

Find DPS locations:

Texas DPS Office Locator

Ask for a temporary paper ID while you wait.

2️⃣ If You Do Not Have a Social Security Card

Go to a Social Security office and request a replacement card (free).

Bring:

• Release paperwork
• Any identification you have
• Birth certificate (if possible)

Find office:

Social Security Office Locator

3️⃣ If You Do Not Have a Birth Certificate

Order it from Texas Vital Records:

Texas Vital Statistics

Or contact the county where you were born.

Many nonprofits will help pay the fee.

4️⃣ You CAN Start Job Searching Without ID

You cannot complete hiring paperwork without proper ID, but you CAN:

• Apply for jobs
• Attend interviews
• Explain your ID is being processed

What to say:

5️⃣ If Prison Never Submitted It

Call your unit’s:

• Reentry office
• Records department
• Classification officer

Ask:

• Was my ID application submitted?
• When?
• What address was used?

Sometimes it was mailed to the wrong address.

6️⃣ Help Paying for ID

If you cannot afford fees, contact:

• Salvation Army
• Catholic Charities
• Local reentry programs
• Texas Workforce Commission Reentry Services

Texas Workforce Commission