# NO ID



## rachel williams (Jul 21, 2013)

Heres my issue. I am sttranded in stockton and recently I had lost my ID. I have nno way home other than the amtrak.. My friend here in stockton said he would purchase me a ticket at the amtrak station since he will be required to show identification. Upon boarding the train are they going to notice that it has HIS name on it [Thomas] and then require me to show ID? Please i need replies fast im supposed to be going SOON. thank you


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## OlympianHiawatha (Jul 21, 2013)

Have him purchase the ticket in _*your *_name and explain to the Agent the situation. Rarely have I ever been asked for my papers when boarding the train but it happens from time to time.


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## Acela150 (Jul 21, 2013)

If he buys the ticket. He can get the ticket in your name. SInce you lost your ID if you are asked. Simply say you lost it. I'm sure the conductor will be ok with that.


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## TVRM610 (Jul 21, 2013)

You may or may not get a random ID check. If you get a random ID check you will be asked to leave the train.

Do you have any type of ID at all? Can you get a copy of an ID emailed or faxed to you?

Whenever I travel I keep 1 Photo ID (now a passport but in the past was just a membership card with my photo) in my suitcase so in case I lose my wallet I have something to show who I am.


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## Guest (Jul 21, 2013)

He can buy it in my name even if he pays for it at the station?

he doesn't have a credit card so he will be using cash...


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## conductor_sac (Jul 21, 2013)

Go get a police report that you list your ID. Present that and explain what happened when buying tickets. Or go to dmv and get a temporary ID. Either way will be sufficient for travel.


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## Guest (Jul 21, 2013)

What type of ID did you have, and loose? A driver's license? A school ID? Was it the only thing you have at all, with your name on it?


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## the_traveler (Jul 21, 2013)

I have never been asked for ID on a train. If you only lost your ID, but have a credit card, why not buy a ticket online and pick it up at the QT?


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## BCL (Jul 21, 2013)

I've never been asked for ID while boarding, but always when buying. I've also bought tickets for others and paid for it, and the only IDs the ticket agent wanted was for the passengers.

The other option is to buy a ticket from a Quik-Trak machine using a credit card or debit card. The machine obviously won't ask for ID, but a working credit card would be needed. The name doesn't have to be the same as on the credit card. However, that won't work in your case.

My suggestion would be to simply explain the situation to the ticket agent and see if they'll let you do it. Worst case scenario is that you buy a ticket in your name and upon boarding they don't accept it an put you off. They won't lift the ticket and you can theoretically get a refund later.


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## SubwayNut (Jul 22, 2013)

Definitely get your own name on the ticket!

I figured out (after probably taking a few Amtrak segments before) that I had lost my drivers license in the middle of my last long Amtrak trip. I found out I had lost my ID trying to order a drink in a bar and getting asked, searching my wallet and realizing my license was gone and getting denied service from a sympathetic bar tender. I had previously booked the rest of my trip and paid using a credit card (that I didn't lose, just my ID, not the rest of my wallet) and AGR points. I managed to ride at a minimum 12 segments and possibly 5 additional Amtrak segments and Greyhound once before that to go all the way back to the last time I remembered being asked for and producing my ID (picking up a ticket from the agent at the Stockton station ironically). I had made it to Flagstaff without needing to show it again where I tried to have a beer with dinner and realized I lost my ID. (Every night in between in terms of lodging spent with friends or sharing hotel rooms with others who had booked them). I had everything else in my wallet and did realize I had a PDF of the photo page of my passport on my computer as a back up that I was prepared to show but I never got the dreaded ID check on the conductors iPhone Scanner. I eventually did get that PDF printed and managed to convince the second hostel I called in Chicago (the HI, when I called the Getaway they said absolutely not, you need a real ID) to accept it as an ID for the one night on the rest of my trip back to New York that I didn't spend on the train or at friends (the only lack of ID inconvenience was non-train but booze related). That night I was also planning to spend with friends but they fell through. Not once on Amtrak did they care or did I need to explain my situation.

Do you know anyone with a credit card who can buy and print you an eTicket over the internet so you skip the ticket office? If you have a ticket (your name on the ticket, any credit card can buy it) the only chance of an ID check is quite slim (in my experience and hearing other tickets checked) is the conductor getting a random alert on his iPhone to ask you for ID as he scans your ticket. I've probably ridden 60 trains in the past year and have been asked by the conductor, alerted by ticket scanner to produce an ID once on the Spingfield Shuttle. In the case of boarding at Stockton the train will already be moving and a conductor should be more apt to accept your story than an agent. (You wait on the platform there, no line-up at a gate). The trick is getting on the train without talking to an Amtrak Agent since they have to ask for ID to do anything for you. Avoiding agents for ticketing was how I made it home, using my iPhone or QuikTrak Machines, never having to use the scan of my passport.


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## Donna (Jul 22, 2013)

Would an _expired_ passport work as a second form of ID in case I lose my driver's license [the only photo ID I have] and get asked for ID? It's only expired by 3 years.


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## VentureForth (Jul 22, 2013)

I have been asked for ID on a train several times - over here in the East. You may or may not be lucky in the West. It would be best to have some sort of police report available. You MUST have your name on the ticket. This information is used for their manifest. Not to be macabre, but in the unlikely case of a tragedy, they want to know YOU are on the train, not your friend.

Donna - I've always been perplexed by this. Your expired passport should be fine. As should an expired drivers license. BUT, I have also been told that I can't use an expired ID to identify myself (I think it was at a casino where I was getting cash). Not like I expire on the date my ID does, but I digress. Heck, I could even change my name, and my old ID NOT be expired, but it could still be wrong.


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## George Harris (Jul 22, 2013)

I have bought a ticket for someone else who was not with me and without her ID with no problem at all. This was at the San Francisco Ferry Building. I doubt they would even expect someone buying a ticket for someone else to even have their ID. I would suggest that you not be standing there when he does it. We are somewhat regular passengers on the San Joaquin trains and have never been asked for ID on the train. Unless you look like you are drunk or a troublemaker or look like you could be you should probably have no problem at all.


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## calwatch (Jul 22, 2013)

According to the official "blue book" standards a police report of lost ID is considered valid identification provided it was within the last 30 days. If you have one form of government issued non photo ID and another form of ID (such as a combination of a voter registration card and a credit card) that would also work. I had a friend who carried his birth certificate and Social Security card as ID.


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## BCL (Jul 22, 2013)

calwatch said:


> According to the official "blue book" standards a police report of lost ID is considered valid identification provided it was within the last 30 days. If you have one form of government issued non photo ID and another form of ID (such as a combination of a voter registration card and a credit card) that would also work. I had a friend who carried his birth certificate and Social Security card as ID.


I used to carry a SSN card with me. Found out it's a really bad idea because of the possibility of identity fraud if someone obtains your number. A certified birth certificate copy can also be bad because of the possibility of identify fraud. There was a time when anyone could get a full copy of a birth certificate in California as long as they had a name and approximate date of birth. Some people have used those to establish new identities. These days one has to have a valid reason to get one, or otherwise they can only obtain one with an overlaid message that the birth certificate can't be used for identification purposes.

An expired passport or DL used to be acceptable for identification purposes, but Amtrak says that any identification must be "current and in-force". I might just try it anyways, as it's not likely to get a ticket agent in trouble if there doesn't appear to be any kind of fraud involved.


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## me_little_me (Jul 22, 2013)

Donna said:


> Would an _expired_ passport work as a second form of ID in case I lose my driver's license [the only photo ID I have] and get asked for ID? It's only expired by 3 years.


Expired passports are acceptable even to the TSA!

Amtrak will accept it.


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## TVRM610 (Jul 22, 2013)

An Amtrak Conductor would not accept my expired State ID (was expired less than a month and my new ID was in the mail) but she would accept another photo id I had (was a membership card). This was like 2 years ago and I hardly ever get asked for ID... But I wouldn't count on Amtrak accepting anything but a valid piece of ID. Murphy's law.


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## the_traveler (Jul 22, 2013)

That does not make sense! :huh:

An expired driver's license or non-driver's ID issued by the state Government is NOT acceptable. However, membership card from (say) Costco is acceptable? :huh: I'm not putting them down, but I would think an employee at DMV or MVD could tell a fake ID better than an part time employee at Costco!


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## BCL (Jul 22, 2013)

me_little_me said:


> Donna said:
> 
> 
> > Would an _expired_ passport work as a second form of ID in case I lose my driver's license [the only photo ID I have] and get asked for ID? It's only expired by 3 years.
> ...


They say maybe.

http://www.tsa.gov/contact-us



> *Q. Can I fly with an expired ID?*A. If you lose your primary ID or it has expired, TSA may accept other forms of ID to help verify your identity.



What they normally do if someone doesn't have a valid ID or an expired one is to take them aside to an office where they have access to various databases that can be used to positively identify someone. I doubt that Amtrak is equipped to do this.


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## JoeBas (Jul 22, 2013)

This (sorta) happened in the HOS station when I left on my last trip, woman at the counter raving up and down because "Amtrak let her pick up her outbound ticket with an expired ID, but wouldn't let her pick up her return ticket with one, leaving her "stranded"". She was... displeased.


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