ID without driving licence or passport

[ForPearlViper]

My Mum is 91. Her passport is lapsed and, as it is very unlikely she will leave the country again, we haven't renewed it. Her driving licence expired at the end of December. She gave up driving last year but we wanted to renew it just so that she would have photo id given she doesn't have a passport any more.

We sent off the renewal in December and I chased it up today to be told it is with their 'medical department' presumably because of her age. So far I haven't been able to get through to said medical department.

Govt departments are pushing for registration with One log in, etc, and it is hard to be without any id these days. I wondered what other seniors in a similar situation do about this?

My dad is 93 he had to give up driving due to epilepsy 2 years ago so hasn't got the licence. Wish I'd just kept it and not informed DVLA. He sold his car at the time so no worries about driving but I'm trying to get him registered online at HMRC and he has a passport in date but not enough other online info re bank accounts to get online.
I'm seriously thinking of renewing his passport next year just for ID purposes. It's so difficult.

Get a bus pass. They are free and can be used as ID for voting

I’m 62 this year and don’t drive or with my medical condition think I will be flying any time soon. But I renewed my passport 3 years ago because I needed ID to sell and buy our new house. Glad I did as it’s the only ID I have.

i would suggest you get your mum a passport it’s not a lot of effort and worth having

My mom never had a passport or driving licence so got one of these
https://www.citizencard.com/apply-for-a-uk-id-card-online

It's HMRC I'm concerned about. Mum (me) has to do a tax return and I'm worried they will move over to the One log in. Apparently, I could drag poor Mum out to a post office but it isn't clear whether they would still need the photo id.

I'm pretty sure over 90s fraud is pretty minimal and think they could make exceptions for our very senior citizens!

Renew the passport, for the cost it’s worth it especially if you ever may need to apply for a blue badge etc.

You are able to offer other forms of ID but usually need 4 or 5. Council tax, utility bills, birth certificate (and marriage) all add up as proof but honestly it's sometimes worth chucking money at the problem and getting a new passport, it'll cost you the equivalent of £12 per year.

My local council refused to accept their own disability bus pass (with photo) and their blue badge (with photo) for their voting ID paper. It's ridiculous.

Edit - BTW if you need to buy/sell a house or get a divorce you need photo ID from passport or driving licence only now. I'm thinking if OPs parent owns their house but has to sell for care fees they will need it for that.

Definitely keep up the passport. If you own a property and don't drive. We've been with the same Bank branch for 50 years, had to use the passport Etc. to open a higher interest savings account.

Get a bus pass. They are free and can be used as ID for voting

My mum used her bus pass when she needed ID for something last year. Passport long expired and never had a driving licence.

I'm in the same position - passport expired and no driving licence. I have had expired passport accepted in some circumstances. And I used my bus pass as ID to vote.

I'm actually going to get my husband's accountant to do it for me. I think if I get him onboard with the accountant they can deal with the inland revenue.
There's a way you can get them onto the HMRC website but it needs a mobile phone for picture. I'm getting my strength up to try again when I next go down!

That doesn't work for HMRC unfortunately

Her last passport was Irish. I'll have to see if you can renew online from the UK but it does look like that's the easiest option from what people are saying.

We are in the same position with my mum and don’t want to get her a passport for fear she’ll book a cruise (92, dementia). Help the Aged needs to campaign on this.

It really does. It must be far worse for the seniors who don't have someone who can navigate it on their behalf. I've just checked and it is E75 for the passport plus E15-30 if you are outside Ireland. Mum can afford it but having to spend the best part of £100 on a passport you will never use for its intended purpose is ridiculous. The people who oppose a national id card (that works in so many countries) really need to think on.

You can get a Citizen’s Card for £20 from the Post Office.

That isn't worth the paper it's printed on. So many organisations refuse to accept it, including pub bouncers.

I agree OP, as a disabled person unable to fly, I've had to buy a passport just so I can get a divorce and sell the martial home. Absolutely ridiculous.

Post office
https://www.postoffice.co.uk/identity/pass-card

My dh has severe health issues and had to submit his driving license to the DVLA. His passport had also expired about 30 years ago and I had the exact same problem as you. I took him to our local Max Spielman (we are in North West) and they were fantastic, did everything, took photos and did the whole application, even sending it off and tracking it for us. It cost about £120 but was worth the stress free experience. My dh has no intention of ever going abroad but it's been vital for identity purposes. Previously I couldn't register him on the government gateway site to check his pension contributions etc but once he had the passport it was easy.

This is why we need National Identity Cards. I don't get the opposition to them.

Not everyone has or needs a passport or a driving licence. There is no legal obligation to have them either (plus they are expensive), but they are still the main and universally acceptable documents for proof of ID. It's ridiculous.

I tried to open a savings account last month with a building society. My passport had expired 2 weeks before and I don't drive. I tried submitting a copy of my bus pass as it has my name, age and photo but, no, they would not accept it!

I intend to always have a passport even if I stop travelling abroad because it's such a useful document for ID.

They are not that expensive if you consider you can use them for up to 10 years.

We had to provide our passports to our accountant last year 30 years we've been with them. Money laundering rules apparently.

I'm against National identity cards because it' overkill - instead just have a scheme to subsidise passports for those like the OP that don't currently have them, have no intention of travelling and jsut need them for ID purposes. We already have all the mechanisms for producing and monitoring passports in place, no need to introduce another document and government department to supervise it as well.

LIke a previous poster, I went with my elderly father to Max Spielmans in our local Tesco to renew his for ID purposes - they do it all for you.

How would it be enforceable that people don’t use the cheaper passports for travelling? “Non travel” passports would cost as much to produce, they are what they are - a gateway to travelling abroad.

For anyone against identity cards, it’s a bit rich to also be against paying what passports cost.

Well you could cut a notch in it, stamp it or come up with something else.

What makes you think that proper National ID cards, which would require some initial validation that the person applying is who they say they are, and contain biometric information would be any less expensive to produce than a passport ?

Why reinvent the wheel for everyone when the majority can already prove identity via their passports - just cater for those like the OP who don't, with some sort of allowance for those who genuinely can't afford it. .
.

As others have pointed out, even the Citizen card which anyone can get just by supplying a photo costs £20, and isn't accepted in most places because it's not a good enough proof of identity.