I had asked our Federal Resrve contact more than a couple of weeks ago if he had a list of what is considered to be acceptable forms of identification for an account. He said he would get back to me and nothing yet. My boss isn't this patient. Do you know what constitutes an acceptable form of ID? We have a list but then there are always exceptions. I had thought that a credit card was an acceptable form of ID but I don't want us to use it because of two things. . . one being that I don't want us having their numbers and two is that it doesn't verify an address. I've got people using payroll checks, car titles, etc. I would rather have a voters registration and a driver's license or state ID. Any thoughts? What do you do?

In terms of primary identification, most FI's will use state issued DL's, state ID cards, military ID cards or passports.

I have seen everything from credit cards to utility bills used as secondary forms of ID. Your CIP policy should stipulate what is acceptable and what isnt. The most important thing is to make sure you get the required information (Name, DOB, physical address and identification number).

A credit card bill is better than a credit card because it can be used to verify the address, as you noted, as well as a utility bill. Leases, tax bills, car registration.

Get a group of people together and go through your own ID and think about what you could use to prove you are who you are if you didn't have your DL/state ID or passport.

Don't forget about passport cards, which can be used now for Canada and Mexico and are cheaper than a passport.

Look on the Social Security website and review what they will accept as forms of ID to get a card or replacement card.

Some bank websites contain their CIP policies and list what they are willing to accept. You can search on CIP policy and see what comes up.