A Basic Guide to Important Documents

Most of us realize that we possess documents that are very important and should be kept in a safe place but I wonder when the last time was that you considered just exactly how vital some of those pieces of paper really are.  Most Americans have a social security card, birth certificate, drivers’ license and many even have a passport.  If you knew how important these documents are to your daily life, you might rethink their location and might even decide to invest in a safety deposit box.

Let’s start by discussing our passport.  A passport is issued by the country of your citizenship and is proof of that citizenship as well as your identity.  You must present documentation to prove your identity and birth or citizenship country in order to apply for one but once you have a passport, it will serve as a first class way to prove your identity and citizenship as it even provides a picture.  Information included is name, place and date of birth and sex.  While it is not true that a passport can get you into every foreign country, it does guarantee re-entry into the country that issued it.  While it is a necessary part of international travel, it also provides an unquestioned source of identity verification.

Your social security card is another very important form of identification.  As an American citizen, you are issued a number that is totally unique to you.  This nine-digit number is used in lawful taxation as well as a valuable tool to properly identify medical, educational and educational records.

When it comes of operating a motor vehicle legally in the United States, you must have a valid drivers’ license.  This document is issued in the state where you live and provides an excellent source of official identification.  There are different types of drivers’ licenses depending on the type of vehicle or vehicles you will be operating.  An example is a chauffeur’s license which is issued if a person will be driving a taxi or another vehicle for hire.  Since a license includes a picture as well as a description of your identity, you may be asked to present it when purchasing alcohol, tobacco products or even if you apply for a new job.  Of course, if you are stopped for a traffic violation, the first thing the police officer will ask you for is your drivers’ license.  When applying for your drivers’ license, be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to sign up to be an organ donor as this will be indicated on the front of your card.

A birth certificate is issued as the result of information submitted by the hospital where a child is born or, if the birth happens at home, by the qualified professional.  There is both a long and short form when it comes to a birth certificate but both will include name, sex, place and time of birth and the names of the parents.  This is the #1 document required when obtaining almost any other important document and is also a way to prove legal citizenship and identity.  Among the documents requiring the presentation of a birth certificate are a passport, drivers’ license, social security card and marriage license.

I hope you have seen that important documents are vital to lawful, successful living and affect almost every aspect of our lives.  This knowledge will impress upon you the importance to keep these documents in a secure location where they will not be damaged or stolen.  You may want to purchase the use of a safety deposit box at your local bank to insure the security of these papers.  Stolen identity is a crime that is on the rise and can cause a person’s credit to be totally destroyed if not worse.  Take time to take precautions so you will ever have to worry about identity theft happening to you and your family.

A full service passport expediting service, US Passport Now has years of experience in passport expedition, damaged passport replacement, passport name changes and more.