How to get a duplicate identification card

The DTOP identification card is the official identity document for people without a driver’s licence, which is why losing it hits harder: there is no second document of equal weight to fall back on meanwhile. The duplicate is not a new card from scratch but a replacement of the one you had, which is why the process turns on explaining under oath what happened to the previous one.

It applies to anyone whose DTOP identification card was lost, destroyed or stolen. The sworn statement must affirm the card has not been seized by the Police, suspended or revoked by the court, and that you have no outstanding accounts with ASUME or ACAA: if any of those is not true in your case, that is the problem to resolve before the duplicate. For minors, CESCO asks that the sworn statement be made by the legal guardian and that the other requirements be met, including the original Social Security card.

• Complete Form DTOP-DIS-137, Application for Identification Card for Persons 16 or Older. CESCO also names it DTOP-DISC-137 in the link on the same page.Verified against the official source
• A recent sworn statement before a notary requesting the duplicate and stating the card number, the circumstances of the loss, destruction or theft, that it has not been seized by the Police or suspended or revoked by the court, that you have no outstanding accounts with ASUME or ACAA, and the clause releasing DTOP from responsibility. In theft cases it must include the Police complaint number. It cannot be more than twelve months old.Verified against the official source
• A photographic identity document.Verified against the official source
• A document issued less than two months ago evidencing your permanent residential address, such as a water, electricity, phone, mobile or bank statement. If it is not in your name, whoever appears on it must authorise it with Form DTOP-DIS-156, Principal Residence Certification, and include a copy of a reliable identification.Verified against the official source

• $5 internal revenue stamp code 5120 for the regular card, or $6 for the Real ID.
• $2 internal revenue voucher code 0842.

1. 1

   Step 1: If it was stolen, file the police report first

   CESCO asks for it expressly: in theft cases, the sworn statement must include the Puerto Rico Police complaint number. Without that number the notary cannot draft it completely and you will pay twice for the same document.

2. 2

   Step 2: Take the list of clauses to the notary

   This is where the process fails. The statement must give the card number, how it was lost, that it was not seized by the Police or suspended or revoked by the court, that you have no outstanding accounts with ASUME or ACAA, and that you release DTOP from all responsibility. If one of those affirmations is missing, it is rejected at the counter and the notary has already been paid.

3. 3

   Step 3: Get proof of address less than two months old

   A water, electricity, phone, mobile or bank statement. The date matters: more than two months old and it does not count. If the bill is not in your name — you live with family, you rent without a lease — the route CESCO publishes is Form DTOP-DIS-156, Principal Residence Certification, signed by whoever the bill belongs to, with a copy of their identification.

4. 4

   Step 4: Decide whether you are going for the Real ID

   The cost difference is one dollar in the stamp: $5 for the regular card, $6 for the Real ID. If you will need identification to fly within the United States, that difference decides little and the Real ID solves more. CESCO adds that the validation cost is paid only once.

5. 5

   Step 5: Book an appointment and go with everything together

   The form, the sworn statement, the photo identification, the proof of address and the stamps. CESCO runs on an appointment system and this is a procedure with several pieces: arriving with one of them incomplete means coming back another day.

At a CESCO office, with an appointment. Forms DTOP-DIS-137 and DTOP-DIS-156 are on CESCO’s list of applications and forms.

• Going to the notary without the full list of clauses and having the statement rejected at the counter.
• Forgetting the Police complaint number when the card was stolen.
• Bringing a sworn statement more than twelve months old.
• Presenting proof of address more than two months old.
• Bringing a bill in someone else’s name without the DTOP-DIS-156.
• Confusing this procedure with the duplicate driver’s licence.
• Arriving without the stamps: $5 or $6 code 5120 and $2 code 0842.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Directoría de Servicios al Conductor (CESCO)

  CESCO

  www.cesco.pr.gov