Defense officials have announced good news for approximately 1 million people who have a Uniformed Services Identification (USID) card.
The majority of USID cardholders can now renew their ID cards online and skip having to visit an office in person to receive their new cards. This includes military retirees, reservists, spouses and dependents of U.S. service members.
In 2023 a pilot program was launched that allowed uniformed sponsors with a common access card to request to renew their USID cards online. But now they are expanding the pilot program so that many more USID cardholders are eligible.
Every year the Department of Defense (DOD) issues around 4.5 million ID cards. More than half of those are USID cards, and of those, approximately 1 million are now eligible to be renewed online.
If you live outside the U.S., this option will not yet be available to you, however officials have stated they are working on expanding it to non-U.S. addresses as well.
Also, if you are trying to get your first card, or if your previous one has expired, you will not be able to renew online.
Military Times has more information on how to request an online renewal if you are eligible:
To request an online renewal, the sponsor must be able to log into the ID Card Office Online as a CAC holder or have a DOD Self-Service Logon username and password. Make sure to read the instructions on how to set up a DS Logon account when creating a new profile. Sponsors will request the renewal by clicking the “Family ID Cards” tab on the ID Card Office Online landing page.
According to DOD, other requirements include:
The USID card being renewed must be active, not expired. Children are eligible for online USID renewal if they have an active USID card.
The sponsor and the cardholder must have email addresses listed in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS). You can check your data in DEERS to make sure it’s up to date.
The cardholder must have a photo saved in DEERS that was taken within the last 12 years.
The cardholder must have a current U.S. address in DEERS. Cards can’t be mailed to P.O. boxes.
Upon submitting your request and it being processed, they will ship your new card to the address listed in DEERS. Email confirmations will be sent to both the sponsor and the recipient, with instructions on what you have to do in order to get it activated.
Finally, once the new ID card is received and activated, the old card will be deactivated and will need to be returned to the government. You can also take the deactivated card to the nearest Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System (RAPIDS) site, or mail them to:
DMDC-DSC, Attn: USID Card Returns, 2102 E. 21st Street N, Wichita, KS 67214.