By February 2021, more than 200,000 of the new IDs had been issued. A description of the new cards and a complete list of who is eligible can be found here.Īt the onset of the pandemic in April 2020, the Defense Department extended the deadlines for replacing expiring cards in an attempt to keep the military community from gathering in issuance offices and spreading COVID-19. Retirees and their dependents, dependents of active-duty troops, reserve members and Medal of Honor recipients are among those who will receive the USID cards. The department recommends they go to the ID Card Office Online and use the office locator to find a site that issues the new cards and book an appointment. Those with cards with no expiration dates 'may have the card replaced at their convenience,' according to Dietz. Expired cards can be confiscated at base gates. The IDs are needed to access military facilities and to confirm eligibility for various military benefits, so missing a deadline or losing the identification could disrupt cardholders' lives. The new design closely resembles the Common Access Card, or CAC, format issued to active-duty troops and department civilians.īut there was uncertainty among those with cards that list the expiration as indefinite.
The USID format for military retirees and dependents represents the first change to those identification cards in nearly 30 years the last update was in 1993.
