Passports and IDs
The identity papers you will want on the way out
Identity papers are the dull part of a long absence until the day someone asks for them. Then they are the only part anyone cares about.
Before anything else, ask your attorney whether a passport must be surrendered. We make no claim about what your court or probation office requires. If the passport has been surrendered, it is not ours to store, and this page is about everything else.
A driver's license can expire while you are away. A passport sits in a drawer of a house that gets sold. A birth certificate is at a parent's, and then the parent moves. Each one is easier to keep than to replace.
Keep the originals together: passport, birth certificate, Social Security card, marriage or divorce certificates, and any naturalization papers. Write down the document numbers and expiry dates, and give a copy of that list to the person you name. What to sort before a sentence starts covers the rest of the household.
What the person inside may keep is set by each jail and prison, so check with the facility. On release, whoever collects the papers must be someone the rental agreement allows, or a valid agent acting for you; release and pickup explains that day. If a court order reaches the box first, we honour it, as set out on legal process.
What matters
- Ask your attorney whether a passport must be surrendered before you store it.
- Keep identity papers together, with a written list of numbers and expiry dates.
- Give the person you name the list, so they can answer questions without opening the box.
- Check with the facility about what identification the person inside may keep.
- Plan who collects the papers on release, and put it in writing now.
How we handle it
- Every renter is identified against government-issued photo ID. Decide which ID you will use to get in before you lock the others away.
- Papers are listed on the signed intake inventory, and you keep a copy.
- Documents can be mailed in from anywhere in the US, and the key is mailed back.
- Who may collect on release follows the rental agreement. Pickup by someone else: TODO_FACT: how is a third-party pickup of a box's contents arranged?
Where we stop
We make no claim about what a court, a probation office or a facility requires of your identity papers. Ask your attorney and the facility.
Short answers
- What if my passport expires while I am away?
- Store it anyway, with its number on your list. An expired passport still records who you are. Check the current renewal rules once you are out.
- Should I store my Social Security card?
- Yes, if nobody needs it day to day. Put only the last four digits on your written list, so the list itself is not a risk if it goes astray.
- Can a family member bring my ID to the facility?
- Check with the facility first. If the ID is in the box, that family member must also be allowed in by the rental agreement or be acting as your valid agent.
Questions people ask about this
More on what to store
Jewelry
Rings, chains and earrings disappear quietly over a long absence. Photograph each piece, list it, and name one person.
Watches
A watch is proven by its serial, box and papers. Keep the three together and record who can reach them.
Coins and bullion
Coins and bullion counted, listed and stored in one place. We hold the metal and never buy, sell or value it.
Deeds, titles and documents
Deeds, titles, wills and tax papers kept in one listed place, with a named person who has authority to use them.
Family heirlooms and photographs
Photographs, letters and keepsakes worth little to a buyer and everything to a family, listed and kept in one place.
Settle it before the date, not after.
A short call is usually enough to know whether a box is the right answer. If it is not, we will say so. Attorneys and family members are welcome to call on a client's behalf.