10 Facts About NC’s Photo ID Requirement for Voting

The following are 10 facts about North Carolina’s photo ID requirement for voting:

1. Voters will be asked to show photo ID when voting in North Carolina.
2. Most voters will simply show their NC driver’s license, but many other types of photo ID will be accepted. See the list of acceptable IDs at Voter ID.
3. Voters without an acceptable ID can get a free photo ID from their county board of elections. Voters can also get a No Fee ID from the NCDMV.
4. The State Board has a process for approving student and public employee IDs for voting. At the time of updating these facts, the State Board is taking applications for approval for the 2025-26 elections through April 1, 2025. Read more: New Photo ID Approval Period Opens for 2025 and 2026 Elections.
5. When a voter checks in to vote at a polling place, they will be asked to show an acceptable photo ID. Election workers check to see if the picture on the ID reasonably resembles the voter and if the name on the ID is a close match to the voter’s name in their voter record. The address on the photo ID does not have to match the voter registration records.
6. All voters will be allowed to vote with or without a photo ID. If the voter does not show an acceptable ID, the voter may vote with an ID Exception Form and a provisional ballot, or vote with a provisional ballot and return to their county board of elections office with their photo ID by noon on the third day following the election.
7. Permitted exceptions to the photo ID requirement include the following: The voter has a reasonable impediment to showing photo ID (lack of transportation, lost or stolen ID, disability or illness, family responsibilities, etc.); the voter has a religious objection to being photographed; or the voter was a victim of a declared natural disaster within 100 days of Election Day.
8. When a registered voter completes an ID Exception Form, they will meet the photo ID requirement if they truthfully complete the ID Exception Form.
9. Voters who vote by mail will be asked to include a photocopy of an acceptable ID in a clear sleeve on the outside of their ballot envelope that comes with their ballot. If they are unable to include a photocopy of their ID, they may complete an ID Exception Form and include it in the same clear sleeve on the ballot envelope. The absentee ballot and photo ID documents are then mailed to the county board of elections in an outer envelope to protect the voter’s privacy. Photo ID is not required for military or overseas voters who vote using special absentee voting procedures that federal law makes available for such voters.
10. For more information, see Voter ID and FAQ: Voter ID. These web pages will be updated frequently with the latest information.

These facts were updated on March 7, 2025.