NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9277
SPONSOR: Clark TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to fees for
non-driver identification cards
PURPOSE::
To provide access to non-driver identification cards to individuals
whose income is below two hundred percent of the federal poverty line.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::
Section 1. Amends Section 491 of the vehicle and traffic law to require
the commissioner of the department of motor vehicles to waive payment of
fees for certain individuals and expands eligibility to those whose
income is below two hundred percent of the federal poverty line.
Section 2. Set an effective date.
JUSTIFICATION::
Individuals without a government-issued identification face frequent
obstacles in daily life, from banking to travel to accessing government
facilities. The non-driver ID provides a less expensive alternative to
the drivers license for individuals who are unable or do not need to
drive, but many are unaware of its availability or do not see the need
to pay for one before entering a situation where it would be beneficial.
Currently, fees are reduced for applicants age sixty-two or older or
recipients of supplemental security income benefits, and the Commission-
er of the Department of Motor Vehicles may waive fees for applicants who
are incarcerated or are victims of a crime and the identification card
applied for is a replacement for one that was lost or destroyed as a
result of that crime.
In 2024, 487,531 non-driver identification cards were issued by the
Department of Motor Vehicles (both original and renewal applications);
8,607 were issued with no fee.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE::
This act shall take effect thirty days after it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9277
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
November 21, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CLARK -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to fees for
non-driver identification cards
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 491 of the vehicle and traffic
2 law, as amended by section 2 of part Q of chapter 58 of the laws of
3 2022, is amended to read as follows:
4 3. Waiver of fee. The commissioner [may] shall waive the payment of
5 fees required by subdivision two of this section if the applicant [is]:
6 (a) is an incarcerated individual in an institution or correctional
7 facility under the jurisdiction of a state department or agency[, or];
8 (b) is a victim of a crime and the identification card applied for is
9 a replacement for one that was lost or destroyed as a result of the
10 crime; or
11 (c) has an income which is below two hundred percent of the federal
12 poverty line. Such income shall be proven by providing one of the
13 following:
14 (i) a filed federal or state tax return from the previous year;
15 (ii) a letter from an employer documenting the dates of work of the
16 applicant and the yearly pay from the employer;
17 (iii) a W-2 annual wage statement or a federal tax form 1099 from the
18 previous tax year; or
19 (iv) a wage notice provided pursuant to section one hundred ninety-
20 five of the labor law that documents employment for a period of time
21 within six months prior to the date the applicant certifies that they
22 became eligible.
23 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
24 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13776-01-5
