An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is a processing number issued by the IRS to individuals who are not eligible for a U.S. Social Security Number, but are required to fulfill a filing requirement in the U.S. An ITIN is usually obtained for the purposes of filing a US tax return, but may also be obtained for other federal tax purposes.

An important change has been applied to the process of obtaining an ITIN. Prior to June 22, 2012, applicants were able to submit notarized copies of IRS-approved Identification Documents (ID) with their completed Form W-7. Rather than submitting an original driver’s license or passport, applicants could simply take a copy of their ID and have a U.S. notary public certify that the copy is a true copy of the original.

However, as of June 22, 2012, in order to obtain an ITIN, applicants are required to submit original copies of ID from the list below:

• Passport;
• U.S. driver’s license;
• Foreign driver’s license;
• Civil birth certificate;
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services photo ID;
• Visa issued by the US Department of State;
• U.S. military identification card;
• Foreign military identification card;
• National identification card;
• Foreign voter’s registration card; and
• Medical or school records (for dependent’s under 14 yrs. or under 18 yrs. if a student).

Original pieces of photo ID will be returned within no less than six weeks after being received. Coupled with the risk of lost documents, this is a major inconvenience for most applicants.

Fortunately, an alternative to this new rule exists. Certified copies of photo ID, obtained from Passport Canada will be accepted in the absence of original copies.

For a complete list of Passport Canada locations, please see this website.

Jenna Ward also contributed to this article.