Foreign Passport — Five-Year Identification Rule

A foreign (non-U.S.) passport falls under Tier Two of Civil Code §1185(b)(4). Two distinct requirements govern its acceptability:

The five-year rule: Unlike a California driver's license — which must simply be current — a foreign passport is acceptable even if it has expired, as long as it was issued within the past five years. A passport issued four years ago that expired last month is still usable. A passport issued six years ago but still technically unexpired is not acceptable under this rule.

The four-element rule: The passport must still satisfy all four Tier Two requirements: photograph, physical description, signature, and a serial or identifying number. Most passports satisfy all four, but the notary must confirm this before accepting.

The same five-year issuance rule applies to consular identification documents and most other non-California government IDs listed under Tier Two.

Exam Tip: "Current or issued within five years" is the Tier Two standard — but the exam commonly tests which documents use this rule versus which must simply be current. California driver's licenses and U.S. passports (Tier One) must be current. Foreign passports (Tier Two) get the five-year issuance window. The logic: foreign governments' document renewal cycles are less predictable than California DMV timelines.