Which Irish state ID do I actually need?
Ireland in 2026 has three overlapping state identity options — basic MyGovID, verified MyGovID, and the Public Services Card — with the EUDI Wallet arriving later in the year. Most people don't need all of them. This page is a decision flow: pick the scenario closest to yours and we'll tell you the minimum you actually need.
Quick reference
| What you want to do | Minimum you need |
|---|---|
| File a Revenue tax return | Verified MyGovID |
| Apply for any welfare payment (Jobseeker's, Illness, Maternity, Pension) | Verified MyGovID |
| Apply for a driving licence or book a theory test | Verified MyGovID |
| Apply for a student grant (SUSI) | Verified MyGovID |
| Access HSE Health App / digital COVID certs | Verified MyGovID |
| Book a Public Services Card appointment | Basic MyGovID (the verified-account requirement is bootstrapped by the appointment itself) |
| Be paid welfare via Free Travel scheme | Public Services Card |
| Prove your age at an off-licence | Passport or driving licence (passport card if you have one). PSC age-attribute layer is coming under SW Bill 2026 but isn't there yet. |
| Open a bank account or apply for a utility | Today: passport or driving licence + proof of address. From late 2026: PSC may also be accepted. |
| Prove your age to access social-media or adult content (under the Online Safety Code) | Right now: vendor-led (Yoti, Persona, etc.). Later in 2026 onward: possibly the planned MyGovID-based age-assurance app. |
| Verify identity to an EU service in another EU country | EUDI Wallet (when launched — end of 2026) |
Common scenarios — walked through
"I'm 18 and need to apply for my first welfare payment and a SUSI grant"
You need a verified MyGovID. Two routes:
- If you have a passport and an Android or iPhone smartphone, register a basic MyGovID, then verify it through the MyGovID app (photographs of the passport plus a liveness selfie). You'll be approved within minutes to hours; a PSC arrives in the post within ~10 working days.
- If you don't have a passport, book a SAFE appointment via MyWelfare. Wait times vary by region; PSC appointment booking covers how to find earlier slots.
"I'm moving to Ireland from another EU country and need to set everything up"
- Get a PPS number first — apply through MyWelfare.
- Register a basic MyGovID.
- Verify it — using either the app (photograph your national ID card or passport) or by attending a SAFE appointment.
"I'm a remote worker, contracted to a US company, paying Irish tax through the self-employment route"
You need a verified MyGovID to log in to Revenue. You don't need a PSC if you don't claim welfare-related benefits, but you'll find that having one makes verifying MyGovID much easier (no app verification flow required).
"I'm 70, on State Pension, and I just want to keep doing what I'm doing"
You almost certainly already have a PSC (Free Travel uses it). You may or may not have a MyGovID. If you only ever interact with the state in person, you don't strictly need to set up MyGovID. If you want to handle anything online (Revenue tax credits, HSE Health App, council services), it's worth registering — the PSC you already have makes verification a five-minute job.
"I want to access an Irish-headquartered video platform that now needs age verification"
Right now, the platforms use third-party age-verification vendors (Yoti, Persona, Veriff, OneID). Each handles it differently. The most common methods are facial age estimation (a selfie passed to an algorithm), document upload, or mobile-number-linked verification. See our age-verification explainer for what each platform actually asks you to do.
"I'm a small business owner. What do I actually need to do with all this by 2027?"
If you accept payments and perform strong customer authentication (online card payments, bank transfers requiring 2FA), you'll need to accept EUDI Wallet credentials by the end of 2027. Most businesses will get this through their payment processor or KYC vendor. The first action is to ask your existing vendor whether their EUDI roadmap covers your use case — not to build anything in-house. See EUDI Wallet hub for the timeline.
What you do NOT need
- You do not need a PSC to register a basic MyGovID.
- You do not need a verified MyGovID to apply for a PSC.
- You do not need the EUDI Wallet to log in to existing Irish state services in 2026 — MyGovID continues to work.
- You do not need to set up multiple MyGovID accounts. One per person.